It's time for some fun in the sun - we found a great little RV Park in Arizona City, Arizona (Quail Run RV Park).   Once we got here, we knew it was time to take a break; we will be here at Quail Run until the first week of April, taking a break with the pool, hot tub, and a host of activities as well as new friendships to cultivate! 

We spent the past few days visiting a dear friend who hosted us at the Arroyo Roble Resort in Sedona.  We went to several films and had an abundance of conversation!  Along with spending time talking and relaxing, we were able to see a few of the films presented at the festival - what a great experience!

We spent the past couple of days exploring the Meteor Crater in Winslow, Arizona.  Along with being educated on the Barringer Meteor Crater, we were educated on Meteors as well.  Again, a must-see natural wonder!  The crater has been the site of both exploration and the training of Apollo astronauts.  Along with the crater, we enjoyed the beauty of this area - this morning we caught the beauty of the sunrise, and this evening we plan to go back up to the crater and do some star-gazing.  The wonders of God's might and power combined with His infinite peace and evidence of His great love for us has at once been refreshing and humbling.

If you've never taken the opportunity to visit the Petrified Forest in Arizona, please do so!  We stayed at the Crystal Forest Museum and Gift Shop in Holbrook, Arizona - this country is definitely awash in peace and harmony (my kind of place!)

Gallup, New Mexico was the next stop - a very nice RV park and gift shop awaited us.  It was during this stay that we realized our Aqua Hot was having an issue - after doing some troubleshooting and talking to Jason from WanderWorks, we found out we needed to try a test to determine if it was the line; the next morning we went to Tractor Supply to get a 5-gallon bucket for the test.  Jim also took the opportunity while we were at Tractor Supply to wash the bus!

Our next stop was Grants, New Mexico - the Junkyard on 66 Brewery.  Though it felt odd driving into a junkyard, we wanted to have the experience.  As it turned out, they had a huge area for overnight guests and all were welcome in the brewery for Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Beer.  For those of you who know me, you may be surmising (correctly) that there was absolutely nothing for me to eat or drink!  So Jim had a great time getting to know the owner and several other overnight Harvest Host guests while Cagney and I caught up on some reading back in the bus.  When morning came, it was great to talk with fellow travelers and hear more stories of life and traveling.

We got our earliest start since we left Michigan and it was wind-free, smooth driving through the New Mexico landscape.  We ended up at another Harvest Host in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We got here early enough to eat lunch at the Starr Brothers Brewing Company, and the guys had a "beauty day" - Cagney got a mani-pedi at Petco, and Jim got a long-awaited haircut!  Apparently, they aren't crazy about service dogs at the brewery, so we will enjoy a warm evening in Albuquerque!

After careful consideration, realizing that the temps were going to be 0-10 degrees in Amarillo, trusting our bus to keep us warm, but being totally done with the cold, we decided to head west to try to out-run the "Arctic Blast" moving through.  We drove a few hours and finally stopped in Santa Rosa, New Mexico - a long day of hard winds and cold temperatures was now behind us.  When I say cold, I mean below freezing temps licking at our heels the whole way.  Thankfully, God provided us a safe and "warmer" place to hunker down for the night - a Pilot Truck Center.  Check out this photo taken from the pumps; the third lane from the left, zoom in and you will see that, as big as we are, we look tiny nestled between the semi's!

We arrived at the Big Texan RV Ranch in Amarillo, Texas on Sunday afternoon.  We decided not to try to get the free 72-oz steak and instead enjoyed a swim in the heated salt-water pool.  Jim thought he was swimming in the Dead Sea - he could actually float!  We met a great couple with their son while in the pool.  Later that evening, they gave us a flyer about "Freeze Warning" - the flyer specifically said to disconnect your water hose from the water pole at your site.  Jim thought he knew better because his Weather app did not have it getting to below freezing temps.  I, on the other hand said we needed to heed their warning.  Fast forward to 4:30 am when Jim was outside with the hair dryer thawing the water pole - translation, don't trust the weather app to give you the correct information (or, as I said, just trust the locals and do what they say!)  Score one for Joan.

Wow!!  After experiencing 45 - 75 mile per hour headwinds and crosswinds, we found out how fast your mileage can go from 9 to 4!  As the snow began to blow across the Texas  plains, we turned into a whiteout and were glad to see the Cactus Inn!  When we arrived, the manager came out  and said that all evening activities were cancelled, but they were glad we were there.  But stop...as we drove into the town of McClean, Texas, we thought it was actually a ghost-town - all buildings were boarded up, and not a running car in sight.  Imagine our delight when the manager (Christine) warmly welcomed us with her down parka on, apologizing for the weather, and bringing a tray with champagne, roses and stemware to thank us for celebrating their 5th anniversary and Valentine's Day!   Within an hour the snow had stopped, the sun came out, and it was chilly but beautiful.  We walked the short distance to the local steakhouse - delicious and, a first for Jim, alcohol-free (ha-ha!)  Jim also took note of how strange it was to be in an "open carry state".  Read into that what you will - just a bit of a surprise for us northerners!

We spent Thursday evening in Oklahoma City, then moved (or blew!) on to Elk City, Oklahoma.  After battling 50 mph winds, we were happy to settle in at 66 To Go - a quaint Route 66 diner!

After spending a great night in Gainesville, Texas at the Krootz Brewing Company, it was time to get back on the road. All pre-flight preparations went smoothly until Jim raised the leveling system.  One of the pads had frozen to the ground!  As the air-ride lifted to ride height, Jim noticed the leveling pad was stuck to the ground.  Exact words, "That's not good."  With springs attached to the pad, clearly we had a problem.  So he thought he would break it loose with a sledge hammer.  On his way to the back with the sledge hammer, there was a loud bang.  The pad had come unfrozen, but came up sideways!  After much maneuvering and raising the bus on wood blocks, the only solution was to tie it up to prevent further damage.  Thank God for bungie cords!  Jim knows how to fix it, but this requires warmer weather, leveler ground, and his newly purchased come-along and shims. For now, we just find as level spots as we can!