On The Road--Doc Gets His Kicks on Route 66

Doc's Viewpoint

     The time has come to bid Dell, Pat, Keo and Kacy a sad goodbye.Our bags are packed with clean laundry, courtesy Pat's very cool steam washer and dryer, and we are back on the highway again.If you missed our last post about visiting Dell, you can catch up:Doc Encounters Poop, Pool and a Physician

 Our destination is a KOA campground  just outside of Williams, Arizona. What looks to be a 3-hour drive takes longer because of the mountainous terrain. And what a difference that 3+ hours makes. We are leaving 109 degree temperatures in Mesa but recorded a chilly 33 degrees on our last night in Williams.

     Russell's RV is chugging up the hills behind us and we are enjoying the panoramic views around us. They are lovely and remind us of some places in Colorado, but a hazy sky tops most of the mountains, a smoky reminder that several wildfires are still raging across other parts of Arizona.

     We arrive at the KOA just before closing time and check in. My family rents a small one room-cabin, while the RV parking sites are a short walk on the other side of the campground. We settle into the 4-person cabin and try out the front porch swing.  Now, I know I'm getting old when I found the most exciting part of our accommodations was the close proximity of the bathrooms. They are only a few steps away from our front door! But the great part is that each door contains a private shower, sink and toilet. At the end of the building is a small laundry room. There are at least 3 more of these heavenly bathroom buildings at the front of the campground, so we have this one mostly to ourselves. Hooray!!!!

Our kozy cabin as KOA calls them.

"Heavenly" bathrooms with private shower

       On a sad note,  poor Doc is hit by a falling suitcase and takes another tumble inside the cabin. We turn just in time to see two dismembered legs go skidding across the wooden planks of the floor. I fish them out from under the beds and pick up the legless little guy. I can almost hear his disgusted tone: "Really, again? Can't you humans be more careful? Don't you know I have more dutch oven camping contests in my future? Sheesh!" Fighting a guilty conscience, I reach for the glue again and slowly put the"diva" gnome back together.

     The next day we have a bit of time to kill, since we are waiting the arrival of  Delayne, Duane and Stefanie, who are flying in to meet us, so we can all tour the Grand Canyon together. We decide to explore the town of Williams which is situated along the Historic Route 66. And nearly every souvenir in town has that slogan proudly written on it. The town caters to tourists and although the main drag is roughly one mile long, there are 27 hotels accessible from this street. Yes, Doc counted them just to be sure!!! The reason for so many hotels is because Williams is the home base of the train yard for the Grand Canyon Railway,  which offers daily scenic trips to the Grand Canyon. Click here for more information on this charming town : Williams, Arizona

Russell and Diana visit with Elvis in Williams

        Several souvenir shops line the main street and are housed in historic, old-west, themed buildings and so we, of course have to explore each one. Doc insists we lunch  at the Pine Country Restaurant because he saw the "Homemade Pies" sign in the window. For once, we are so glad we listened to him.

At the Pine Country Restaurant. Doc is sunning in the window behind me.

    The pies are so beautiful I had to take pictures of them all. Then of course we indulged. Not once. . . But TWICE! We actually came back to the restaurant after Delayne, Duane and Stefanie arrived and tried different varieties. I think you can understand why, when you see the mouth-watering pictures.

Yummmmmm!!!!!!! As good as they looked!

       Late that night, the rest of our family arrives at the campground and the RV is now home to 5 people, who cannot use the toilet or shower inside the RV. Why? Although the black-water tank has been emptied, Russell has waited nearly two days for the darn thing to stop dripping so he can apply the costly "magic" tape. After some sleuthing, Darell and Russ realize that the water from the kitchen sink must also be filtering into the tank causing the never-ending drips. Hand washing is now banned in the RV until further notice.

     Doc says it is a good thing we are going to tour the Grand Canyon the next day. Not only will that give the tank time to stop dripping, but we all NEED to walk off those calories from those sinful pies! 

Writer's Reflections:

     A bit different this time. If you've enjoyed Doc's series of adventures, it would mean a lot to count you among the followers of my blog. I'd like to be published someday and among an agent's considerations  before taking on a writer is their blog site and the number of followers they have.I'd love to count you among mine.It only takes a minute to register and afterward you won't be notified of future posts or bothered on your email or Facebook.

     Click on the "Join this site" tab in the right margin under "Followers". Most folks choose the Google-connect option. Thanks for taking the time to do this, it means a lot to me.   

Coming up: Doc Finally Goes to the Grand Canyon.