Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1, 2024 (Verde Valley Fairgrounds, Cottonwood, AZ)

We pulled out of Goulding's RV Resort just before 10:00...it was a cool but mainly sunny morning. We headed back to highway 163 and continued south. A final picture of Monument Valley...

Some pictures along the way...

An interesting rock formation...The Elephant’s Feet are on the Navajo Nation adjacent to U.S. Highway 160 about 1.5 miles north of Red Lake Trading Post. The Elephant’s Feet are two erosional remnants of the Cow Springs Member of the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, which also forms the adjacent bluffs. The “toes” are formed by the underlying reddish part of the Entrada Formation.

Beautiful colors...

Interesting scenery just past Tuba City, AZ...

At the end of highway 160, we turned south onto highway 89 towards Flagstaff, AZ....

San Francisco Peaks...

We made our way through Flagstaff, over to I-17, continuing south. Our goal was to get to lower elevations further south where the overnight temperatures would remain above freezing...

We left I-17 taking highway 30 towards our final destination...Verde Valley Fairgrounds in Cottonwood, AZ. We could not get a site in Dead Horse Ranch State Park, a favourite stop, so decided on the fairgrounds where we can get power and water for $30/night. It was nothing special, but a good homebase for us for the next few days as we re-visit more areas.

A beautiful sunrise started off our day Friday...

We had laundry to do, so this morning we put 'Super Clean Laundry' into Google Maps, a short distance away, and took care of that chore.

With that chore taken care of, we went to Historic Old Cottonwood, found a parking spot for Buster and went for a walk.

Remnants of yesterday's Halloween decorations are still out...

Cottonwood Community Clubhouse...a very cool looking building!

The Belfry Brewery...

“The Green Church on the Corner” is a cornerstone in the history of our town. It’s been a gathering place of Old Town Cottonwood since the 1920s. You could hear the church bell across the Verde Valley, calling people together. We thought it fitting, then, that we could share our love of food, drink, and good company in this grand old building at the heart of Cottonwood.

Of course, we went in to try their brew and share a pizza...

We had their Honey Pecan beer...A malty medium bodied brown ale with flavors of pecan and caramel. Brewed with Arizona Pecan Honey. Delicious! As was the pizza.

A few more pictures as we walked back to the truck. This is apparently Bing's Burger Station...Classic fast foods & house sodas served in an old gas station decorated with license plates.

Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery and Trattoria...

We had a little shopping to do, so on our way home we stopped at Walmart. We saw this smoke...looks like there is a fire on the other side of the mountain. We later learned on the local news that 4 homes in an area with no "paid fire protection" went up in flames...