Arlene's Maiden Voyage

As I mentioned on the blog last week, we recently acquired a travel trailer and named her Arlene.  A few weeks after sealing the deal (and ordering around $8 million of RV-related products from Amazon and Wal-Mart), we were ready to take her on her maiden voyage - up north to Flagstaff!

I'm wearing LONG PANTS!

HOORAY!

After researching potential campsites on Campendium.com (a good site for all sorts of camping), we picked Greer's Pine Shadows as our RV park of choice; it was in a quiet area of town, had lots of trees for shade and rain cover, and it offered a back gate that opened onto the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) area nearby, for easy hiking access (Greer's was also cheaper and more available than the KOA and didn't care that we weren't 55+, which was the issue at the third park in the area).

We both took Wednesday-Friday off, and on Wednesday, we headed out to Always RV so they could finish the hitch installation, including the sway bars and whatnot.  Dave, their Service Manager, even offered to take us on a drive in our setup, so we could see the proper way to operate things; seriously, these folks are awesome!

All hooked up and ready to go!

We (read: Chris - I gave moral support and helped check the passenger side mirrors every now and then) started the first drive home, stopping en route at a gigantic, empty church parking lot to practice backing up, turning, and so on.  Eventually, we made it home without issue and parked the rig out front.  We didn't do much else with it on Wednesday afternoon, as it was around 115 outside, and we can't run the AC on 15 amp shore power; it was back into the house AC for us!

The next morning, we bundled the kids off to doggie daycare, where they'd be staying for the next few nights, and plugged in the trailer, so the fridge could cool down (so far, we haven't had to run our propane tank while we're driving, which makes me happy; if you chill the fridge down prior to leaving, it essentially acts as a big cooler, and you can plug in again when you reach your destination).  We finished packing everything away, putting sheets on the bed, etc, and eventually, it was time to hit the road!

We made it to Flagstaff in right around three hours, taking a quick break at the Sunset Point Rest Area about an hour north of home, just to check and ensure everything was okay.  Pulling in to Greer's around 2:30, we met Bob, the manager on site, and he directed us to our spot.  Thankfully for us the first time, it was a pull-through slot, so Chris didn't have to try any super crazy maneuvers on our first trip out (he did have to do one more go-around of the RV park to get things settled properly, but I would likely still be there right now, slowly creeping forward and backward, attempting to reach the hook-up pole).

After taking some time to work through our setup checklist (what?  Don't you have a checklist?  Is yours laminated?  Ours is), we hooked up water and power, leveled the camper all the ways it needs to be leveled, and secured the stinky slinky.

Stinky slinky, deployed!

Nearby rocks, temporarily pilfered!

One of the reasons we chose Flagstaff for our maiden voyage was because it was just far enough away for us to get a feel for driving and living in the trailer, but it was close enough that if we royally screwed something up, friends could be there within two hours or so to rescue us.  We also chose it as Flag is one of our favorite local hangouts with awesome restaurants and breweries, and the fact that the highest high temperature the entire time we were there was 85 degrees didn't hurt.

Checking in with class from the dinette

While we'd brought food for the rest of our time there, we figured we should grab some takeout in town for dinner our first night, so after securing the rig, we drove to downtown Flag, stopping first at Historic Brewing for some delicious beer.  We then proceeded to Dark Sky Brewing, which makes amazing brews; it also now happens to have a location of local chain Pizzicleta inside the brewery, so we also grabbed a pizza and salad.  

Back at Greer's,

enjoying our delicious dinner!

After dinner, we chilled outside for a bit, enjoying more local craft offerings and the lovely weather, and we eventually retired for the evening.

Stairs down, awning out, mat unfolded,

citronella candle lit!

It wasn't crazy cold,
but I took advantage of the opportunity to wear longer clothes again.

The next morning, a Friday, we woke up to the wind whistling through the pines, and once we rolled out of bed, we started making coffee/chai and firing up the camp stove for breakfast (we actually haven't tried cooking in the trailer itself yet - the weather was totally fine on this trip for us to use our outside setup - and we didn't want to stink up our living area unnecessarily).  

