The start of our trip...

We are now officially retired and our starting our first step in our journey through North America. Hmmm, Snowbirds; migratory people who travel to warmer climates in the winter months. We have dreamed of this for many years, and so it begins.
On October 31, 2009 we left Calgary, Alberta for warmer climates. On our third day of travelling we arrived in Laughlin, NV with the tempratures in the high 80s, on came the shorts. Lauglin, NV is a very hot climate with a very rocky terrain, and we spent a couple days at this destination. We then left to go to North Central Arizona; Sedona, Cottonwood, Verde Valley. Four of the state`s six national forest are partially or completely in this region: Coconino, Prescott, Tonto and Apache-Sitgreaves. Between them they`ve got a variety of scenery and activities: fishing, boating, hiking, jeeping, rock climbing, horse back riding, scenic drives, there is pretty much every outdoor activity imaginable here. Sedona`s red mountain majesties are freakishly beautiful rock towers shooting sky, at least 76 feature flims have been shot here and there are more artists per capita here than anywhere else in the country. South and west of Sedona, the Verde and Chino Valleys produces some of the most amazing wines in the western United States. A particular high-scorer was Alcantara`s 2005 Chardonnay.
Out of Clarkdale, we visted a former copper mining town called Jerome, impossibly suspended high up on the side of Cleopartra Hill. Jerome had no option but to spread up, bottom to top the town stretches 1,500 vertical feet, to appreciate Jerome`s percarious perch, on a clear days you can see more than 50 miles past Sedona and to the San Francisco Peaks. We visted Montezuma Castle, a Natioanl Monument created by the Sinagua Indian nearly a millennium ago. Its 20-rooms soar five stories high uo into the cliffs overlooking Verde Valley.

We then travelled to Central Arizona, the Valley of the Sun (Greater Phoenix) which encompasses 23 continous cities, a spawling hub in the Sonoran Desert, it`s spokes jutting out in every direction, connecting towns and cities. At last in the east valley, we settled us and our RV in Apache Junction, nestled beside the breathtaking Superstition Mountains which rise some 2,000 feet into the sky. Legend has it that hidden in these parts is a rich vein of gold, for more than 150 years prospectors have hiked up and down the mountains in search of Lost Dutchman`s Mine. Nearby in the Superstition Mountains are Canyon, Apache, and Roosevelt Lakes. The Sonoran Desert is home to thousands of species of plants and animals offering the most diverse desert habitat in the world, most likely due to the fact it gets more rainfall than any other desert, with that said, the Sonoran Desert also gets more than 330 days of sunshine a year. The towering Saguaro with its human-like arms reaches up to 50 feet tall , and we have been told that it can take up to 80 years for this cactus to start producing it`s arms. The temperature has been in the high 80s to the mid 90`s and the night time temperature is in the mid 50`s.