The Grand Canyon in the snow

Ken and I took a lovely train ride back up to the rim of the Grand Canyon. Here is what it looked like today.

Needless to say, the view was not the same today as yesterday. It was still beautiful, but it was a very different kind of beauty. I am SO glad we brought my Mom yesterday!

I will put up a few more photos of the train ride and some trains. There was great scenery if you like snow!

We were in a train car with some loud and annoying people who were all but impossible to block out. Other than that, the train ride was great. There were muffins and fruit salad at breakfast time on the ride out and cheese and crackers and crudités on the ride back south. There was a Navajo man singing his people's traditional songs and other songs as well. It was a very comfortable ride and Ken and I are both very happy we did this - despite the weather.

It was cold up at the rim as you will see from the photos. We had lunch at El Tovar Hotel which is right near the train depot at the Canyon. It wasn't anything too special but it was good. We walked around for awhile and then sat by the fire at the hotel. I had a hot tea with a chocolate taco while enjoying the warmth of the fire. (Picture a taco shell shape made of hard chocolate, filled with chocolate mousse. Ken had a glass of red wine.

We took the train back into Williams, and now we are off for dinner at Rod's Steak House. I hope to write more later. Tomorrow morning (bright and early to beat the next storm) we are leaving for Las Vegas. If you don't hear from me again tonight, I'll type at you from the land of Lost Wages.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
~ Kassidee

What car trouble?

Good evening from Williams!

We did indeed go to the Grand Canyon this afternoon. I think that the whole cause of our problem may have been a bad tank of gas. Ken doesn't know what he thinks it was/is. He had disconnected the battery this morning and reconnected it, filled the car up with gas, and after a little while, the service engine light went out. We drove the hour or so to the Canyon and all around and back again without incident. We had decided to 'risk' it since we have free towing with Good Sam. My Mom had never been to the Grand Canyon and this was probably her only opportunity to do so. We decided it was worth the risk. Call us crazy.

It was a beautiful afternoon. Sunny and pretty warm, but very hazy for photos. Upon entering the park, we saw a coyote trotting across the road. He met up with another coyote on the other side. That was very cool.

We drove the loop and took Mom out at some of the lookouts. Some of the overlooks Ken and I went to together, and some I went alone. There was one area that folks with handicap plates can cross into that everyone else has to walk or take the bus to. That was a nice surprise. Mom had a great time, and so did we. Of course, Ken and I are doing it again tomorrow - but that is more about the train ride itself than about sightseeing when we get there. We are talking about hiking it one of these years - but I doubt that will happen.






On the way out of the park we came upon another coyote. This one was having dinner - munching on the leg of a deer. He sure was beautiful.











Here is one more photo taken today while driving around the park.








Before heading to the park, Ken and I had lunch at my favorite Williams haunt: Pancho McGillicuddy's. How can you go wrong with a name like that? We watched some football there while we ate Mexican food. The rest of the game(s) we listened to on the radio on the way to and from the park. We came home in time to see the end of the Jets game. We had a lovely dinner of steak and rice-a-roni and string beans, cooked by my favorite chef - Ken.

It's supposed to start snowing here in about an hour (it's 11 P.M. here) and continue to snow all week. We are still planning on leaving here Tuesday morning for the last leg of our journey west. We will be Nevada bound. Look out Las Vegas - here we come!

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend to one and all. I hope it's everything you want it to be!
~ Kassidee

It's always something.

Good evening from cozy Williams, AZ. Although the temperature is dropping now, we had a lovely, warm day in Sedona. We left later than planned because I was on hold with WMECO for half an hour (literally) trying to find out how much our electric bill was, and when it was due. I guess a lot of people are calling them for some reason. I tried calling yesterday and it was a 15 - 20 minute wait. I should have quit while I was ahead.

Anyway.....I paid all our bills and Ken made our reservations for the train on Monday and we finally headed out to Sedona in the early afternoon. We decided not to take the long way around even though it would have been more scenic so we'd have time to actually 'be' in Sedona.

We had a mediocre lunch at The Cowboy Club. I ordered my hamburger medium and Ken ordered his medium rare. We each took a bite of our burgers only to discover that his was more cooked than mine. We would have traded but he had already put mayonnaise on his and I had ketchup on mine. The waiter was nice and asked Ken if he wanted another burger but Ken didn't want to spend the time to wait for it to be cooked. He did fill out the little form that comes with the bill though. I believe his comment was he would have gotten another burger but he didn't have the time to wait for the cook to finish cooking school.

We spent the afternoon shopping - or should I say, I spent the afternoon shopping. Ken spent the afternoon outside enjoying the magnificent scenery that is Sedona. My Mom was back and forth between inside shopping with me and outside with Ken. For those of you who don't know us - my Mom is in a wheelchair if we take her outside the house/RV. She uses a walker to get around at home and inside the RV. Her M.S. has progressed to a point where this is necessary.

I didn't go too overboard today but I did get a very cool Stetson hat to go with my boots. I'm still looking for the right jacket to complete the ensemble. I bought a cool Ganesh pen and a red dirt t shirt and bag. You can laugh now - but I also got my Chakras read. I figured I was at the vortex, I should go with the flow. Apparently, my spiritual and emotional chakras are very strong but my physical chakra was in need of some help. I bought a small crystal to help balance things out. I know I was looking at a smoky quartz but opted for a different stone - but I can't remember what it is.

Everything was going fine until we tried leaving Sedona. We were on the road going up out of the canyon and the car started lurching. It did this for miles but there was no place to pull over and I also didn't have a cell signal - not a good combination. We continued up the hill not having a clue what the problem was. We finally got to a spot where we could pull over but it was dark and we had no flashlight. Ken messed around with the battery cables and then decided it was too dark to see anything else and got back in the car. Things were not perfect but they were better than earlier and we managed to get back to the main road and then back to the RV. We were over 30 miles away when the fiasco started so we were grateful to make it back without incident.

