We made it through the night with all of our body parts intact and no midnight breakins. We were both happy to have had a good sleep on a comfy bed. Apart from an intermission at about 5:30am when I thought Kevin would be wide awake for good, we ended up sleeping in until 9:30am. I had an extremely long hot shower before we packed up our shit and left. We were both surprised to see that the hotel seemed to have transformed into a respectable establishment overnight, with nice cars in the parking lot and no drug dealers loitering around. Must be a nocturnal thing.
I checked us out and we drove back into the city for breakfast and another stab at that police museum. After driving in circles, we eventually found a two hour spot with a restaurant right nearby so that was breakfast. We turned over the events of last night, especially the mysterious Amanda, coming to the conclusion that not many people would pay $180 for an hour yoga session, there must be something else going on.
It was another beautiful day in Phoenix as we walked through downtown to find the ever-elusive museum. After entering a big office building and asking a very friendly security guard, we were t the door! We were greeted by Don, a retired police officer who also does a bit of stand up comedy in his free time and he gave us the introduction also talking heavily about Australia once he found out that’s where we’re from. The museum was a freebie and went through the history of the police in Phoenix, from the very first “jail rock” that people were handcuffed to until an officer could see to them to uniform arm patches from all over the world, including some from Australia. We even learnt where the Miranda rights came from “You have the right to remain silent…”
It was a cool little spot. On the recommendation of Don, we crossed the road and asked more directions to find the Wells Fargo Museum, another freebie. This one wasn’t so interesting, but it was cool to imagine how people travelled across country in nothing more than a wagon drawn by horses, holding the most precious cargo. Back out on the streets, we saw some interesting Trump protest material before wandering back to where we came from.
We went back to the car via Starbucks for a coffee for Kev. He was excited about hitting the road, as I was to get out of the city. Our rough destination was Sedona, so we headed north on a scenic highway that wound its way through cactus-covered mountains. Kev was in awe of the scenery. My navigator informed me of a town just off the highway called Gizela which looked like it sat right on a creek so was a potential spot for us to have a swim. When we reached the turn off, we went to investigate. The town was very small and a bit derelict with front lawns strewn with kids’ toys that hadn’t been put away. Kevin’s assessment was that the place was a bit “rapey”, especially when we drove down a narrow dirt road to find the creek. The road was a bit sandy so I stopped up short and went to investigate on foot. We could hear water. We climbed up an embankment and confirmed there was a creek that looked swimmable, so went back to the car to drive on a bit further. In the process, we saw a couple of cops in an unmarked car just getting into their car, probably having just looked at a dead body.
We didn’t drive much farther, due to sand and trees that would scratch up the bike, so I packed us some lunch and we went off to find our swimming hole. It was a bit of a bush bash, but we got there and the creek wasn’t too deep, but it would do. It was hot, we wanted to get cold. In consideration of Kevin’s “rapey” comment, I remained in my swimmers, but Kev went full nuddy, as per usual. We managed to find a spot around waist deep, both of us crying out as we got deeper into the freezing water, probably so cold because of snow melt. Kev saw a massive fish by me so we figured this would be a popular fishing spot for those that live in the small town.
Kev called Claire as we sat on the banks of the river drying out and eating lunch. Not a bad start to a relaxing holiday! Eventually we moved on and continued north after doing a bit more exploration of Gizela on-road, finding an oasis of a ranch tucked away between the mountains that we couldn’t get to. In Payson, we stopped at a Walmart to buy some coffee, more fruit and some craft beer, then I filled up with petrol and water. Next was to find a camp. Freecampsites.net told me about a spot in the Tonto National Forest only ten minutes out of Payson so that was us. Kevin seemed a little confused about how I knew this would be a good camp, but once we drove in, it all became clear. The website had given us a great spot.
We drove all away along the dirt road that crossed a running creek until we found a spot that took our fancy. Kevin was keen for one a little ways from the creek that was already occupied with another van camper (who according to Kevin looked quite attractive and young!). After reaching the end of the road, I agreed that the young-man camp was choice and we parked up. It was nice to have Kevin help me manoeuvre the car onto a patch of flat land by a tree. We found our neighbour and confirmed we weren’t cramping his style, then set up by the creek with my comfy chair, table and Thai mat as our new friend Dan got a fire going with remnants of pallet timber. Kev and I did a bit of wood collecting and we were set for the night with some cheese, crackers and beer, which Kev drank all night long.
Dan was an interesting character (and not disappointing on the young and good looking front). About my age, he was on the run from the law with Cleopatra, his pit bull. He’d been arrested for getting into a bar fight in Phoenix, then one thing lead to another and he fled to Mexico where he had another-worldly experience with a Mexican man he picked up on the side of the road, before he was arrested again and extradited back to Phoenix. He had no choice but to leave his car and everything he owned behind. Now armed with a Ford Explorer van, he was not allowed to leave the state, but still floated around Arizona just seeking solace with nature, but he was happy to have met us.
We talked until the fire dwindled to coals and around 10:30pm When Dan cooked his three slabs of steak for dinner, he offered us some and it was delicious, but I feared we’d just stolen Cleo’s dinner but she didn’t seem to mind, she’d become my best friend. I retired because I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore while the boys stayed up a few minutes longer, but Kevin was crawling into bed for his first ever van camp while I was still getting my shit sorted. Kev was excited for his first night sleeping in the van, and rightly so!
