Arizona – Wander the Country with us in our Cougar 2100rk

Guide to Monument Valley’s Unique Rock Formations

March 14, 2025March 17, 2025 by msminnie72, posted in Arizona, Utah

Welcome to Monument Valley, one of the most beautiful places in the world! Thank you for joining us as we show our oldest daughter the valley.

Autumn had never been to Monument Valley, so of course we had to take her there. It is Andrew and my favorite place. This was my 4th time here in the last few years.

Before we begin our journey into the valley, some things to know about. There are 3 differnt kinds of rock formations.

A mesa, which is the biggest. I remember this because it looks like a table, and the Spanish word for table is mesa. It is wide and stable.
A Butte, a rock formation that has eroded from a mesa which makes it smaller.
A spire, which is the final form of erosion from a butte. It is tall, narrow and free standing.

You can’t go to Monument Valley and not do the 17-mile loop, but don’t plan to do it in your RV. You’re driving on dirt and sometimes it is very soft. In fact, busses, RVs, and motorcycles are not even allowed! Plan for a couple of hours to do the drive and enjoy the sights. There is an $8.00 fee, and they will give you a map as well.

Both of these buttes look like mittens which suggests spiritual beings watching over the valley.

Doesn’t this look like an elephant? You can’t see it? Use your imagination with the big hump.

This is supposed to look like a catholic nun facing her two pupils. The middle one looks like it is leaning back and will fall one day.

The next stop was the John Ford point, which is named after Hollywood director John Ford who made John Wayne famous.

Sometimes you can pay to have your picture taken with a horse out on the point.

We took a break at the John Ford point and enjoyed some fry bread. It was so big that we couldn’t finish it. We had garlic and butter on it, and it was so rich, but so good. We had never had it before, have you? Here they also have Navajo vendors set up, so you can buy products from them.

The hub symbolizes the hub of a wagon wheel. The Navajo see this as a fireplace in the center of a Hogan. Keep reading to find out what a Hogan is.

This spire monument is a good example of what erosion does to a butte. This is one of my favorite because you can see the totem poles.

I was excited for this because I had recently learned what code talkers were.

Code talkers in a nutshell were military members who used their knowledge of Native American languages to send secret messages during the war. They were vital to helping the US because nobody could translate what was being said.

For more information on Code Talkers visit

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers

This is the north window, where you can see the northern view of the valley.

Sometimes Navajo vendors are here, and you can buy Navajo products.

Hiking in Monument Valley

There is only 1 hike that you can do in the valley. It is 3.8 miles and you hike around a butte. I recommend in the warmer months to start early and take plenty of water. There is not much shade and only 1 bathroom half-way through the hike.

This was an April outing for us and you can see, we had jackets/ sweatshirts on.

When we stayed here this past summer, it was the 4th of July and we got to experience a free 4th of July show that can compete with any 4th of July show. It was so cool to hear the blast off the canyon walls, it was so loud! Have you ever been here for the 4th of July?

This is definitely a 4th of July, we won’t forget!

What is a Hogan?

A hogan is a traditional ceremonious dwelling that is considered sacred for the Navajo. As you drive around the area, look on the land for these sacred sites. I think each family has one on their property.

I don’t know how many people can be in a Hogan at once, but if it’s a ceremonial location, I would imagine the whole family would go in.

The best place to stay

Everytime we have visited Monument Valley, we have always stayed at Gouldings. They have something for everyone. They have lodging accommodations, as well as an RV campground that you can tent camp at also. https://gouldings.com/.

This little guy scared Andrew as he hooked up our 5th wheel. I think he is so cute!

Many of the sites have these beautiful flowers.

The view of Monument Valley from the campground.

If you’re interested in taking a short little hike in the park, there is a gem within the park.

The hike to get there is short but sweet! And there are sooooo many picture opportunities!

Dinner at the lodge

We had soup with fry bread, a taco salad in fry bread as well as a steak. All entrees were very good and the views during dinner were really good. So have no fear, you will be fed while you’re here. There is something for everyone!

Hiking at the campground

There is a nice little hike within the campground that will take you into the canyon to see a little surprise of an arch bridge. You really can’t go on top of the arch, but you can definitely go underneath it and beside it. Each time, we have hiked back into the canyon and enjoyed this little gem.

