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Thursday, July 31, 2014

A little trip

Hubby and I scheduled a week-end getaway and even though we had been to two of the places before it was still enjoyable. We headed up to Flagstaff and as is our tradition, we stopped at the Cliff Castle Casino for a "Johnny Rockets" hamburger. He tempts me with this so he can get in a little gambling on the way:) If you have followed my blog you know that I am a loser when it comes to gambling and hubby usual wins enough to cover me and himself so you can imagine how proud I was to find him and show him my ticket of winning $100.00 on a penny machine!!
 
 
Well he just smiled and showed me this and he had already won back all that he had put in so only Uncle Sam and tithe will come out.



We headed on up to the Twin Arrows Casino where we have stayed before (posted about it here) and was thrilled that it rained while we were there. Only problem, we couldn't open our window up on the top floor :(
It is a great place to stay and don't you love the mountain views...
 














If you look close you can see the train cars

 
Here are few things that caught my eye ....a metal Kachina
 
 
 
 Check out the cougar...
 
After a nice dinner and breakfast the next morning we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I am a Native of Arizona and have been to the Canyon a few times but always on the south side as it is not as convenient or fast to travel to the north side.
 
  

 
 
 
Along the way is desolate land (our gift to the natives)but we kept headed towards the star:)


 How cool is that!
 
 
We saw this old restaurant/hotel called Lee's Ferry Lodge at the Vermillion Cliffs (can read about it on the link)
 
 
 
 
love the old rock work!
 
Decided it was a good place to stop for lunch. Was not disappointed, it was quaint and had good food however our first look at the waitress almost sent us running. I can only say that she looked just like a very tall, heavy man (baggy pants and a man's shirt) with a very long face and long hair but she ended up being not only a good server but funny too.
 
Don't you love the sign for the men's room?
 
 
 the locals eating here is a good sign. 
 
The road was curvy and continued up to the higher elevation until at last...green meadows and trees.
Now here is question for you.....How is a natural meadow created? Just look at that, it is as if someone drew a line and said "trees can grow here".
 
There were some areas that perhaps there was a reason due to the buffalo roaming.
The local story is that "Buffalo Jones" had these buffalo but they wouldn't stay in the area he had so he sold them to the state where they now roam.
 
As we made our way up we also went through miles and miles of burned out area due to a forest fire in 2012 

 such devastation.
 
 
We finally arrived at the entrance to the park...
 and was pleasantly surprised that since we are "Seniors" we not only didn't have to pay the $25.00 per car fee but rather paid $10.00 for a card that would let us and anyone in our car to enter any park in the U.S. free! How about that!
(to be cont.)
 
 

6 comments:

Nancy said...

Ah yes, the Golden Eagle Pass is a great thing. As long as the card carrier is in the vehicle, there is NO charge.

I love the restaurant/bar. It is always great to find a place where the locals eat.

Sure wish I had your husband's luck!

Dana said...

What beautiful views! That cloud picture is amazing!

Granny Annie said...

You not only had financial winnings, you had travel winnings. Beautiful sites and a get-in-free card for everywhere:) I have some casino winnings but if I were to add up every $20 I play when I go, the losses would far outweigh the wins.

Linda said...

I ALWAYS enjoy my trips with you guys - by way of the blog!!! Granted, I don't get to TASTE all the delicious food and hear the sounds of nature and actually smell the sweet fragrance of the places you visit!! BUT what I DO get to do is sit and look at all the pics and feel like I've actually TRAVELED a ways in this armchair I'm sitting in!!!

Far Side of Fifty said...

I would crop that one photo with the SS Number...just to be safe. Great winnings! That part of Arizona is so beautiful:)

Changes in the wind said...

Far side of fifty...thanks for the heads up...I didn't even notice it.