April 1, 2015

Cottonwood

We’re ‘camped’ here in Cottonwood, AZ which is only about 45 miles away from Prescott. It was a very hairy ride … more VERY winding and steep roads (Hwy #89A) … at one point our brakes were smoking and we had to pull over to let them cool down!

Highway 89A to Jerome & Cottonwood

We passed through a town called Jerome which we’d been told was worth a stop. It’s an amazing little (almost) ghost town perched on the side of a hill. Very cool … lots of little shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, it’s so small with such small and narrow roads and very limited parking, we couldn’t fit the RV anywhere. So we’ll have to come back with the car.

And unfortunately again, we’ve run into some difficulty with finding places to camp.  We’re smack in the middle of Spring break AND it’s coming on to Easter weekend! We never book ahead as we generally don’t know where we’re going or what we want to do until we do it … and generally it all works out ok. But I guess we’re closer to large cities now and the campgrounds are full! We managed to squeak into one place in Cottonwood – in basically their gravel lot next to the campground. No services … but hey … it’s only $10/night!

Camp at cottonwood

Not so ‘luxury’ campsite at Cottonwood!

We unhooked the car and took off back to Jerome, only to find that in the afternoon it’s even Crazier busy than when we first went through! We couldn’t even find a spot to park the car! So back to Cottonwood and we’ll try again bright and early tomorrow morning.

The Blazin’ M Ranch

We spent the evening at the ‘Blazin’ M Ranch’ which is a cowboy dinner and show just outside of town.

Blazin M Ranch

Blazin M Ranch – Pre-dinner refreshment!

Blazin M Ranch – Really enjoying the dinner and show!

There’s ‘cowboy grub’, incredible ribs, chicken, beans, prickly pear coleslaw and dessert, and a great show of music and fun entertainment. Very similar to the Flying W Ranch for all you familiar with Colorado Springs! The final piece of the show was ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’, replete with lightning, thunder and a ghost rider on a horse racing past the windows!  A good night was had! Well worth a look!

Cowboy Grub!

The entertainment!

We’ve opted to spend a few more nights here in Cottonwood and hope by Monday things will get a bit better camping wise. We’re off to Sedona in the morning for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants – L’Auberge at Oak Creek. Very pleasant!