Week 82 - Laughlin, Grand Canyon AZ - 03-09-2008

Grand Greetings from the Grand Canyon,

We left Burbank a little sore but excited to take our motel to Melissa at the Grand Canyon. On the way to the Grand Canyon we stopped by Laughlin, Nevada and Williams, Arizona. Then we were off to the Grand Canyon to meet Melissa. Leaving the Canyon we traveled via Route 66 to take a look at Arizona property that Ellen's Dad bought and left to Ellen and her siblings.

Laughlin is on the Colorado River. There are dozens of places to park your RV. Many are free dry camping areas and those with hookups cost only $20 to $30 dollars. We decided to pay $23 at the Avi Casino and Resort. We would have hookups and full use of their pool and spa. But on the way to Laughlin we saw a billboard showing rooms at the River Palms Hotel and Casino for $18.95! So we parked the RV next to the hotel and got a room. They also had $5.00 buffets and breakfast for $2.22.

1) The River Palms hotel on the Colorado. 2) These sites are dry camping right on the river. We'll try them next time.

At Williams, AZ, we stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV and Hotel. The RV sites were paved with a great laundry and the cleanest showers we have ever used. We enjoyed the indoor pool and spa. Air Temperature? 48 high with 22 in early morning. Elevation is about 6,000 feet.

On Friday we reached the canyon. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 4 to 18 miles across and a mile deep. The camera pictures do not do it justice. From the South Rim you can only see the river from a few vistas.

We met Melissa with her roommate Ashley and Ashley's lifelong friend Aurea. Here we are at the rim with other views of the Canyon and a few of the Elk.

The immensity of the Canyon can be seen in this photo of visitors at the South Rim.

Leaving the Canyon we headed toward Kingman, Arizona. We took an 82 mile detour to enjoy historic Route 66. 1) Restored Burma-Shave signs. 2) A 1958 Edsel sits next to a trading post. 3) One the many great Route 66 signs and 4) The Hackberry General Store.

For our younger readers, Burma Shave was one of the first brushless shaving creams. It was first introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company. Sales were slow until the owner Clinton Odell came up with the idea of sequential road signs with humorous messages. These signs lined the highways from America until 1963 when the company was sold to Phillip Morris. Pete and his family saw many of these signs as they traveled from Iowa to California to Minnesota to California in the late 50's.

Arriving at Kingman we searched for the family property. While we were told it was in Kingman, it really was 62 miles north near the town (village? roadside stop?) of Meadview. As all the roads were dirt except for Route 25, we did not take the motorhome to the property. It is probably somewhere in our photos.

Next week we are off to much warmer weather in Las Vegas and then Death Valley. The Valley will be in the 80's and we are told the wild flowers are in bloom.

May God bless your week,

Love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Mar 2008