We left the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and had a lovely drive through the open meadows on Highway 67 but no luck seeing the bison like we did on our last trip here. We continued on to Jacob Lake and past the infamous Inn and on east and south on Highway 89A through Vermilion Cliffs National Monument passing through Cliff Dwellers and Marble Canyon.
We headed south on Highway 89 and made our usual stop at Cameron, Arizona. It is a good place to fill up with fuel and head to the Cameron Trading Post for a meal. The trading post has not only a restaurant, a motel, but also a great store full of Indian arts and crafts. I love my Fry Bread.
The Bonito Campground, next to the Sunset Crater National Monument, is only about a 40 minute drive from Cameron. We have stayed here a number of times before and enjoy it. We REALLY enjoy it now that we can make reservations to ensure we get a site. So many times in the past we have driven to this campground and not been able to get a site. YAY for us!
Campground: Bonito Campground
Location: About 12 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona just outside entrance to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Site: 25– back-in
Cost: $24 (that’s with $15 off with the Interagency Pass)
Services: dry camping
Comments: One of our favorite campgrounds and our usual starting and stopping point when departing/returning home.
Being our last night of camping after a crazy summer trip we were expecting to have a nice campfire and enjoy the evening. Well, nature had other plans for us. It poured rain but we managed to adapt to the situation. We sat under the awning and enjoyed the sound of the rain and cooked dinner outside. It was a great evening!
I took a walk around behind our campsite when the rain stopped to capture the wet lava and plants. It was a bit surreal.
We departed the campground late in the morning with overcast skies and a bit of drizzle. Traffic on I-40 was stopped due to an accident so we drove down Route 66 for a bit and caught up with I-40 a bit further down. We passed by “The Museum Club” which is a 1931 era building that has country music and a big dance floor. It has been voted “Flagstaff’s favorite place to go dancing”. We also passed by “The Americana Motor Hotel” which is where the “Easy Rider” actors (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and crew) stayed when filming the movie. Humphreys Peak (elevation 12,633 feet) had a few clouds hanging over it but the storm looked like it was dispersing.
We are heading home after a whirlwind of a trip from taking the Alaska Ferry north to Alaska and driving on up to the Arctic Ocean and then back through Canada and on back to the US driving over 7,200 miles. It was quite the journey, quite the adventure, and quite the trip!
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