Our drive turned out to be a marathon drive through north central AZ and covered a total of 450 miles. We didn't intend for it to be so long, but we underestimated the distance between some of the cities we traveled through.
It started at 7:30 in the AM and just as we pulled out onto the main road from the campground, we spotted this balloon taking off:
This is another popular area for these balloons and they must get a spectacular view of the red rocks of the Sedona area.
Our trip took us through Payson and then Heber-Overgaard, where the huge forest fire of 2002 destroyed much of the area between these two cities, including the Bison Ranch and several other housing areas. We took these shots of the fire ravaged area that was along highway 260 between the towns:
We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce office in Heber-Overgaard and had a nice conversation with the two ladies working in the office. They gave us a good accounting of the events during that fire which a fireman started on the Indian Reservation, south of the cities, hoping for more work time. It brought back memories of that fire which didn't seem like ten years ago since it happened. Anyway, we got lots of information on the area which is one that we have always liked and would be a consideration in the future for spending some time.
Our next stop was Show Low, where we expected to see much more of the fall colors but were somewhat disappointed. We didn't go through some of the nicest areas because they were too far south of our planned trip, so we didn't get any good photos.
We then went through Concho and St Johns, where there were several locations advertising 40 acre ranches at a very low cost. They are at a very low cost because there is nothing in these areas - including trees. It is mostly sand, sage and pinion pine and juniper bushes. Shopping is non-existent, and you have to travel many miles to get groceries or anything else.
We traveled north to pick up I-40 after stopping to grab some lunch that we brought with us. The area in which we stopped was along the edge of one of these "ranches" and it was a quick stop. We decided to exit off I-40 in Winslow in order to drive past a couple of nostalgic places - our old property in Mogollon Ranch and the Lodge at Happy Jack. The properties that were located in the Mogollon Ranch were selling at about half the price that we paid and sold ours for back in 2001. Other than that, it looked the same. Our stop at the Happy Jack Lodge was after their business hours but we took a drive through the park and it also brought back memories. The biggest change that we noticed was that there was a small cabin placed on the site where we stayed on the Camp Host #1 site:
That tells us that they are not using workampers for their Host function, and we were curious whether they used them in the store or not. Oh, well. Maybe someday we'll get the answer.
We arrived home at 6 PM to end a very long day. As mentioned, we didn't anticipate it taking so long, but it was a trip that brought back some good memories of favorite places.
Now, the report on the final game of the season for Austin and his team, which they won, 41-14. It was another spectacular performance by our grandson. He ran for 226 yards and 4 TD's on runs of 3, 44, 70 and 42 yards. All of that in just 3 quarters, when they removed him to rest for the playoffs, starting next week. He finished the season with 27 touchdowns and 1826 yards rushing - both school records that will last a long time. WOW! There isn't much more that can be said about him and the season he enjoyed. We wish him luck in the playoffs and will be rooting for his team to go all the way...
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