Jerome, AZ - Old Western Mining Town

Yesterday we went to Jerome...a half hour day trip drive from Sedona. Jerome is an old mining town built on the side of a mountain...you need to be a billy goat to walk around there! Once we walked around Jerome and looked in some of the amazing galleries and shops, we drove out to the mining ghost town. They had a functioning steam saw mill and this donkey took a particular liking to the kids. Amy thought it was cruel to have the donkey tied up right beside the loud mill with only a few feet of space to move about. I'm pretty sure they let him out to wander about once the tourists are gone for the day.

We thought this was a great photo....ever since Braden got his braces off and had to have some laser surgery on his gums, he has had an aversion to going to the dentist. This dentist promised to be pain free! Inside was the original price list for services. You could get a gold tooth for 75 cents! Take special note of the tooth and drill on the outside of the building :-)
This church was built into the side of the mountain by a daughter in honor of her mom and dad. It is a catholic church and was neat to look at. The view out the front window behind the cross was spectacular. Even more spectacular than the church itself...which was a good reminder that God isn't contained in a building...he's everywhere and His handiwork far surpasses anything that man can do.

Slide Rock State Park, AZ

We spent a couple afternoons at Slide Rock park. You can't truly see from this photo, but there are natural water slides through the rocks that end in these big pools of water. Then, if you're not done having fun sliding, you can climb up on these small cliffs and jump in. The water was very chilly...45 degrees Fahrenheit and it was only about 70 degrees outside...but, being good Canadians, we put on our wet suits and jumped in for some fun anyway!

Except Braden...he thought he could do it without a wet suit...which only lasted for one slide...and then he changed his mind!!

Mike and Braden going out for a great ride on Templeton Trail.

Sedona, Arizona

On Monday, April 19 we arrived in Sedona. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were amazed at the gorgeous scenery here! Mike loves the fabulous mountain biking and our campground has been really enjoyable. The kids have had a lot of fun playing tether ball and ladder golf. I have enjoyed all the peace and quiet in this small campground and listening to Oak Creek as it trickles close by our site.

The boulevards are all made of crushed red rock...even the sidewalks are red here!

We went to Montezuma's Castle National Park. This is a photo of a diorama of the cliff house that has been preserved as seen in the following photo.

Amy and I decided we are thankful that we don't have to climb all those ladders to get home each day.

Willow Lake RV Park

The RV park that we stayed at in Prescott (like Biscuit...not like Scott) was right on the edge of these amazing granite rock formations. We had lots of fun climbing all over the "slick rock" which wasn't slick at all...in fact, it was quite grippy. We saw lots of little geckos and the boys even saw some snakes. God knew Amy and I didn't need to see snakes :-)
Willow Lake is in the background. The kids and I had fun biking along the shores of the lake the morning of Mike's race.
King and Queen of the castle!

This rock was perched precariously and looked like it could roll down the cliff at any moment. The kids had fun "holding" it up!

Prescott, Arizona - The Whiskey 50 Bike Race

Mike finished a 50 mile race on Saturday in under six hours. He has been training for the BC bike race which will take place a the end of our vacation. That race will take seven days, be over 550 km and 40,000 feet of vertical on single track off road trails. This race was just a little "reality-check" for Mike in his training. He wanted to do one race along the way so that he would know how his training has been going. He was happy with his endurance and now wants to work on his speed. We were proud of how well he did...and happy we didn't have to ride 50 miles in the heat and dust!!!

Oatman

Oatman in an original gold mining western town that has been preserved in the original buildings from the turn of the century. They still have the original wooden side walks, the hotel, the saloon, etc. Each day they hold re-enactment gun fights and block the Route 66 Highway that runs through main street.
The Boat Run in Lake Havasu also had the Harley Run happening along with it. There were thousands of Harley bikes and riders along the roads and at least a hundred of them were in Oatman when we were there.
One of the cowboys who robbed the bank.
But the sherriff got him....
And this is how he ended up!!!

Route 66

One of the days that we were in Lake Havasu we took historic route 66 to Oatman, AZ. It was a beautiful drive. These tall cactus plants were in full bloom and were beautiful.