Day 230 on the road.
Wildflower Bread Company, Gatewall Mall in Prescott

I'm enjoying my cup of coffee and bagel this morning at the Wildflower Bread Company at the Shops located in the Gatewall Mall shopping development just east of downtown Prescott. They have free internet access, so I've got my laptop and thought I'd do a little work before leaving town.

I've enjoyed my visit to Prescott. I could certainly live here. It's such a pretty place. The elevation is about 6,000 feet above see level (Phoenix is about 2,400 feet I think), and therefore the temperatures are much cooler. During the summer, I'm told it can reach 90 degrees but "you really don't feel it." I'm also told that people from the Phoenix area come here during the summer to escape the heat. Just a short drive for about an hour through the mountains from Phoenix and you can leave the desert behind and live in the mountains.

I'm driving to Laughlin, Nevada today and will be there at least until Friday. I'll then decide what to do next. I may stay in Laughlin for a few more days if I like it. If not, I'm thinking my next stop will be Mesquite, Nevada, a town to the northeast of Las Vegas. I will probably be in Henderson (suburb of Vegas) in a week or two. Then I'll settle down for while and see what develops. I plan on being in the Vegas area for at least a month, if not longer.

Laughlin, Here I Come

I've made reservations through TravelWorm to stay four nights in Laughlin at the Tropicana Express. Reading reviews of this place on TripAdvisor makes me a little nervous, but the price is right. I get four nights for $89, using a "two nights booked, two nights free" promotion available since I'm coming in on a Monday.

A Visit to a Timeshare Near Sedona and March Madness

Day 229 on the road.
Starbucks on Iron Springs Rd., Prescott, AZ

I drove northeast from Prescott yesterday morning to check out the poker room at the Cliff Castle Casino on I-17 near Sedona. A local man told me the casino was only about 40 minutes away. I drove east on Hwy. 69 out of Prescott, then turned northeast on Hwy. 260 with the idea of catching I-17 just south of Sedona.

Once on I-17, I headed north looking for the casino. When I arrived at the cutoff, I noticed a Starbucks, a couple of motels, some retail shops and gas stations. Of course I had to stop at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Next door to the Starbucks was a "Tourist Information Center," so I went there first.

In the tourist shop I met Michael. He told me about a resort nearby that was giving tours (to sell timeshares), so I took him up on his offer of a gift ($100 cash "to help me play at the casino") and decided to take the tour.

The clip below is a glimpse of my visit to the Highlands Resort at Verde Valley and the Verde Santa Fe Golf Course.




After the tour I went back to Starbucks for a while, then made it to the casino around 3 p.m. I played cards for about four hours and had a great time. I won $400 in a March Madness pool (my numbers matched the final score of the Xavier and UNC game) and so I was glad I made the trip. I drove back to Prescott to spend the night and plan to take today (Sunday) off and do nothing but do some writing, reading, and hanging out in beautiful Prescott.

Tomorrow I plan on heading west toward Laughlin in the southeast corner of Nevada.

The Rangers Last Game, Garagiola, Mountains, Prescott

Day 227 on the road.

The Rangers and MLB ended Spring Training this week, officially on Thursday. A new record attendance of 1.3 million fans made it to the Cactus League this year. The reason: severe winter weather in the north and east made it easy for many to head south for some baseball this year. An estimated 60 percent of the fans are from out of state.

I attended the last two Rangers home games, one was a night game on Tuesday night. The weather was perfect. The last game was yesterday. It began at Noon so the players could get out of town early.

Joe Garagiola was at the game autographing his new book, "Just Play Ball."

Below is a video clip from yesterday's last game of the 2008 season.

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I met a Rangers Bat Boy at a game when he took the seat next to mine while his mother remained on the lawn in the outfield. I was shooting a video clip when he convinced a player to toss him a ball. I promised him I would post the clip of him on YouTube, so here it is. He was back to work on the bench yesterday with the Rangers, shagging balls and bats.




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After the game I drove through the mountains to Prescott, Arizona. I'm there now. I'm posting this update from a Starbucks north of downtown. What a beautiful town, sitting on the slopes of the mountains and in the Prescott National Forest.


The trip from Surprise was easy enough. I just took Hwy. 69 north to a little town called Wickenburg. From there I took Hwy. 89 north which takes you directly through a mountain range.
Be prepared to take your time if you drive this scenic route to Prescott. The roads curve severely and you must reduce your speed in most cases to 20-25 miles an hour. But the views are breathtaking.











Once you arrive in Prescott, you find a nice sized town built among the slopes of the mountains that surround the town. I've not seen one street that isn't sloped or elevated. The new mall is built in what looks like a hill that was cut out for that purpose.

Downtown has a monumental country courthouse and plaza that is heavily treed and beautiful. I read that this historic town was the first capital of the new Arizona territory under President Lincoln.

When I visited the Westgate City Center in Glendale last Friday before the Rangers game I took some video. It's an amazing place to go shopping or have a nice lunch. When the Super Bowl was in town in February (the game was played next door at the University of Phoenix Stadium), the place was wall-to-wall people. I went back last week to see the place under more normal circumstances. Let me know what you think of my great camera skills...(thanks to Joe Cocker for providing the sound track).

Day 224 on the road.

Tonight I'll attend another Rangers game in Surprise. The last game before Spring Training breaks for the season is on Thursday at noon, and that will bring my month in the Phoenician valley to an end for a while. On Friday I'm attending the Tempe Festival of the Arts in the Mill Ave. shopping district near Arizona State University before I leave town on Saturday.

I've enjoyed my stay here, but I'm getting the itch to move on West. My first stop will be in Prescott, then probably head north toward the Grand Canyon. I'm watching the weather up north--it still looks a little cold in the upper elevations of northern Arizona. But as long as I don't run into any snow I'll be fine.

I will spend some time in Red Rock Country in Sedona, which proclaims to have been "voted the most beautiful place in America."