7-30 Flagstaff, AZ

We both really love Flagstaff, we’ve been here many times, but there is a drawback.  It rains every day.  Even if only for a few minutes, it rains every single day.  Guess what.  It’s raining.

We had a great time Saturday evening at Black Bart’s Steakhouse.  We are now on our way to Albqebuerqueuurqureuqe.  And we even broke a record this morning, departing the rv park at… wait for it… 9:30 AM!  But I am getting way, way ahead of myself.  Let’s back up the truck to yesterday morning.

David Gould came to our site at 10 AM and installed our a/c fan motor in 1 hour as promised.  While Rob babysat that project, I took off to WalMart.  Let me explain.  The keys and touchpad on this laptop are so sensitive.  Driving on these pothole-infested roads makes matters worse.  The cursor senses a slight movement or heat from my fingertips and goes racing across the screen, often deleting or repeating whole paragraphs, driving me apeshit.  At last, it is time for this old bag to say, “Uncle.”  Kicking and screaming, I have obtained a wireless mouse and have deactivated the touchpad.  I expect it to take six months for me to train my brain to this change.

When David finished and left, we pointed the Jeep west, retracing our steps by 30 miles, luckily outrunning black, threatening clouds, to check off a bucket list item:  Bearizona.  Whereas I am not much of a zoo person, feeling sorry for the cooped up animals and all, this park boasted of wide open almost-free range for its many animals.  They also brag of many newborns in the Spring and early Summer and Lindy was determined to see baby bears! 

Pulling in under the entry arch, we were immediately advised to remove the Jeep spare tire cover because the wolves love them and will attack them and shred them to bits.  With that accomplished, we were free to advance upon the path as slowly or as quickly and as many times around the park as desired. 

I'd like to eat a tire cover... seriously.

There are park rangers stationed here and there and signs coaching visitors to keep windows closed, doors locked (Wolves and deer know how to open doors?) and to continue moving along at all times.

The newborns are grown some by this late in the summer but are still young and playful.  One of the little bears thinks he is a sentry, watching the people and cars pass and imagining them as a leg of meat. 

I am very tired and I need a nap.

I love humans.  They are so soft and chewy!

Here come the humans!

There are white buffalo, who knew?  Two
baby buffaloes

I think being white is still a good thing, right?

were born just two weeks ago and seemed intimidated by the (red) Jeep while Mom and Dad buffalo suggested we move along. 

Move along, humans!

Two weeks old baby buffalo

Bearizona!  

Besides bears, there is a variety of animals including badgers, otters, a pair of jaguars,

Mister Chicken to you!

Bucky Badger!  Go Bucky!

So where are the Alfa Romeos?

many models of sheep and deer, javelinas, red and swift foxes, peacocks, chickens, wolves and elk, to name a few. 

At the end of the drive-through loop, there is a walking tour and after that, a performance at the bird sanctuary.  The beautiful birds flew to and fro just inches above our heads, not contained in any way but trained with treats to land here and there on the perches.  The most majestic of these was Harris’s Hawk, a beautiful, muscular bird who seemed capable of carrying off a pony.

Barn owl who captures a thousand mice per year.
How do they know these things?

Harris's Hawk!  Mister Hawk, to you!

The buildings and lodges at the park are rustic, rough-hewn logs with outdoor porches, many tables and chairs, food services and bars.  Yes, you are free to wander about the park with a beer!  The intention of the private owners is to expand the park to include a beautiful restaurant and 200-room hotel.  What a wonderful place!  We returned to Bee tired and enchanted by all the new wonders we experienced.  We were just in time to keep our reservation, walk across the way and enjoy the evening at Black Bart’s while the waiters and waitresses, all music-related college majors, marched around the tables and stage and sang for us as we dined.  What a glorious day!

INTRODUCTION TO THE SUMMER TRIP 2017

After many weeks of planning and preparation, we are “on the road again,” as Willie would say.  Or as high school seniors would say, “We’re off like a prom dress.”  Our first stop is Camping World in Las Vegas where we will pick up a new fan motor for the roof air conditioner.  It should be understood that the a/c died within 24 hours of departure.  This is all a part of SOP.  So we have been fiddling with it, lubed it and thought that we had solved the problem but it continues to pester us.  Our itinerary takes us through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  With one roof a/c?  We think not.  So as Rob drives, I engaged the hotspot and found a repair shop that can install a fan motor and capacitor tomorrow, all of this for a small fee, obviously, because we all know they have a captive audience.  Any of you who think that the ownership of a recreational vehicle comes with no headaches or price tags should stay home and watch The Travel Channel.  By the way, we do have a suggested alternative:  place a fan on top of a bucket of ice, we were told.  It is commonly known as a “hillbilly swamp cooler.”

Our first campground is Black Bart’s RV Park in Flagstaff.  It is not a designer park, pulling down only 2 stars on most evaluation websites but we have visited the park in the past because attached to it is Black Bart’s Steak House, Saloon and Old West Theater, which prides itself with wonderful food and an enormous quarry rock fireplace.  The waiters and waitresses perform and sing.  It is a great way to while away an evening.  Happily, we got a reservation for tomorrow night.

You may know that Black Bart was really Charles Bowles who was called “The Gentleman Bandit.”   During the gold rush days, he had staked a claim and used the water on his land to rig up a method to wash the silt away from the gold flakes.  Wells Fargo offered to purchase his claim and he refused so they purchased the land above his and cut off his water supply rendering his claim and prospects worthless.  Naturally, ol’ Charles was pissed.  So he took to robbing Wells Fargo and only Wells Fargo stage coaches.  He was deathly afraid of horses and traveled on foot to the ambush points and used a rusty gun that couldn’t even fire, pointing it in a threatening manner to stop the stage coaches.  He never killed a soul.  And always, as he escaped with the loot, he left a small poem at the scene and signed it, “Black Bart.”  He lived a double life with an alias as a foppish gentleman in San Francisco when he wasn’t robbing stage coaches.  When he was finally apprehended, he spent 4 years in San Quentin.  Upon release, he pretty much disappeared and no one is really sure what ended up being his fate, although Wells Fargo stages were robbed a few more times, that little rascal!

It is monsoon season in northern Arizona and the locals guarantee us it will rain tomorrow.  (Our a/c repair man promises us that he will not work in the rain.)  The rain coupled with the absolutely awful, rough, pothole-infested roads that rattled our fillings made the eight travel hours seem agonizingly longer.  We have arrived at the campground and now, settled into a cold martini, we are blessed with a bit of quiet.  Let us see what the next adventure gives us for stories!