Fall Road Trip 2023 - Prescott to Joshua Tree

It was raining when we left the hotel in Prescott in the morning, so we picked up groceries and had coffee. By this time, it had stopped raining but was still cloudy. The Highlands Center botanical garden/nature trail was nearby so we went for a walk before hitting the road. 

Cool sculpture on the side of one of the buildings at the Highlands Center 

Finally! Thanks to the rain, a bright jacket that adds a pop of color to my photos. :-) 

The road leaving Prescott is a very winding and scenic before it levels off towards Parker, on the Arizona/California border. Being near Lake Havasu on a weekend meant campgrounds were again a scarcity. We ended up at a “primitive” and “dispersed” camping area for the night which was actually ok as it was a large area for people to park and camp where they wanted, away from others. It was a warm evening, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset view. 

We continued to Joshua Tree the next day and went through another dust storm due to high winds. 

 

Thankfully we stopped at the visitor center before going into the park as we learned that all campsites must be reserved. We managed to get what seemed like the very last one available! 

 

We hiked a couple hours in the Twin Tanks area, mostly out of the wind, although it would be wrong to say we hiked on a trail. We had both downloaded offline maps but, after much frustration, we finally figured out there was no trail to follow. Basically, just pick a direction and head there. Andrew was very understanding of my “I-feel-like-crap-and-have-no-patience-for-ANYTHING” attitude during this time.

 

We did manage to find one of the tanks which was marked by big white boulders and had a bit of water in it, even at this time of year. 

Joshua trees are such funky shapes

One of the "tanks." Still some water in it, even at this dry time of year.

Large white boulders marked this tank.

At the "cholla garden"

Chollas as far as the eye can see. So much dust in the background from the high winds.

We got to Cottonwood campground and Andrew was thinking of going for a run before realizing that, with the time change, sunset was at 4:30 pm and he really didn’t want to be out there in the dark. 

 

The wind picked up throughout the evening to the point where several people, mostly in un-sturdy tents and vehicle roof top tents, packed up and left. We were very happy for the sleeping and eating setup in our van, but the wind was strong enough to keep it rocking back and forth all night.  

The next morning, we headed back north through the park and tried to stop for coffee at Joshua Tree townsite but everyone else had the same idea and the shops were packed with long lineups. We kept going and the wind finally let up during the day as we got closer to Bishop. 

Fall Road Trip 2023 - Sedona to Prescott

By the time we arrived in Sedona, I’d had enough of this hacking cough for the past two weeks and decided something had to be done about it. We stopped for coffee while I googled for a medi-clinic. There was one nearby with supposedly no one in line. Hmmm...I'm skeptical.  I called the insurance company and spent about 20 minutes on the phone to get a claim number. So many questions! 

Amazingly, I was the only one in the waiting room when we got to the medi-clinc and, including time needed to fill out forms, I was in and out in 50 minutes. Diagnosed with acute bronchitis (the doctor said he could hear me coughing from across the clinic!) and given a handful of prescriptions. A stop at Safeway to fill them and, fingers crossed, feeling better in about 5 days. 

 

Canadians always seem to be bragging about what a great medical system we have but I know that in BC I wouldn’t have been able to get into a medi-clinic without an appointment days/weeks in advance and it would have taken at least a day or more to get a tele-health appointment. So I was pretty happy with how this all went. And yes, I fully realized I’m speaking from a perspective of great privilege. 

Nice sculpture near the medi-clinic.

Anyway, all this was settled by midafternoon and we went for a short hike on Lower Chimney Rock loop trail. With me being sick, all our hikes have been relatively short and not too much elevation involved. But wherever you are, the views around Sedona never seem to disappoint. I love the shapes and colors of the rocks. 

We found a really nice hotel, Los Abrigados Resort and Spa, for a great last-minute deal, browsed the nearby shops in an artsy district called Tlaquepaque, and had supper at a fancy restaurant called Rene. 

Tiramisu in a clay flower pot

The next day we hiked the Broken Arrow Trail via Hog Wash and got almost to Chicken Point when we saw a pink jeep tour ahead of us. Definitely not our style so we turned back early. It was a nice loop, and we really didn’t see too many other people until we got closer to the end. 

We also stopped for a short walk at Sedona Wetlands Preserve before having a very late lunch and wine tasting at Paige Springs Cellars. Very nice! 

Wine tasting and lunch at Paige Springs Cellars

We decided we had enough time left in the day to get to Prescott and find a campground before dark. The route goes through the old historic mining town of Jerome which is basically built into the hillside with one main road going through it. We decided to stop and pick up coffee which took forever! 

Sun setting as we leave the town of Jerome

This put us arriving in Prescott after dark, frustratingly couldn’t find a campground that had space and was open. But we lucked out by again getting a last-minute deal at the very nice Forest Villas Hotel. We spent the evening having a glass of wine in the very comfortable lobby and continued the never-ending process of trying to catch up on photos and blog posts! 

Fall Road Trip 2023 - Boyce Thompson Arboretum

By the time we got to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, Arizona, I thought I'd already seen all the different kinds of cactus there could possibly be. I was wrong! 

The Boyce Thompson is the oldest and largest in Arizona. The grand opening was in 1929. 

To me, the thing that distinguishes it from the other places we've been to on this trip is that rather than focusing solely on the Arizona desert, it has sections highlighting desert plants from various parts of the world (Australia, South Africa, Baja, etc.)

They also had several "demonstration" areas set up that provided some really great ideas for low-water usage and shade gardens. 

A little blurry but this hummingbird was moving fast!

 

There was also a small rose garden with lots of pretty colours.

We tried to get a photo of this cardinal but this is best I got! LOL! 
Cooperative, he was not!

Such odd shapes!