Tomorrow, Ken will look under the hood in daylight and see what he can find out. The worst case scenario is that we'll tow the car behind us to Las Vegas and get it worked on while we are there visiting friends and family. At least we'll have access to a vehicle if we need one there.

On a side note: The Saints won their playoff game today. I am happy for them. Since the Steelers are out of it, I'm going to need a team to pull for. I have lots of friends in Louisiana who are very happy right now (and one in Massachusetts, too!). We'll see how things go.

I'm not sure now if we are going to the Grand Canyon tomorrow or not. It depends what Ken finds under the hood, I suppose. Wish us luck.

Perhaps I'll be able to catch up on the past before this weekend is over. It's not looking good for that happening today. I think this post is done!

Happy Saturday to you!
~ Kass

That really big hole in the ground

Hello and welcome to Grand Canyon country. What a day! We left Santa Fe this morning and headed to Arizona. We stopped at The Petrified Forest and drove around the painted desert until they kicked us out at closing time. What a beautiful place to be, and to watch the sun set. My grandparents went there before my Mom was born. It is always wonderful be someplace I know they were together. They took a cross country trip in the late 30's (I think - though it may have been the early 40's). I found the record of the trip they kept, but every time we travel west I forget to bring it with me. I guess that's a reason to do this trip again!

Anyway - we had a lovely afternoon, once it got started. Prior to getting into Arizona we were in search of ... a battery. The RV has been having some 'complaints' when trying to start. Ken was on a mission. We were in Gallup, N.M. and he did finally find out which battery he needed and was finally able to find one. It took a while, though.

I have to say, Gallup has always been a little on the sleazy side (nothing personal to anyone from, or in Gallup) but now it has been built up and it is more than a little sleazy feeling. We had been contemplating spending the night there but after driving around looking for the battery, we thought better of it. It's not that there is anything wrong with Gallup, so much as everything there is mass produced and 'bigger and better' than anywhere else. They sell their items in bulk and wholesale and it seems to take away any notion that it is authentic or made by a Native American. It reeks of 'Made in China'.

Moving on (now that I have insulted a large group of people - or two)....

We are staying in Williams and doing a day trip to Sedona tomorrow. On Sunday we will take my Mom and go see the Grand Canyon. Monday, Ken and I are indulging. We are going to take the train ride to the Canyon. That should be fun and beautiful. I hope we have good weather. It's been mighty nippy at night. It's currently 21 degrees. How's the weather where you are?

I seem to have a decent connection here so as long as my computer holds up, I may be able to catch up on the rest of our trip. One day, maybe, I'll be up to date again. I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you.

I guess that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am sure this will be a weekend I won't soon forget!

Remember to smile - it really does make people wonder what you are up to!
~ Kassidee

Santa Fe by Day!

Hello, and how are you? We had a wonderful day in Santa Fe. All the shops I have been looking at, longingly, through windows at night were open and I had a great time going from one to the next to the next. I'm not so sure that Ken shares that sentiment but he was wonderful about it. I am a very lucky woman!

I didn't do too much damage to our budget - but I did get a few really nice things. I got a small Ganesh (you can never have too many) and a beautiful jacket. I got a really cool top and some earrings for my Mom. We had lunch at The Sleeping Dog. It was pretty good. I got the duck and I tasted Ken's burger. I have to tell you - it was one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. The bacon on it was fresh and not reheated. It was cooked the way he asked - rare. If you go - get a burger! The butternut squash ginger soup was good, too. I would have liked some bread with it or something.

Anyway - we shopped and walked and talked to people all afternoon. I had a great time. On the way back to the RV we stopped at Book Mountain Paperback Exchange. I was able to get the book for my next book club meeting (someone had just brought it in 2 hours earlier), and a few other books for fun. Then we came back to the RV and Ken cooked dinner. Tomorrow, we are leaving bright and early. We are Gallup, N.M. bound.

More when I have access. There are still stories to tell from Lake Charles, but at least I've kept you up to date here in Santa Fe so I didn't fall further behind!

Here's to the weekend!
Enjoy...
~ Kassidee

Good news/Bad News

The bad news is that we still aren't exactly sure what is causing the problem with the brake release (or the lack thereof). There seems to be a delay between changing gears and the computer knowing that we have changed gears. There is also paperwork that says it can take up to 15 seconds for the release of the brake in cold weather. This, however, does not explain why pulling/switching the fuse 'fixed' the problem.

The good news is that the wonderful folks at Hal Burns only charged us 195.69 and told us we can stay plugged in another night and go enjoy Santa Fe in the daylight! David (Burns) also told us that if we should have any other problems with it and we can get back here that he wouldn't charge us another diagnostic fee and they'd work on it some more. He also assured us that we aren't doing any damage, and we aren't in any danger. Once the vehicle is running down the road the brakes will not just lock up on us. That is a relief.

Life is good and we are off to shop!
More later!
Woo Hooo!
~ (a very happy) Kassidee

Day Three in Santa Fe

Good morning world. How are things out there? We are still living in the parking lot and enjoying Santa Fe by night. It's saving us lots of money since all the shops are closed by the time we get downtown.

We had dinner last night at Cafe Pasquale's. It was a delightful place. Wonderful service, amazing food, and a great atmosphere. I'd tell you more but the mechanics just got here to check out the RV. Maybe I'll get to see Santa Fe by daylight today!

Keep good thoughts!
~ Kass