THANKSGIVING IN ARIZONA

Our Thanksgiving starts in the kitchen with Bev cooking up a great breakfast. We spent most of the day outside as it was clear and 80 degrees in Arizona City.

Bev and ladies from our table set out the food as we get prepared for a really nice dinner.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving dinner with friends at the clubhouse. The park provided turkey and each couple brought a side dish or dessert. We had a great time, enjoyed the coversation, the wine and of course the food.

Day's end, another beautiful sunset, viewed from our site at Quail Run RV Resort.

BEV'S 13,000 ft ADVENTURE

Bev relaxing with our friends Butch & Karen at Skydive Arizona, and waiting for their flight and instructor assignments for a great Skydiving experience.

Bev, Karen & Butch (Erling) are posted to the flight board. Bev's instructor is Adam and they will fly on otter 15.

This is Bev's first flight in a twin otter and her first flight to land before the plane in which she took off.

Bev takes her first step out the door of the twin otter at 13,000 ft over the airport at Eloy, AZ.

Bev & Adam are stabilized in the free fall position at 12,000 ft over the Arizona desert.

Adam is pulling the ripcord with his left hand which will open the parachute and end the 7,000 ft free fall portion of Bev's first skydive.

The parachute has deployed from the back pack and is about to begin its opening sequence. Bev is looking out toward Tucson.

This is a great shot of the parachute beginning to inflate into its wing shape at about 6,000 over the Eloy Airport.

Bev & Adam prepare to land right in front of the bleachers after a great ride down from 13,000 ft.

CAMP VERDE, AZ

Bev is keeping the camera handy on our road trip days to capture some of the beautful sights we see, as we explore our great country.

Another of Bev's "on the road to Arizona" pictures taken east of St. George, UT on our travel day to Camp Verde.

We are staying at our Western Horizon's membership park, located in the verde valley about 80 miles north of Phoenix.

Our current home site has plenty of room and shade.

This small park area is located right in front of our motorhome provides us with a great view, and a little more privacy than normal.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is one of the "must see" attractions in the Sedona area and also provides one of the best viewpoints for enjoying the great scenery.

B J takes up his guard post as Bev & I leave to enjoy the scenery surrounding the chapel.

The chapel parking area is one of the best locations to find unobstructed views of the unique sandstone rock formations surrounding the Sedona area.

Another of the beautiful scenes to view from the chapel parking area.

The city of Sedona is growing in spite of the recession, and filling in the valley below the airport viewpoint.

Every afternoon the viewpoint at the Sedona airport attracts up to 300 people to watch the sun set over the red rock country.

Sunset at Sedona, AZ on the 15th day of September 2009.

ST. GEORGE, UT

We just arrived for a visit to the St. George, Utah area and are staying at or Western Horizons membership park located about 10 miles north of town and just off I-15.

Our park is located on one of the first settled sites in the valley and the original settler's first home is still standing just beyond the clubhouse.

This is one of the older parks in Western Horizons system so the sites are smaller than we are used to, but we are will enjoy our stay.

We have a great scenic view from our living room widow (windshield), and also enjoy watching the rv's pass by on I-15, the main route between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

Our first stop in St. George was to the visitor center which is located in the original Washington County Court House dating back to 1870. The ladies were very helpful and gave us tips for day trips which will keep us busy during our stay in this area.

On our drive leading up to Snow Canyon, we encountered this unique round about which features these sandsone rocks as a centerpiece.

Snow Canyon State Park is a 7,400 scenic park tucked amid lava flows and soaring sandstone cliffs. It is located within a 62,000 acre federal reserve to protect the desert tortoise and its habitat.

The park's primary rock consists of Navajo sandstone which ranges in color from bright orange to creamy white. The lava rock was created by small local vocanic eruptions which took place from 2.5 million years ago to as recently as 10,000 years ago.

The caves in the park have been inhabited by various indian tribes from 200 AD to the mid 1800's. Enlarge this photo to see the size of these openings in reference to the people at the cave opening on the right. In our time, this area was used in filming Butch Cassidy, The Electric Horseman, and Jeremiah Johnson.

PAHRUMP, NV

Our first stop on this years trek to Arizona is Pahrump, NV. Located about 60 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Pahrump was one of the fastest growing cities in Nevada before the economy slowed down. The town's current population is about 35,000 and it is considered the eastern gateway to Death Valley.

We are staying at the Charleston Peak RV Resort & Winery, it is the newest park in our Western Horizon membership system. The rv park office, clubhouse, winery and restaurant are all located in this facility at the entrance to the park.

The Pahrump Valley Winery has won over 180 awards for the quality of its wines over the past few years. The awards are displayed in this special room adjacent to the restaurant.

This is our first visit to an rv park with a heliport, so you can charter a helicopter trip for dinner and wine tasting on your next trip to Las Vegas.

All of the streets in the park are named after wines that are bottled next door at the winery. Bev is fond of the chardonnay and the pinot gries.

We have been seeing smoke from the Los Angeles fires for the last two days, and tonight's setting sun is obscured as it sinks over the amargosa mountains. On thursday morning we will be departing for Hurricane, UT to visit Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks.

EXPLORING THE BLACK HILLS

Many of the shops in this area display native american crafts and artifacts. Bev is admiring an eagle feather head dress which is on sale for $2,350.

Downtown Rapid City has created a presidential walk, where all our former presidents are depicted in a bronze statue. Bev joins Franklin Roosevelt in delivering his famous "Day of Infamy" speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Skip meets Gen. (later President) Grant, namesake of our home county.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is located about 20 miles west of Mt Rushmore and includes a large museum and visitor center. The carving was started in 1948 and will take many more years to complete. When finished, it will be the largest stone carving in the world, measuring over 500ft high and 600ft long.

Bev meets Johnny Red Deer after his performance of the prarie chicken dance. The Crazy Horse carving can be seen behind the stage.

Our drive from the Crazy Horse Monument, back to the rv park, took us through Custer State Park, which is home to 1500 head of North American bison.

This bison was rolling in the dust, just off the side of the road. The adults stand over 6ft. and weigh over 2000lbs.

The Sturgis Harley store 3 weeks before the start of the 69th bike rally and the arrival of 400,000 motorcycle enthusiasts. Sturgis is a town about the size of Ephrata, and was founded in 1888 to support nearby Ft. Meade. The town was named after Col. Samual D. Sturgis the commander of the cavalry post. The Col. however wanted the towns name to honor his son Lt. James Sturgis who died with Gen. Custer 12 years earlier at the Little Bighorn. Tomorrow we will be on the road to Hardin, MT to visit the Custer battlefield.

MT. RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL

During the 27 mile drive to Mt. Rushmore over Iron Mtn Rd we encountered several of these one-way, one car tunnels not suitable for rv travel.

Our first view of the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. This picture was taken from a vantage point 5 miles away. Both Bev and I agree that this visit to the monument was one of the highlites of our motor home travels.

The entry to the monument is an impressive gallery, displaying the flags and dates of statehood for all 50 states.

Mt Rushmore was designed and carved by Sculptor Gutzo Borglum who was a noted artist in the early 20th century. Mr. Borglum was 60 years old in 1927 when he began to work on the mountain. He worked for 14 years until his death in 1941 at which time the carving ceased. So the monument today is as it was 68 years ago when Mr. Borglum passed. The four presidents chosen for the carving were selected to remind us of the birth, growth, preservation and development of our nation.

Mt. Rushmore, taken from the observation deck, it is the most impressive monument that I have ever seen, and is truly a "must see" destination.