After getting everything inside put away and the slideouts closed we finally left the RV Park at 10:40 am. We took I-17 North toward Flagstaff, AZ. As we were leaving Phoenix the temperature hit 94 degrees and the forecast called for high 104 degrees in the afternoon.
All ready for the road trip!
At that time we had not decided where our next destination will be, play it by eye (deaf's way) as we motored along.
Erwin mentioned that he felt good to be driving our Lil' Home (LH) again, since it had been parked in one place for 5 months.
We pulled into McGuireville rest area, about 45 miles north of Flagstaff, to fix our lunches. While I was preparing lunches Erwin made calls to several campgrounds in Page, AZ (our next destination at that time), but none of them had sites available. Then, at that point, we decided to check with one campground in Flagstaff, AZ and there was few sites available. So, we said Flagstaff is where we stop next.
We arrived Flagstaff, AZ around 2 pm, checked into Woody Mountain Campground and RV Park on Route 66, few miles west of the town. The office assigned us to a pull-through site #11 with full hookups and it was $48 per night (after taxes). It is more than we are willing to spend, but that is okay for now.
San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff as seen from I-17 N
After getting the LH set up we went out to check some attractions in town. I wanted to visit historic Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel on W Cherry St and Lowell Observatory. More than 3 blocks of roads by the Chapel were closed, so we had to find a different route, managed to find a street half a block away and parked the car.
Much to our disappointment, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel was closed. The Chapel has 16 gargoyles; however, a few of them were damaged. There is a Rose window and a bell tower. The exterior of the building is pink because of the color of the stones that were used.
Lowell Observatory was built in 1894 by Percival Lowell, an astronomer. The admission fee for Seniors (60+) is $14 per person. We were given a map of the compound and a list of schedules. Because we got here around 3:30 pm we took a brief tour. There is a telescope viewing near the Rotunda Museum, and we got a chance to see Venus, one of the planets in the universe. We spent about an hour or so before heading back to the campground for supper.
This is what the sun looked like through the telescope!
Stop and smell the lilacs!
On our way down from the Observatory we pulled over to the overlook that offers people a panoramic view of Flagstaff and the mountains.
View of Flagstaff
After supper we went back to the Lowell Observatory for evening presentations and viewings. We went first to the Rotunda Museum where there was a virtual tour of the Solar System. It lasted about 45 minutes. The next virtual tour was about the stars and galaxies and Erwin wanted to stay and I did not.
Venus
I walked over to Clark Telescope Dome, the oldest standing building here. It was built in 1896, has a 24" Refractor telescope and is now used exclusively for public education. There I took a look through the telescope at one of the star clusters.
Not too far from the Dome there is a mausoleum that Percival's wife, Constance, designed after his untimely death. Because it was already dark it was hard to see inside and the flashlight from my iPhone did not help much.
After the stars and galaxies virtual tour was over I led Erwin to the Dome, so he can get a chance to see the star clusters.
The stars were everywhere and we could clearly see Jupiter. It was around 10 pm when we finally left the Observatory. ~~Edith
Miles driven: 148 from Phoenix to Flagstaff
Campground: Woody Mountain Campground and RV Park in Flagstaff
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