It felt good to get back on the road again, but we will certainly miss the people we met and the amenities we've grown accustomed to at Val Vista Villages in Mesa. Our exit from the Phoenix area meant the now familiar and rugged uphill climb north on I-17 to Flagstaff, AZ. Joani planned an easy day to get me back in the swing of driving - 169.7 miles (92,658.7 total).
The saguaros are abundant along I-17 until you reach about 3500 feet at the Bumble Bee exit and then they disappear.
I managed the engine RPM by downshifting to keep the engine temperature in check as we climbed nearly 6,000 feet for the day. We could not have asked for better weather! Mostly sunny and a bit cool - at least it was cool when we started. By the time we pulled into a rest stop near Sedona I was ready to concede it was downright cold and put on a jacket.
The San Francisco peaks overlooking Flagstaff were nicely frosted with snow.
Snowcapped Mount Humphreys
Our plan was to overnight in the Cracker Barrel parking lot. That plan fell apart when 1) their idea of RV parking was a few narrow slots that were no more than 30 feet long and 2) being Mother's Day, the parking lot was packed. We continued a bit further down the road to the WalMart but their lot was probably the most cramped of any I had ever seen. Narrow aisles and curbs and "no overnight parking" signs everywhere forced us a bit further down the road to a small mall parking lot. It appeared to work for us until a security guard told us we would not be allowed to park overnight.
Joani called our campground in Page but they said there was no room for us to arrive a day early. Finally, Joani tried the Home Depot and we were elated to find they had no problem with our overnight stay. More importantly, it was level and had easy access, it was right along our route and it had "Joani approved" stores within walking distance (no need to unhook the car). It gave her a place to spend a few hours shopping (while I read my book) before we turned in for the night.
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