Chapman Road Trip

It feels a bit strange to be writing this from an air conditioned house, rather than the little table in the RV or a picnic table, but you won’t hear me complain.

After 3,302 miles we’ve arrived at the in-laws in Arizona.

Today wasn’t a simple get in the car and drive here though. Oh no, we had to squeeze in a few more sites before we did that. :)

Our day began at the Kowboy Kafe over breakfast. Emily finally got her breakfast taco and I ordered a sausage and egg biscuit and somehow ended up with two massive ones. Hated throwing one away, but there was really no other choice.

There were long shower lines, so we got a bit later start than usual. After a fill up of the tank at the most expensive pump of the trip ($3.99) we were on the road at 9:28.

Just west of Shinarump, AZ we crossed the 3,000 mile mark of the trip.

We’d find our way back onto Route 66. This section was windy, fun and HOT all at once. I had to jump out a few times to take photos. It was the first time I had done this the whole time so no one gave me too hard of a time. The shots will be worth it. I promise!

1:17 we arrived at the “living ghost town” of Oatman, Arizona. 

Imagine an old western town that has been taken over by souvenir shops and wild donkeys walking around everywhere and you can imagine what it looks like. We brought carrots to feed the donkeys and they loved us for it.

There were rumblies in our tumblies so we decided to get a bite of eat before hitting the road again. It was quick and un-special so we headed back out.

The final roadside attraction was London Bridge. Yes, THE one that inspired the song. Seems that a very rich man bought it, had it taken apart and brought to Arizona back in the oil days. It is a nice bridge, but we stopped only long enough to take a photo and say we did it.

The last few hours were long since we knew the end was near and we were all ready to be off the road. Plus, the gas tank was getting empty so it was extra stressful for me behind the wheel.

At 7:42 we pulled up in front of Laura’s parents house. They had tacos waiting for dinner and yummy homemade peach cobbler for dessert. It was a welcomed site.

We’ve begun doing wash and there are piles of stuff everywhere as we emptied the RV before dinner. Tomorrow morning we will drop it off back at Cruise America and say goodbye to her.

This was a great adventure and nine days on the road with the family made for a life of memories and I’m so happy that we got to do this. Makes all the hard work and other things worth it to be able to do this.

We’ll be spending the next week here. No plans here which is just how we like it!!!

Thanks for following, reading and saying hello.

-C.C.

3,302 miles driven and we are here. What a trip!

I didn’t know where I’d be spending the last night of this road trip, but I’m glad it is in Williams, Arizona.

I’m writing this by lantern light as I watch our campfire burn away into the night. The kids have just been tucked in and Laura is getting the kettle ready for our morning coffee.

The Grand Canyon KOA is a beautiful little oasis that I’m glad we found.

This morning started over breakfast at Hogan’s Restaurant that was beside the Quality Inn that we stayed behind last night. Lots of directions I know :)

You know the service is horrible when Laura can’t get any milk for her coffee. It continued to be bad the entire time. Sadly the food was meh as well. Except for Laura’s MOUNTAIN of blueberry pancakes that could have fed the entire town.

I had to take a photo of the Tuba Trading Post and then at 8:27 we were on the road.

Today was going to be a short day with the goal of getting to the campsite while it was still light out by request of the kids.

We pulled over at the Cameron Trading Post which is a great place to walk through and one of the few places where you can get ACTUAL native made crafts and goods. So many beautiful things to choose from. (this is also the location where when Laura and I were here last time that we discovered and loved our first Navajo Taco)

At 10:12 we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park.

It was fun to watch the kids be blown away by how big and beautiful it is. No photo or video can ever do it justice. You have to see it in person to take it all in and even then I don’t think you can ever get sick of seeing it. I know I never will.

We pulled off at all the lookouts. Some of us walked to places that Laura wasn’t too thrilled about, but we are all still here so it worked out.

Lunch was in the RV so that made it nice and easy.

We left the park and headed south. We had one more roadside attraction to see before calling it a day and that was Bedrock City.

This place is a riot. BIG area made to look like all the places from The Flintstones. They have a big movie theater playing episodes so you hear the voices throughout. There is even a big brontosaurus that you can slide down its tail. Emily was beside herself and probably would have never left if we let her. We all had fun.

At 3:45 we rolled into the campground. I asked the pink haired girl checking us in if there was campfire rings in our site and she replied with, “of course” to which I just laughed and said “good thing.”

We ate dinner at the Kowboy Kafe which is a modern day chuck wagon (aka a food trailer). Dylan got a hot dog. Emily a steak. Laura and I split an order of loaded tots which was tatertots covered in pulled pork and cheese. We also ordered a brisket sandwich because we were told it wasn’t to be missed. It wasn’t that great so we just dumped the brisket on the tots too. It was a great meal out in the open air.