Is that better? It is very cool to walk to a natural bridge!

Thanks for traveling to Monument Valley with us. If you like what you see, please hit the subscribe button and continue to travel with us.

Heading East

July 19, 2024April 1, 2026 by msminnie72, posted in Arizona, New Mexico

We last left off having our family time and we have a month out on the road. We headed south to pick up our 5th wheel that was getting worked on in Southern California. Once again we stayed at our favorite place in Southern California at Newport Dunes RV. We only stayed one night and continued our travels east. Our next stop is at a HH along Churiaco Summit. We visited the General Patton museum

General Patton Museum

This is a fascinating little WWI and WWII museum that is located at the entrance of Camp Young which was a Desert Training Center of World War II. Camp Young was headquarters for General Patton’s 3rd Armored Division to prepare troops to battle North Africa to fight the Nazis.

The grounds around the museum has a lot of millitary vehicles to get close to and admire. The museum has a wealth of information inside. Tickets are only $18 and I easily spent a couple of hours inside.

From Chiriaco Summit, we traveled to Phoenix, AZ to visit with fellow RV friends. Then onto Benson, AZ where we stayed at Butterfield RV resort.

Butterfield RV resort

This is a lovely little RV park with its on university quality observatory. We only stayed for 1 night since we were just passing through.

Amenities

They had a pickle ball court but we were not up to playing that night after traveling.

Here they have 2 golf driving cages for the golfers.

The on-site telescope is free to guest. How cool is that! You do have to sign up in advance and we missed it by minutes.

There were a ton of machines at reasonable prices.

A rocky little dog park which made us miss our beloved Jessie.

So for $65 a night, this is an awesome stay!

After leaving Benson Az. , we traveled 405 miles. During our day, we had a tray of crackers, meat and cheese to eat along the way.

This is the largest recycled roadrunner statue. It is located right off the 10 freeway in Las Cruces in New Mexico.

The state is composed of old shoes, cell phones, bike parts, and other recycled materials. For more information check out the website. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/recycled-roadrunner-statue

We didn’t visit during this trip, but in the past we have gone to Alamogordo New Mexico and we stayed at the KOA. This was a very cool visit .

Alamagordo

Where to stay?

We stayed at the Alamogordo/White Sands KOA Journey

This was a perfect stop to visit all three locations in this area. You can rent a sled to go sledding down the dunes from the campground. If you think you are too old, just remember your childhood of sledding down the snowy mountains, but this time it is in sand.

White Sands National Park is like no other park. It is one of the world’s greatest natural wonders with the glistening white sand dunes. with 275 square miles of desert of gypsum sand. If you have the time after sledding down the dunes, stay for the spectacular sunsets. You won’t be disappointed!

The park was amazing! You truly feel like you’re in snow but it is sand.

McGinn’s Pistachioland Home of the worlds Largest Pistachio

Along the route, we stopped in Alamagordo New Mexico. If you love pistachios, you have to stop. They have at least 13 different flavored pistachios that you can sample before you decide which size bag to purchase and snack on during your travels. The “Worlds Tallest Pistachio” is a registered trademark in New Mexico.

I have taken the farm tour, which was enlightening. They offer wine tasting as well which I have enjoyed and purchased a bottle to enjoy. They always have long lines for ice cream as well.

It is a great stop to stretch your feet.

Museum of Space History

This was a very cool visit. I spent half a day here. It is a Museum and planetarium with displays related to space flight.

Roswell New Mexico

Are you an alien enthusiast? Well if you have followed us, you know that one of us is a ghost and alien enthusiast.

We were in Roswell last year, we stayed at a little RV park that holds about 10 rigs called the Red Barn RV Park. It was a perfect location to go into town and get your fill of aliens.

The park had such a unique style to it. There was a wild chicken that adopted the park, We saw this alien spying on us during our lunch. And our Jessie loved watching everything around. It was so relaxing!

Around Roswell

The local McDonald’s has a spaceship that lights up at night. It’s pretty cool!

Murals around town were quite good and fun to look at.

The visitor center had a wealth of information as well as photo opportunity’s. We always try to get into the visitor center to get a lay of the land and get insite as to what to do and see while in a town.

