What an insteresting day.... Started the day out early, about 7 am... Got camp packed up, then drove down to an island mini-mountain at lymon lake. Found out that there were some petroglyphs there. So, took the mile hike, saw a caterpilar, got out of breath a few times, but didn't see any petroglyphs. Found out later that I went the wrong way on the trail..... oh well. So, on to Flagstaff and Page (near Lake Powell). My Grandmother mentioned there was a petrified forest on my way to holbrook. So, I decided to stop in. Only to discover how big the place was! :) Well, anyway, stopped at the vistor's center, watched a video that was mostly about why taking any of the petrified wood from the park was illegal and immoral.... Booooring... of course I won't take any wood. Oh well, so on to the park, walked about 1/2 mile around the great logs trail, then on to what they calle the Crystal forest. I was excited to go on this mile walk becaus the brochure said there would be amethyst...

Started the day out from Payson at a liesurely 10 am. After realizing I had forgotten my camp chair and table, dish washing bin & scrub towels, camp soap, paper towels and toilet papter.... I went to buy a few things from the Payson WalMart. Ahhh... now I was really prepared and on my way. Traveled from Payson, throught Show Low. There, I found cheap gas (2.99/gal), which IS cheap for rural arizona, especially on tourist routes. Anyway, picked up gas, then onto Springerville. Stopped off at a rest stop and took some pics (posted on Moblog). Got some firewood in Springerville... Then, to my surprise realized my phone said I was in roaming mode... grrr.... I had thought I had checked before-hand to make sure that I was in the VZW network area for the whole trip. Well, with no cell phone coverage at the lake campsite, I was lowered to war-driving in the local town, St Johns. Got a quick message out, then back to the campsite. While getting camp setup, I discovered that one ca...

Many of you (that would read this) already know that I am on a much needed vacation. I have officially dubbed this adventure as "Operation Recuperation". My plan is to not have too much of a plan, just to relax, see the sights my home state offers & let the cool mountain air recharge my spirit. I will be camping most nights, but this first night, I am in a hotel. The decision came late in the day to go ahead and start my journey. I hope to get a good start on sightseeing, setting up camp, ect by being now only 3 1/2 hours away from lyman lake . I will have an internet connection when on the road via my cell phone tethered to my laptop. (for those techies reading this, I am using BDUN (Bluetooth Dial Up Networking)) Anyway, while I am in the hotel, I might as well soak up the free wireless internet service... even though it is much slower than home :) I get 20Mb at home, here I am getting only 1.9Mb. ( speedtest.net results ) I am now getting a craving for something sweet....