Our RV Adventures

In yesterday’s blog I posed the question to our readers about what this bird is. When I first took the picture I thought it was a Great Blue Heron, mainly due to the size. He was pretty far away so I could only really see it in the tiny viewfinder.

However when I got back home, I had second thoughts about it. The bird didn’t look like the other Great Blues I had seen before, mostly at Galveston Bay RV Park in the Houston area where we spend the winter holidays.

I began to think maybe it was a crane of some sort, either a whooping crane, or a sandhill crane. But both of them have a red patch on the top of their heads. So I threw the question out to our readers.

And two of them came through, saying I was right the first time. Judy Bell of Travels with Emma (Jan’s favorite blog) and Ron Olsen said it was a Great Blue.

So I went back and looked at the approximately 20 photos I had taken of Great Blues in TX. And in doing so, I saw the problem. In all the photos I took, none of them showed the Heron with his neck extended like that. In fact the bird guides we have all show the Great Blues as shown below, and the cranes with their necks extended.

Anyway, now that that’s settled, back to this morning, which for me started about 10:30 with a big pot of hot coffee. Today’s flavor was Entenmann’s Ultimate Cinnamon Crumb Cake, one of our favorite flavors.

I was beginning to worry because we’re almost out, and I haven’t been able to find it since we left Houston. But I discovered Amazon sells it and I now have some on the way.

Our daughter Brandi called about noon, saying she was sending over some new photos of Master Landon for our viewing pleasure. She also send some videos of him at the park earlier in the day. I’ll get those posted on YouTube a little later.

Later Jan fix us a lunch from the leftover BBQ from Hog Wild BBQ a few days ago. Still really good.

About that time Nick came over to check in and to be sure I wasn’t getting into any trouble. That’s his main responsibility, and he hasn’t been doing a very good job of it lately.

Or maybe I’ve just gotten better at getting in trouble.

Later in the day Brandi sent over these pics of Landon showing off his new spring chapeau.

Around 5:30 Nick, Terry, Jan, and I headed out for dinner at La Fonda, a Mexican place right down the road from here on the way to Camp Verde. We had heard good things about this place and they were not wrong.

We all agreed this was as good as Sofia’s Mexican Food in Gila Bend.  Everything was seasoned perfectly, and our server, Missy, was excellent. She even brought out an extra sopapilla for Nick, even though his dinner did not come with one like ours did. We all said that this is one place we’ll go back before we leave.

After dinner we drove thru the nearby Western Horizons – Camp Verde park, where Nick and Terry have stayed before, just to get a look around. Nice park with a lot of trees, but maybe not as picturesque as our TT park.

Later in the evening after we got home, Nick brought over a large loaf of Miss Terry’s homemade bread, still warm from the oven.

I’m really looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

Later.

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Thought for the Day:

Sarcasm, just another of the many services I offer to the public.

sdfgs

After another frosty night with a low of 34 degrees, Jan warmed us up with some cheese toast made with the last of Miss Terry’s homemade bread, and the last of the blueberry muffins from our friend Gina Ellis.

What a great way to start the day!

Then about 10 we headed out on our daytrip to the Sedona area, but our first stop was right outside the Thousand Trails park at Bignotti Beach, an area of BLM land used by many boondockers and campers.

Not exactly sure where the ‘beach’ went, but there was a river with a river bank. And we did find this large bird. When viewed thru the tiny camera viewfinder, the size made me think it was a Great Blue Heron, but when I saw it at home I’m pretty sure it’s a crane of some kind. But whooping cranes are white with a red head, and sandhill cranes, although gray, also have a red head. So I’m stumped.

Can anyone say for sure?

Heading into Cottonwood, and then northeast out on 89A we started encountering some really spectacular scenery. And it just got better and better.

About half way there we pulled over in a scenic viewing area for a few minutes and got these shots.

Then a few minutes outside Sedona we turned onto Red Rock Loop Rd., a loop that took us out in the countryside before joining back with 89A closer in to Sedona. And the view got even better.

And what’s even more surprising is that there are homes out here, very, very expensive homes. Can you imagine looking out your living room window to these sights.

About half way around the loop, we stopped at another scenic pullover and got some great photos.

Here’s one of my sweetie, Jan.

And here’s another one of my sweetie with some old geezer that follows her around a lot. I think he’s a stalker, myself.

And here’s Nick and Terry, enjoying the view.

Cactus fruit

And this is the view coming into Sedona.

After driving around Sedona, about 12:30 we decided to have lunch at the Red Planet Diner.

Decorated with a space and aliens theme, the décor was striking, and the food was delicious.

We all had sandwiches, Jan’s was a Rueben, Terry had a Tuna Melt, Nick had a Hot Pastrami, and I had a Roswell Burger with green chilies, jalapenos, bacon and pepper jack cheese. Hmmmm, spicy! And all good.

After lunch, we parked in town and took in a few of the shops. The first thing I noticed was the Sedona mascots, a mother and baby javelina.

I only saw these two, but I’m sure there are more. In other towns on our travels, we’ve seen moose, bears, pelicans, mermaids, and dolphins, used as city mascots.

Though it’s hard to imagine, the view from downtown Sedona is just as spectacular as it is out in the countryside.

This is why Jan says there’s been a change in the rankings of the Top 5 Favorite Places she’s visited. Sedona is now on the list.

Of course when questioned, she admits there are at least 10 places on her Top 5 list, so I wouldn’t close the nominations too early.

We got home around 3 pm after a great day with good friends. Life couldn’t get any better.

More tomorrow.

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Thought for the Day:

I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.

dfgsf