Week 2 of our NOMADS project at Mingus Mountain Camp and Retreat started on May 18th and was much like Week 1. We continued all our projects with our Nomads friends, finished some and started some new ones.
On Monday we discovered a railing on one of the camp buildings was very loose, so the team stabilized it.
The team continued in one of the men’s bathrooms by installing the new vinyl plank flooring.
Anne cutting flooring
Bathroom at the end of the week
Bathroom entrance floor
LuAnn and Steve working on the gaga ball pit
Another big project we started this week was tearing down the old wood shed to build a new camp store.
Removing the old roof
Taking down the old wood shed piece by piece
Finally on the ground
Building a wall the old-fashioned way
The rest of the team helped with raising the first wall.
Bracing the first wall
Doyle anchoring a wall
New camp store at the end of the week
The weather has been the same as last week. Lows in the low 50’s overnight (didn’t bring enough warm clothes) and climbing into the low to mid 70’s during the day with a few days in the low 80’s. There has still been NO rain! No threats of rain. The only clouds are the white puffy ones, otherwise it’s just beautiful blue sky. There is no dew on the ground in the mornings. No change in the forecast for this week. Very different from what we are accustomed to in Alabama. Also, we have friends in Alabama that have had tornadoes this week and are now experiencing flash flooding. Please say a prayer for them! Don’t think we told you about the elevation. We are at 7,600 feet so that explains the cool evenings. Friday when we were in Prescott Valley doing laundry the temperature was 84 and it was 74 when we arrived back at our campsite on Mingus Mountain.
On one of our hikes around the camp we found this agave in its “death bloom.” Agave live for 10 to 30 years, bloom once, then die.
Our last post on May 8, we drove through some beautiful scenery to reach our home for the night in Cottonwood AZ. After refilling the refrigerator and the propane we had a good night of sleep. We really appreciated hospitality of the Methodist church. On May 9 we began our drive to Mingus Mountain, our home for the next 3 weeks. It was a beautiful although harrowing drive. We drove up through Jerome, but it was before anything was open. We plan to stop there as well as Sedona when we leave. Both areas are interesting and beautiful, but it was time to just get settled in after eighteen days on the road.
The drive from Cottonwood to Mingus Mountain was another interesting …
… but beautiful drive.
Our home for three weeks
The fireplace detail in dining hall
The outdoor worship center at the camp
This deer herd walks through the camp frequently.
They look a little different from the deer back east.
We arrived at Mingus Mountain Camp and Retreat before lunch, found our place to park and set up our campsite. We were greeted by our NOMADS leader Suzanne and later that afternoon the rest of the team, Steve, and Doyle and LouAnn arrived. Suzanne went ahead with our opening meeting since we were all gathered together and asking her questions. It was nice though since it gave us all a free day Sunday. Monday we met the camp director and program director when they joined us for devotion. After a tour of the facilities, we began our work for the week. We made a lot of repairs. Repairs to the entrance signage and painting it, the pump house roof, the heat strip on the pavilion roof, a door, lots of painting, built a trash can enclosure, an entry ramp for the dinning hall, repaired the 9-square game and began working in the men’s rest room which is a big three-week project. We began by removing all the tile, preparing the flooring for new vinyl laminate and started the painting. By the end of the week we had it so the rest room could be used by guests for the weekend.
Preparing the entrance sign for painting
Steve and Doyle repairing the pumphouse roof
Doyle and Steve re-installed a door that was blown off by the wind.
Repaired 9-square game
Doyle and Steve made the dining hall more accessible.
Suzanne painting the men’s bathroom.
Removing the old floor tile …
…took a lot of scraping.
Repairing heat tape on pavilion roof. We were probably the only people in Arizona working on heat tape this time of year.
The camp director wanted enclosures for the trash cans to keep animals out.
Steve working on the trash can enclosure
Finished trash can enclosure
Over the weekend we visited Prescott Valley. Wow! Another steep drive with minimal side rails. You can see the roadway, way, down below. We also bought groceries and visited Culver’s while there. Saturday, we hiked to the top of the mountain where there is an area for hang gliding. No one jumped off the mountain while we were there but the scenery was beautiful.
Up the road from the camp is a hang glider launch. We’ve seen hang gliders in the air, but none were launching when we walked to the launch.
One of many wild Rocky Mountain Irises on the mountain
One of the ancient alligator junipers we found around the mountain
The Claret-cup cactus is sometimes called strawberry cactus. Many are starting to bloom at the camp.
Claret-cup cactus and alligator juniper
On Sunday, we streamed our 8:30 am service from our home church, Lester Memorial Methodist. By the way, that was at 6:30 am here.
Enjoyed working with this hardworking team this week. We have accomplished a lot. Two more weeks to go.
