AGUA FRIA NATIONAL MONUMENT (AZ)

FRIDAY - Today we moved less than 50-miles, but we have decreased our elevation from 5600 down to 3100 and therefore we have changed our temperatures from 67°H/42°L to 87°H/62°L.

We will have one comfortable day this weekend when the temperatures drop to 66°H/47°L on Sunday.

Where are we? Well, we are about halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff and about a mile east of Interstate 17, camping out in the middle of the desert on BLM land for FREE.

This particular piece of BLM land includes the Agua Fria National Monument and we are here to do a short 1.5-mile round trip hike to see a wall of petroglyphs at the confluence of the Badger Springs Wash and Agua Fria River.

We are saving the hike for the coolest of the three days we have here, meaning Sunday. Until then we'll just chill (as much as you can in a desert) and watch for the cars and trucks that slip passed our campsite on their way higher up into the desert looking for their own camping spot.

As I'm writing this post I'm looking out the windows for some of the wildlife that calls Agua Fria National Monument home, like coyotes, bobcats, antelope, mule deer and javelina. But the only thing we've spotted so far is one lone bunny rabbit, I guess we are too far away from their water source.

At 3:00PM today Tricia went out on a 30-minute afternoon walk and was talking with her friend in Jacksonville, FL. This is usually done every morning, but with a 3-hour time difference between AZ and FL it makes more sense than getting up at 4:30AM to talk before her friend as to start work.

Here are some photos she took during her afternoon walk.

The Prickly Pear Cactus around here will be blooming any day now.

A zoomed in photo of the already blooming Ocotillo.

THE POD's rear hatch is like a car insurance policy.
You don't need it, until you need it! I'm so glad we have the hatch to open this weekend.

SUNDAY - Today is our day to go hiking!

We exited THE POD at 8:35AM with the temperature at a mild 70°F and when we returned at 9:45AM the temperature had risen to a comfortable 71°F. Pair that with a pretty steady 5-10MPH wind and you've got what I consider the perfect day for a hike.

A couple more stats from our hike today:

1) From THE POD's front door to the Agua Fria River bed and back = 1.8-miles round trip
2) There was a 95' elevation change between the starting point and the turn around point

BADGER SPRINGS TRAIL
AGUA FRIA NATIONAL MONUMENT

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The trail started with a pretty substantial gate at the trailhead.
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After that there weren't any other markers to let you know you're still on the trail.
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Although it wasn't too hard to see where you were supposed to go.
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When in doubt, just walk down the middle of the dry sandy wash leading to the river.
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Saguaro Cactus is not something I expected to see today on the trail.
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This is the end of the wash where it meets the Agua Fria River.
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Although today there was no water in the river bed, just debris, rocks and sand.
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While at the point were the wash and the river meet you should look over your left shoulder...
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...and locate the petroglyphs on the rock face of that mountain.
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There are several large panels covered in petroglyphs.
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What is that growing out of the crack in the rocks?
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I believe it could be a "baby" saguaro cactus.
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This clump of Prickly Pear Cactus is closer to blooming than what we have near THE POD.
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Looks like these are going to be pink in color.
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That tall skinny cactus is a juvenile Saguaro which won't grow arms until it's 50-75 years old.
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This plant is called Tree Cholla and it too is close to blooming.
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This Tree Cholla will soon be covered in pink blooms.
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Time to head back! This is where the trail crosses the wash from the right to the left.
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We looked this guy up online and identified it as a Desert Stink Beetle.
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Not sure what this is called, but it sure is pretty!
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I recognize that gate, we're almost home.

From this vantage point it's easy to see why we have such great cell phone service here.
That cell phone tower is just over a mile away with absolutely zero obstructions.

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PRESCOTT NATIONAL FOREST (AZ)

WEDNESDAY - At 9:00AM we were pulling out of the Walmart parking lot and in search of gasoline.

Right next door was a Smith's Grocery Store and out in the corner of their lot they sold the cheapest gasoline in town. Of course the problem is they were not very accommodating to large trucks pulling travel trailers when they were designing the layout of the gas station.

As we were waiting in line the elderly gentleman in front of us was just finishing up filling his tank when I noticed he forgot to replace the gas cap and close the filler door.

