On the Road Again!

 

On May 3, 2022 we left for a month long trip to the Four Corners area. Enjoy the trip!

Week 1 - Atwater to Phoenix, Arizona

We visited Dean's Mom in Atwater so that was a launch point. Heading down Route 99 we found the "arts" district in Fresno and had a coffee break. There were a lot of interesting buildings, murals and art to see. Who knew?

This is an old movie theater that is being renovated. Looks like it will be a wonderful addition to the area. Beautiful building.

Then we stopped for lunch in Kingsburg. In theory we should have found Swedish Food but didn't find any. There was Chinese, Mexican and the "Hippy" type natural foods store we chose. What's not to love about a town that has a "Coffee Pot" water tower. Yummy food and a beautiful day. The restaurant had a travel trailer for kids to play in, bears on bicycles and other fun decor.

.

Our first campsite was at Kern River Campground. It was a nice, county park, nothing fancy but good place to stop. Lots and lots of ground squirrels. We took a walk up to the C.A.L.M. Museum (California Living Museum (www.calmzoo.org)) and through the farmlands.

The next morning we got up and headed. Breakfast stop at the Keene Cafe. I'm sure it had a few calendars on the wall (reference: Blue Highway by William Least Heat Moon). Good food and a nice outdoor seating area for Watson.

We stopped at the Cesar Chavez National Monument. Someday we will get to go inside-last time we were here it was closed for the day and this time it wasn't open yet (Hours are 10-4 or something). We were able to walk around the grounds and enjoyed them. It is a beautiful location.

Mohave National Recreation Area

Hole in the Rocks Campground at Mohave National Recreation area was beautiful in a very stark way. Open desert, rocks with lots of holes in them, wildflowers and cacti. Lots to see and explore. This is a place we will get back to for a longer visit. The top photo is from here.

Watson liked this sign. It meant that he could go on 
a hike with use. We hiked out to see the Petroglyphs.
This trip the only big horned sheep we saw were 
petroglyph depictions.

We did not hike out that long road! Just enough to see the petroglyphs and the rocks with holes (holy rocks?)

Yavapai Campground

Yavapai Campground. It appears that they are working to improve the fire resistance in the area so there were a number of areas that had been de-vegetated. The sites were really well designed and in good shape. I think I would like to go back in a few years to see it again. There was a fire near Flagstaff and one closer to here so fire suppression is important. We had good air quality while we were there.

Ghost Town Adventure

We accepted the challenge of the long, dirt road. There was a ghost town promised at the end of it. Gold Hill was fun, a bit touristy, and worth the drive (which was beautiful). It was a bit longer than anticipated but we kept going over just one more hill and finally made it.

This is as close as Dean would get to hugging a cactus.

I did not use the facilities.

Some of the local inhabitants.

We ended this section of the trip visiting my Cousin Diane in Phoenix. We also got to see a bunch of my other cousins. So much fun!


Itinerary

Atwater

Fresno, CA (Coffee)
Kingsburg, CA (Lunch)

Kern River Campground, Bakersfield, CA

Keene, California (Breakfast)
Cesar Chavez National Monument

Hole in the Rocks Campground
Mohave National Monument

Yavapai Campground, AZ

Gold Hill Ghost Town, AZ

Phoenix, AZ