Dylan wanted to play a game of our new National Parks Monopoly that we bought, but we opted for a heated game of Phase 10 instead. Emily won.

The campground was showing Shrek tonight on an outdoor movie screen so the kids went and watched a little of that mixed in with the campfire.

It was a perfect last night on the road. The air is crisp and the fire is crackling. Peace is certainly here.

Tomorrow we have one more adventure and then on to Laura’s parents for a week with them.

This has been a great adventure!!!

I never thought I’d be sitting in an RV park behind a Quality Inn in Tuba City, Arizona writing a post on my ipad, drinking coffee with Laura and watching the sun rise.

But, here I am at the Trails End RV Park doing just that. Yesterday when we finally got here I was so tired that I decided to wait until this morning to write this.

9:14 am and we were on the road with a hop, skip and a jump up the street to Santa Fe.

We took in the Loretta Chapel, walked through numerous art galleries and shops and bought a tamale from a cart. We were just starting to look at the jewelry and other items that were for sale in a big row on blanket when I saw him.

Bill Worrell is an artist that I love. One of his 30’ tall guardian shaman statues in Sedona inspired my first tattoo and I’ve been a fan of his work ever since. I had to show the kids this one and surprise to me it was actually HIS gallery!!

I talked with the woman running it about the artist and the one piece of art of his I own. It was great to hear some stories about the inspiration for the style that I didn’t already know. We had a great chat and of course I loved seeing more of his work.

As I do, I captured the moment with a photo and posted it of the gallery. The girls were taking longer than the boys to look at the blankets covered in trinkets so I happened to check my Instagram comments and saw one from my friend Liz in Austin telling me of two restaurants that I had to check out if I had time. She grew up in NM so I trust her.

Turns out that one of them was a block away from where we were so we headed into The Shed for lunch.

Beautiful courtyard and then a series of Hobbit like doorways leading to different rooms. The gentleman sitting near us had a bright pink bowl of soup he was eating which we’d later find out was cold raspberry soup (it wasn’t bad).

We ordered variations of their chicken enchilada and taco plates. Dylan and I both appreciated the use of blue corn tortillas and Emily was glad she could get her flour options. I got mine “Christmas style” which is smothered in both green and red chilis. It was fantastic and the cup of green chili stew I had was outstanding (but not as good as the bowl Brad made me a few months back).

We knew we had another 5 hours until we’d reach The Four Corners so we set off back on the road at 12:29.

Heading north the views were beautiful. I84 and then 96 winds through some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. I might need to buy a plot of land in Coyote, NM because there is no one there and damn is it pretty. Everyone else was sound asleep, so I took a lot of it in on my own. Red rocks, then forests, then more rock and plains as far as you could see. Won’t forget that anytime soon!

After many bumps and less than optimal paving (which you really notice in a rented RV by the way) we entered Navajo Nation and then we reached the Four Corners Monument.

Dylan really wanted to see this and there is a point where Utay, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet. You can stand on the point and it is bigger than I thought it would be. Vendor stalls surround and it and sadly we got there so late the Navajo Taco stand was shut down.

The whole way there I kept hoping that it wasn’t closed because that would be a LOT of driving for nothing. Thankfully they are open until 8 if you are ever headed there.

Roadtrippers.com told us of a good family owned Navajo restaurant, but when we got there it was closed, so we discovered The Blue Coffee Pot which worked fine for dinner. Great little place and while I won’t recommend the burgers, it was a perfect stop.

Under the dark of night and the bright Arizona moon, we rolled into Tuba City, AZ and parked at 9:10. Or maybe it was 8:10. We are still not sure what time it is since Arizona plays by different rules and parts of the state we were in play by others. Very confusing, but I know it is morning so I’m up.

Today the kids are hoping to get to the campsite while it is still light out. The description said we could “kick back and enjoy a campfire” which is something we haven’t been able todo and Emily has already said she is going to yell at management if we don’t have a fire ring when we get there.

The plan is to grab breakfast at a restaurant here in town and then go to the Grand Canyon for the day. I’m excited to see it again and this time to share it with the kids.

Oh, and my tale of my camera lens surviving the fall yesterday was false. It is dead. Kills me because I loved that 16mm and it is what I had been shooting the whole trip with. Have to see if I can get it repaired. Thankfully I brought other lenses, but that would have been THE one for today :(

My coffee is starting to get luke warm which means it is time to end this. The kids are stirring so we’ll be rolling soon.