I left the Grand Canyon and travelled south to an area of Arizona known as Camp Verde. It is near the Coconino National Forest and not to far from the town of Sedona. I stayed a few nights at a place with an electric hook up, laundry facilities and showers. After a long week in the canyon it was a nice luxury. It rained hard. I leaned poured down while I was there and there were warnings across Arizona about flash flooding. The area in this valley has a lot of greenery mixed in with foothill landscapes of reds, browns and rocky crusts. Very cool eye candy for my soul.

There was a reprieve from the rain on the third day and I took the opportunity to drive up to a town called Jerome about 40 miles north. Cool town, with a great character and vibe. There are many buildings (now occupied by businesses) that town legend claims to be haunted. I ate at a place called the Haunted Burger, which had great burgers but the only “ghosts” I experienced were the ones from my own past that occasionally come back to taunt. There was an amazing kaleidoscope shop there that was definitely the highlight of my visit. The town is located at the top of a mountain and from a distance at night, appears to sparkle in the sky like a cluster of stars. I will certainly be hitting this town again.

The day after Jerome I drove to Flagstaff to meet an acquaintance for dinner. While they call it a city it is really not much more than a spread out town. It too was very cool and I was finally able to get a good meal of Indian Cuisine, which I have been deprived of since starting my journey. Saag Paneer! Awesome!