Exploring Arizona - "Standing on the Corner" in Winslow, AZ - Homolovi State Park & Hopi Ancient Pueblo Ruins - The Grand Canyon

Winslow Arizona - "Take it easy"

You've all heard the song "Take it Easy" by the Eagles. Martha and I were near Winslow while staying at Homolovi State Park.  We were within three miles of Winslow, Arizona so we had to go and "stand on the corner" didn't we?

(Homolovi State Park Camping Review follows the Homolovi section of this blog entry)

Mural on one of the downtown buildings  - "The Mail Order Bride"

Homolovi State Park - Winslow, Arizona

(Our campground rating is at the bottom of this section)

Homolovi State Park is home to some ancient and very important Hopi Indian pueblo ruins. The word "Homolovi" means "Little Hills" in the Hopi language. The park protects 300 ancient Hopi Pueblo ruins. 

There were other settlers in the Homolovi area

The area is quite desolate. The Little Colorado River is dry but we were told there was water available within eight inches of the surface.

Pottery Shards found and displayed near some of the ruins. 

Homolovi State Park, Arizona  - RATING - 3.5/5

WIFI - No

AT&T - Yes, Three bars but very laggy

VERIZON - Yes, five bars and fast

COST - $30 Nightly, 20/30/50 AMPS, Water, No sewer, Dump and trash in the park near the dump station

DISCOUNTS - None for out of staters

SERVICES - See Cost

REVIEW - Paved sites. You need to get close to the power pedestal and water when in a pull through site. Both are a good distance from the center of the sites. Very quiet, Site 20 is mostly level for shorter RV's, We needed to back up onto three 2X12's to get level with our 40' RV, Some pull thru's will accommodate 80' RV and toads/trailers.  Winslow, AZ is just minutes away so make sure you ger your photo with the girl in the Flat Bed Ford.

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon

Teddy Roosevelt said of the Grand Canyon "In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it." On January 11, 1908 he made the Grand Canyon a National Monument.

The following needs no narration. The photos will speak volumes.

(We stayed at "Grand Canyon Camper Village". Rating after this section)

An Elk living life on the edge of the canyon. She wanted the leaves from this tree and fifteen or so people taking her photo didn't stop her. 

Grand Canyon Camper Village - RATING - 2/5

WIFI - Yes but spotty and slow

AT&T - No, no bars

VERIZON - Yes, two bars but wavered in and out. Virtually useless, don't plan on working on line, its not going to happen.

COST - $55 nightly + tax

SERVICES - 20/30/50 Amps, Water, Sewer, pull in or back in sites, picnic tables, fire rings. restrooms, showers, laundry.

REVIEW - Save your money! Go somewhere else. Packed in like sardines (if you have a large coach), The sites were long enough to leave our tow dolly hooked up but VERY narrow. They make you place your BIG rig head in because of utility placement. Virtually a thinly graveled parking lot with a lot of bare spots. We had very fine dust throughout our site with almost no gravel. Had it rained it would have been one heck of a mess. Check in was easy as the attendant didn't really want to talk anyway.  On the plus side there is a pizza joint, steak house, general store and Starbucks within very easy walking distance. My advice is stay away unless you are just planning an overnight stay. It is a really awful place, the restrooms were dirty and stinky. Everything is run down and used hard.  Just sayin

Exploring Santa Fe - Meow Wolf - What An Experience

Meow Wolf

What does that heading even mean? Meow Wolf can't be explained easily. It can't be described easily. So what is it like?

For me it is an immersive mixture interactive performance art similar to Alex Jordans "House on the Rock" in Spring Green Wisconsin and and Rod Serlings "Twilight Zone" sprinkled with a dash of mystery and then ad in some pop art and a wee bit of carnival sideshow. Yeah I know. This is one of those things that you need to experience first hand.

You can purchase 3D glasses where you pay your entrance fee. Get them it's worth it.

You get to crawl under and over things while there so wear comfortable clothing. 

You also get to walk into a refrigerator

Give "Meow Wolf" a visit, it's a very unique and strange place.

Exploring - Tent Rock National Monument (Photo Rich)

Exploring New Mexico

Tent Rock National Monument  - Pueblo Cochiti, New Mexico

These rocks are known by the Native American people of the area as 

Kasha-Kutawe (Cosh-a  Kuta- way) Tent Rocks.  They are a geologic wonder.

We are staying at Cochiti Lake in Pena Blanca, NM.  Our campground rating is shown below after this blog entry.

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is (Cost information in the link) located over a mile above sea level on the Pajarito Plateau about an hour’s drive north of Albuquerque. The park is littered with rock shapes known as Hoodoos. Hoodoos, otherwise known as tent rocks are unique structures. In Kasha-Katuwe’s case, they started forming more than six million years ago when volcanoes in the Jemez Mountains began to rip themselves apart in extended series of eruptions that covered the region with almost a thousand feet of ash and pumice. In time, this volcanic debris compacted and hardened, and was eventually topped with a deposit of sandstone.

Through time, the tougher sandstone cap resisted erosion, but the softer layers of volcano rock below were slowly sculpted by the whims of wind and water, resulting in the odd, amazing cones that now occupy Kasha-Katuwe. The hoodoos, some almost 100 feet in height, curve, twist and contort their ways skyward, forming pillars that are fascinating to see. .

There are two walking trails at the monument. One is called the "Cave Loop" and the other one is an out and back trail that is called the "Slot Canyon" hike. The latter has a vertical rise of just over 600'.

We hiked the Cave Loop and it was beautiful.

Some of the views are "other worldly."

I hope you enjoyed our tour of the Tent Rocks. Please, if you'd like to comment please use the link at the bottom of the page.  

We are staying at Cochiti Lake in Pena Blanca, NM.  Our campground rating follows.

Cochiti Lake - C.O.E. Campground - 4/5

WIFI - No
AT&T - Yes, 2-3 bars and very slow
VERIZON - Yes, 4-5 bars and stable
SERVICES - 20/30/50 Amp plus improved boondocking sites

DISCOUNTS - Yes, All Access and Golden Access Pass rates for us $10 nightly with water available (across the road) and 50 AMP electric

REVIEW -  Pro's - The first (lowest loop) is boondocking and has water available. The next two loops have water and power. These loops almost brand new with nice bath house. Each site in the second two loops have it's own  casita and picnic table and power and water in those loops is at every site is at every campsite along with power. with level and mostly level sites.

Pick your site carefully to insure your rig will fit. We were on site 15 in the Juniper Loop. This area has not been renovated, the toilet/shower is not working but we drove to the other shower houses to shower each day so big deal.


Con's - Dog waste pick up stations don't have bags (there is a place for them) just a waste receptacle. Check in is a mystery, no attendants at the check in office with signs saying "Off Duty." The same applies to the visitors center, nobody home. How do you deal with it? Register online, pay online and come in and go to your site. The site placards are updated daily so if you have registered you will have a tag on your site with your name on it.


Thanks