We did virtual reality in Roswell which was ok. I did the space crash while my husband did the Apollo 11 mission. It was cool to experience virtual reality for the first time but I don’t think I need to do it again. For more information https://spaceportroswellnm.com/

I also did the Roswell UFO Tour https://roswellufotour.com/. The tour takes you in the footsteps of the civilians who first touched and reported on the alien debris debris I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was disappointed. Most of the tour was places that no longer exist. You do get to see the houses that pivotal people lived in during that time. I was on the tour alone with the tour guide who was very knowledgeable and answered all of my questions.

This building is where the military supposedly took the alien bodies after the crash.

The International UFO museum and research center

This museum has all things relatated to the 1947 incident known as the Roswell incident. It has all audio, newspapers, interviews, personal accounts of what happened when an alleged UFO crashed in the hills outside of Roswell New Mexico. The museum covers other phenonenom as well. The museum was very well done and this was by far my favorite thing in Roswell.

Are you aliened out?

I went to visit the historic house of James Phelps White House in Roswell. The house was built between 1910-1912. In 1978 it was place on the National Registry of Historical Places. This is a nice little home to visit with a lot of history.

Stayed tuned as we continue our travel to Ohio and we split up for a few days.

From Laughlin, NV to Gila Bend, AZ.

January 29, 2024 by msminnie72, posted in Arizona

Hello, we are the Scherf’s, we travel around the country (the western United States so far) in our Keystone Cougar 2100 RK to see and learn about our great country. Check out our story of how we got here https://thescherfswanderingwheels.com/the-beginning/. We would love for you to join us on our travels. Who doesn’t love a good road trip? With 237 miles and 2 visits come with us as we journey through some of Arizona.

Parker, Arizona

Upon leaving Laughlin Nevada, we traveled south on 95 with no destination in mind. We crossed the boarder into the small town of Parker, Arizona which sits on the Colorado River. We drove through the small town with a population of roughly 3,400. Before entering the town we drove under these really cool railroad bridges.

If you like the heat, this is a great place to visit in the summer time. With the average highs between 100-110 it seems to be a great place to go boating on the river. Next time we would like to stop and learn about the history of the city and the historical properties. I would love to hear if it’s worth the stop.

Bouse, Arizona

After leaving Parker, we found ourselves on Arizona state route 72. We stopped for a break in an even smaller town called Bouse which rhymes with house. It was founded in 1908 as a mining camp. There wasn’t much to see but we did stop at a large rest stop that allowed us to open our slide to go inside and have lunch. During the weekends, this is where the town’s farmers market takes place. There’s also a lot of neat old mining and farming equipment to see.

Gila Bend

This is our second time in Gila Bend. Both times we’ve stayed at Sonoran Desert RV Park https://www.sonorandesertrvpark.com/. This is truly a snowbird location (a person who migrates from the colder northern parts of North America to warmer southern locales, typically during the winter.) Each time we have stayed for 2 nights and have really enjoyed the sunsets which are spectacular.

While we were here in Oct. it was still pretty hot, and we were given a heads-up to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes! The staff takes these things very seriously, and we were told these creatures slither around at night looking for the perfect winter hibernation spot. We didn’t stay outside to much for fear of finding a slithering friend. Although the office told us to call if we did see one because they have two snake wranglers on site. Now that’s an “amenity” we’ve never had before at an RV park!

Sites are quite big and deep for a back in. You have a lot of space from your neighbors as well.

Our dog Jessie loved the dog park both times we were here, although in October the grassy area was closed due to poisonous toads in the grass.

This is the clubhouse where they have planned activities during the winter months. There is a library and puzzle table too. Large rolling doors take you to an outdoor patio just off the kitchen. You will also find a very nice and reasonably priced laundry facilities at the end of the clubhouse.

If you are into Pickleball, this park has you covered there too. That’s next on our hitlist to learn how to play, and given that our kids gave us a set for Christmas, we have extra motivation to learn the game.

A few other neat amenities at the park are a car wash station, a pet wash station, and a nice little putting green, along with a heated pool.

If you want to get out of the RV park I suggest you visit https://www.visitgilabend.org/

For $65 a night this place has a lot to offer and we will definitely be back when we are heading to Phoenix Arizona. Word to the wise, do your grocery shopping before you get here. Gila Bend doesn’t really have any grocery stores to speak of.

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