Sunday
Hitched up the wagon and moved East. The problem with
traveling, and I still haven’t learned the lesson, is that on the map, what
looks like an empty space put there to separate two interesting places, which
you just have to drive through, is in fact full of interest and beauty. As you
drive through these empty spaces it has the rather depressing effect of making
you realise that rather than passing through one should be spending time
exploring and enjoying the views, history and culture of the area. However one
then has to temper that with the knowledge that Arizona is 400 miles North to
South and 300 miles from East to West and we have spent a maximum of 2 months in
the State on four of our trips. Imagine trying to explore somewhere three times
the size of England without leaving bits out, can’t be done.
One such area is the Mogollon Rim. It is actually the South
West edge of the Colorado Plateau, which stretches from Kingman on the West
border with California to the Eastern border with New Mexico. The countryside
to the East of I17 and to the North of Phoenix is the part we are travelling
through. It is best known to the citizens of Phoenix, who use it as an escape
from the summer heat, as it is 6-7000ft up and about 20°f/10°C cooler.
Expecting to drive right through we found that it was a very pretty landscape
full of interest. It also passes through several National Forest areas, Tonto
and Sitgreave being two. We had planned to stay in one of the Forest Service
Campgrounds, only to find that they are still closed for the winter. Oops!, so
we found a quiet forest track and puled up into the forest to spend the night.
It was very quiet and free.
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