One thing I didn't initially notice about the bathroom

is that the door has a small gap at the top and bottom.

It's strange at first, but it helps dissipate moisture (what's that?),

and it makes kicking your dirty clothes out of the bathroom really easy.

It also provides countless minutes of entertainment for me,

who enjoys taking pictures of Chris' toes

and sending them to him via text, being like, I SEE YOU.

After breakfast, we headed out for some local sightseeing, to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument.  Both monuments are just up the road a bit from Flag (about 30-45 minutes), and they're joined together by a 20-mile road that meanders between the two parks.  Admission is normally $25, but it was free while we were there, due to the park rangers not wanting to get COVID by collecting everyone's gnarly money.  The park ranger on duty offered us a map, and when I accepted, he put one in a basket that was attached to a broom stick, and socially distanced it across the gap to the car window (if you have the opportunity, please make a donation to your local, state, and national parks - they need it right now).

I've been to Sunset Crater twice before: once with Mom and Jim back on our very first trip to Arizona maaaaaany years ago, and once with Chris and our friends from college, Roxanne and Eric, when they came out to visit us, pre-kids.  That most recent trip was at least 12-13 years ago, so it had been a minute; however, the Crater was just like I remembered it - really impressive, tons of neat colors, and interesting formations caused by the lava flow when the Crater exploded.

I kept meaning to ask a ranger how old

the oldest trees are in this area - 

the volcano exploded around 1000 AD,

and I wonder how long it took for trees to start growing again.

Lots of "no sledding" signs in this area - 

it really does look like a good place to do so,

except that all of this is lava rock.

Good for exfoliation.

Lots of neato scenery around here.

If you haven't visited Sunset Crater yet,

it really needs to be on your list.

After finishing up at Sunset, we proceeded on our drive to Wupatki, where you can visit several ancient pueblos.  You can even walk through a few of them, which is super neat.

Wukoki Pueblo - 

this one is a bit further off the beaten path,

but it's worth it.

It's not as crowded as the one at the Visitor Center,

and it's really cool.

We were by ourselves
(with an appropriately, socially distanced, Ranger),
but when a tour group wandered up,

we donned our ever-present masks.

Looking from inside one of the rooms in the pueblo

After visiting Wukoki, we decided it was time for lunch, so we found ourselves a picnic area and settled in to enjoy the chicken salad pitas we made at home and assembled earlier in the RV.  We finished our drive and headed back to Flag proper, stopping once again in downtown at Hops on Birch, a local bottle shop, for some more delicious drink options.  

Back at the camper, it was time for a shower and a nap, and we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening hanging around, enjoying the light rain and lovely temperatures.

Enjoying a La Cumbre hefe - 

they're a great New Mexico brewery

As you've probably seen in the news,

the entire state of Arizona has been on fire recently,

so campfires were strictly off limits.

We made S'Mores in these foil packets instead -

the one on the right looks like a bird!

Or at least, it did after a few beers at elevation.

Overall, the bugs weren't too bad,

but when we turned on our outside lights,

these giant moths came over to hang out.

One somehow found his way inside and landed on Chris

after he'd fallen asleep that night.

That was exciting.

Saturday morning rolled around and we made coffee/chai again, then took advantage of our easy access to the BLM area to go for a short hike right out of Greer's back gate.  Upon making it back, it was time for breakfast (breakfast sandwiches on the propane camp stove), and then we cleaned everything up, securing it all for the drive back home.  We pulled out of Greer's just after 10am, so we were home by 1, in time to unpack and take showers and naps before reclaiming our maniacs at the daycare.  

Happy to be home with her Dad!

Sacked out puppers

On Sunday, we finished cleaning out just a few things, and Chris took the trailer back to Always RV to put it in storage for our next adventure, currently scheduled for mid-August.  Before he did, though, we had to mark our rite of passage the proper way:

One state down, 49 to go!

Later!

Amy