'My cup runneth over......'

6:46 am - Saturday - January 26th - Sun Valley, AZ - 18º F, 84% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the south by southwest....clear skies today with a forecast high of 51º F.  Ironically, in Flagstaff which is 2,000' higher in elevation it is 30º F this morning!

As Friday morning wore on more and more pictures began to appear on social media as family members began to arrive at the hospital to welcome Crosby Mark into the world....

Back row, right to left: Tim (father), Cynthia (grand daughter), Jennifer (Laila's mother), Rochelle (daughter-in-law), Chris (son) Front row, right to left: Crosby, Laila, Cathy (Laila's grand mother), Alexis (cousin of Laila)

 The happy, but exhausted parents and Crosby

......'My cup runneth over....'

We planned to roll our wheels a little later in the morning so we would not arrive at our destination too early in the day.  The Jello plan was for us to roll our wheels out of the Route 66 Casino RV Resort around 10 am, and then 'pay the rent' at the Route 66 Fuel Station at the entrance to the property.  Their CASH price for diesel was $2.71, and that is about the best we can expect for a while.  We took on just shy of 111 gallons for $300, and that will probably be the last time we fill up for a while as we are within 100 miles of our destination....Flagstaff.

We were merging back on I-40 around 10:30 am with clear blue skies from horizon to horizon, and no wind whatsoever......

......the driving was easy, and traffic was light.  We began gaining elevation almost immediately and eventually found ourselves crossing the Continental Divide for the last time in along time at just under 7,300'......

.....of course with the elevation gain we began to see snow on the ground, and I had to turn on our chassis heater to keep us warm.....

.....between us and our destination was the Petrified Forest National Park, emphasis on 'National'.   We had passed by this National Park several times over the years always telling ourselves we would stop 'next time'.  Well 'next time' was Friday.  Regretfully, the park was closed, except for the Visitors Center, due to the Federal government being shut down.  Nevertheless, we decided to stop and check out the Visitors Center, see the ubiquitous movie that is always offered at most National Parks, and then take a short 2.5 mile hike to the Painted Desert vista point.....

....the vista point was spectacular, and I wish we had been able to drive into, and through the park, but alas that will have to be 'next time'......

 Click on this pano to enlarge.....

 Hopi House

.....we arrived at the Visitors Center around 1:30 pm and did not leave until almost 3:30....our 2.5 mile round trip hike took us about an hour of that time.  We were only 17 miles east of our destination for the day, a Passport America park in Sun Valley, AZ (just east of Holbrook, AZ)......

......we chose site #2 which faces away from the Interstate and gave us a great, unobstructed view of the giant horizon....after I finished setting up for the night I sat down and just stared at the view......nothing like the high desert near sundown......

Old sign on premises...you can just make out the words....'GAS Sold Here'.....very cool!

.....my medical appointments in Flagstaff are on the 29th and 30th, so we will continue on to Winslow, AZ Saturday where we will hang out at lower elevations for a few days before heading up to frigid Flagstaff (4,300' elevation versus 7,200' elevation).

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.