On May 6 (yes, we know that was a week and a half ago), after our morning excursions in the Petrified Forest (see previous post), we said goodbye to the peace and quietness of the National Park. We elected to drive another section of the old Route 66 road where it was still intact. When we were back in Texas, we did the Route 66 section in Adrian, TX which was the midpoint of the entire route, Chicago to Los Angles. Today we did the section that brought us to Winslow, Arizona.
Between Cadillac Ranch and the New Mexico state line we crossed the midpoint of Route 66 in Adrian, TX.
Before arriving in Winslow we saw several Route 66 attractions, like this arch in Holbrook …
… and the famous Wigwam Motel.
Anne’s brother Jim’s request was that we send him pictures “standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ.” We discovered there was a lot more to see than just Winslow ‘s corner. Our first stop was the visitor’s center. It was also a very nice museum, and the hostess was very helpful. She recommended that we just leave BB in the parking lot and walk the downtown area. She gave us directions to a number of attractions. Of course, the next stop was at “the corner in Winslow AZ.” We took several pictures and took several pictures for others gathered on the corner. We were there on a Thursday morning and were surprised at the number of people standing on the same corner.
Standing on the Corner
The Flat Bed Ford
World’s Smallest Church
St Joseph Church in Winslow
We also went to another museum that housed the “Big Rug”. In 1932 Julia Bha Joe and daughter Lillie Joe Hill began a journey to create “the worlds largest Navajo Rug” for Lorenzo Hubbell, Jr’s Winslow Trading Post. With a lot of help from family and friends, they spent the next five years working on the project. It took 2 years to spin the yarn and then 3 more years to weave the rug which is 21’4”x32’7” and weighs 250 pounds. If you are interested, the Big Rug has a very interesting and touching history. Winslow had more to offer than we anticipated but soon it was time to move on.
Continuing with our travels on May 4, after leaving Bisti Badlands, we crossed over into Arizona. We drove about 4 hours and then exited I 40 and entered the Petrified Forest National Park located in northeastern Arizona. It is a high-desert famous for its massive amounts of 225 million year old crystallized wood and the painted desert badlands. It is also the only US national park that protects a section of historic Route 66. We entered the park’s north entrance and stopped at the Painted Desert Inn which is currently serving as the welcome center while improvements are being made to the older welcome center. We drove through the park stopping at a few scenic overlooks for pictures and exited the south entrance, spending the night at Crystal Forest Campground (free). It was getting late. This was a momentous day. By spending the night in Arizona, we now have spent the night in all 49 states reachable by RV. We have been to Hawaii too, but they haven’t yet built a bridge.
49 of 49 to RV in
Painted Desert Inn
Painted Desert
Crystal Forest Campground allows free camping for RVs
Sunset at the southern entrance of Petrified Forest NP
The next morning, May 5, we re-entered the park from the south and stopped at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center. We wanted to get a Dark Sky Permit which would grant us permission to spend the night in the park. We had to drive back to the northern welcome center to actually get the permit, (Google told us we could get permit at either location – wrong!) but we were able to acquire one of the only 3 permits issued each day. The permit allowed us to spend the night at one of 3 locations in the northern end of the park so we could do some nighttime photography as well as sunrise pictures. After acquiring the permit we had the rest of the day to experience the park.
The Dark Sky Permit allows you to be in the park after hours, but you must stay in one of the designated parking areas until the park reopens.
Hiking the Blue Mesa Trail
Petrified log hoodoo
Colorful petrified wood
Petrified hollow log
The yucca plants were starting to bloom.
As we were driving back to the north end of the park we saw this storm on the horizon…
…and driving in a little hail storm.
Just to avoid any confusion about the time in Arizona
Our home for the night in the park
The only dark sky we had was from storms so we didn’t get any night photos. The next morning was beautiful as we drove back through the park to pick up Old Route 66 again. We stopped along the way to take a few more pictures.
Sunrise in the park
On Wednesday morning when we left our overnight parking spot there was still hail accumulated on the side of the road
The high desert still has pretty flowers.
One of the “long logs”
Crystal Forest
For a size reference
Agate Bridge
Old Route 66 goes through the park.
This is an amazing park. You can see this park in two ways. Many people do quick half day or less drive through visits and you can see a lot but probably won’t be that impressed. However, if you allow yourself about 1 ½ to 2 days to visit the park we think you will be really impressed. We’ve never seen as much petrified wood of all different colors and shapes and the Painted Desert is beautiful. There are a number of short hikes and a few longer ones that we recommend as well. Lastly, it was a really cool experience to be in the park after everyone else (except rangers) were gone. It was so quiet and peaceful. We recommend this park and enjoyed it more than we expected.
RVing With a Purpose 