I mentioned it to Tricia, who was at an angle where she couldn't see what was happening, and she quickly jumped out of ROVER and ran up to the back of the car in front of us. She knocked on the rear fender of the car and began replacing the cap and closing the door, all while the person was pulling away from the pump. I don't think he even knew what had happened.

We then pulled up and I got out of the truck to begin putting the $2.98 gasoline into ROVER's tank when the person on the other side of the pump said, "That was a nice thing your wife did for that older man". I replied, "She's always doing stuff like that", then mentioned how we believe in karma and that "Good things happen to good people"!

I thought about telling him the story about the FREE soda I was gifted the last time I was at a gas station, but he was done filling his little 12-gallon tank and was pulling away.

Before we jump on Interstate 40 and start heading east out of Kingman there's one more thing to take care of.

It's been a while since ROVER and THE POD have had a good wash. Luckily there is a Blue Beacon Truck Wash here in town, very near the Interstate entrance, and we are in no rush to get to our next reserved campsite.

Usually there are at least 3-4 trucks in line at these truck washes and it's at least a 45-minute to an hour wait time. Not today, we pulled straight into the wash bay with no waiting!

This is going to throw off the timing of our plans for the rest of the day, but we're getting used to adapting when things don't go as planned.

Heading east on Interstate 40 across northeastern Arizona.

The Interstate 40 Exit #121 for Seligman, AZ.

About 70-miles east of Kingman, AZ is the small Route 66 town of Seligman (pop. 731). In 1987, Seligman became the "Birthplace of Historic Route 66" when the State of Arizona first acknowledged the stretch of road from Seligman to Kingman as "Historic Route 66".

Like so many of the Historic Route 66 towns, things started to decline when Interstate 40 bypassed them in the late 1970s.

Here in Seligman, there are two "attractions" we want to take in, even though at 10:30AM it's a little early for lunch, we are going to check out "The Road Kill Cafe".

The iconic Road Kill Cafe on Historic Route 66 in Seligman, AZ.

In case you missed it on the sign out front, their motto is "You Kill It, We Grill It"!

There's even this turkey vulture mascot at the front door waiting to share your road kill meal.

It's not very big inside the cafe, but the OK Saloon is in another room off the far left wall.

Like most of these "attraction restaurants" the atmosphere is the reason to visit and the food is nothing more than "standard fare".

That's not the case with the food found directly across Route 66 from the Road Kill Cafe. At Westside Lilo's Cafe they're famous for a special desert item found on the menu.

I don't know if their Carrot Cake is World Famous or not...

...but I can tell you it's the best Carrot Cake I've tasted in a very long time.

I guess there is a 3rd attraction in town that we visited. On the west side of the building where we parked ROVER and THE POD is where you'll find what's billed as the World's Largest "Metal" Route 66 Sign.

Now that lunch is over it's time to get back on the road and finish driving the second half of today's route.

Our destination is a National Forest campground outside of Prescott, AZ. At an elevation of over 5600' it should be cool enough to open the windows of THE POD and enjoy the crisp mountain air for a couple of days.

Tree coverage is sparse enough that the Starlink dish is usable.
That's good because the cell phone coverage here is minimal.

Windows open during the day when it's 67°F outside, but closed at night when it falls to 37°F.

THURSDAY - Today we're heading into Prescott for a "very special lunch".

We'll also visit the local UPS Store to return an item I purchased on Amazon and the Sprouts Farmers Market store to purchase some of their Uncured/No Nitrate Turkey Pepperoni that Tricia is so fond of.

What makes today's lunch so special?
TRICIA

After all the errands were done we began looking for the least expensive gas in town. Whenever there is a Costco in town they ususlly have the best gas prices. That was true today by a larger than normal margin of $.34 a gallon. So by purchasing 18-gallons we saved $6 today on gas.

Also on our way back to THE POD we passed by an interesting trailer park. It's called "Air Village" and for the tidy sum of $273 a night (with a two night minimum) you can stay in 1 of 10 completely refurbished and vintage Avion travel trailers right in downtown Prescott.

The Avion Travel Trailer was first built in 1956 and the classic aluminum trailers were continued to be built through the 1990 model year.

Although the Avion and Airstream trailers look alike, they are not manufactured by the same company and never have been.

Which begs the question, why is this little retro park called "Air" Village?

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