Arizona

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Rusty enjoying the pretty grass.	This is the Verde River (Green River) at the edge of our campsite in Cottonwood Arizona, 10 minutes from Sedona. It was a beautiful green valley with a lot of Native American history.	It was a desert but high enough up to have some small trees.	These were some party ants. We came up on them just as they were finishing off a case.	After our long years in Seattle we wanted to capture a piece of the sun to take with us everywhere.	Just a handful.
Our beautiful black cat, Dahali. She sits here on the chair everytime we go outside. She waits for her kiss when we come back in.	Then one morning we woke up about 5am hearing a big SSShhhhh, SSShhhhh. We got out the the rig and looked up and saw a hot air balloon starting their journey to the red rock in Sedona.	Then we went for a drive to Sedona.	The rocks were a beautiful shade of red.	The next morning the balloons started out again and this time I was ready.	One flew right above Tara and I and they were even waiving at us.
Here's a great shot showing how close to the campsite they were.	This is the Verde River again. We just happened to arrive during the week of the Sheep Crossing. In just a few days there would be thousands of sheep crossing this river just as they have done for 100s of years.	Everyone seems to have a TV satelite dish but these people got a little artistic and had theirs painted in Mexico.	While in Cottonwood we checked out the surrounding area. There was a town, Jerome, that was a copper mining town in the late 1800s - it was once called the "wickedest town in the west." Then it fell on hard times after over a million dollars was mined in copper and it turned into a ghost town.	Then in the 1960's hippies began moving into the old buildings and restarting the town.	Artists started moving in after the hippies and it has now become a thriving artist colony. Most still live in the old 100 year old homes but some new ones have been built.
This glass blower made some beautiful things and did it in an auditorium format so we could see how the pieces were made.	Jerome was also home to a few biker hangouts as it lies on Highway 89A which is a notoriously scenic drive for motorcycles.	We had some fun with the local scenery.	This is Fene outside the local brothel.	They weren't hiring - darn it.	Most of the buildings have been preserved and will remain vacant landmarks.

Copyright: 2004 feneandmarilyn.com