We left our RV spot in Cottonwood on Monday morning and drove an hour and a half to Flagstaff. It was very windy but the winds were from the south helping to push us up the 4000' elevation climb. Since then the wind has been vicious (gusts in excess of 60 mph) and the temperatures have dropped into the 30s and 40s (we are on the southern edge of the big storm system that has been returning winter weather to Utah and Idaho). Because of the wind and cold we spent most of yesterday (Tuesday) inside - primarily at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

They have extensive exhibits on regional ethnography and archaeology, and we already knew most of the information contained in the exhibits. However, it was interesting to see many unbroken examples of the types of pottery that we were observing on the Rio Verde site (mostly Jeddito black-on-yellow bowls).

Plus they have a very nice exhibit of local art and artists. Most of the exhibited art certainly makes Sharon's paintings look talented and professional!

We are camped until Friday morning at the Flagstaff KOA in the tall Ponderosa pines.

Note that the TV antenna is up because all the tall trees completely block our satellite reception. This is a first for us - we have actually never tried to receive an over-the-air TV signal in our trailer before. Not a very good picture or much channel selection compared to our usual high-definition satellite connection but we were able to keep up with the developments about the Boston Marathon bombings (sad, but a reality in our contemporary world).

We decided to stay here in Flagstaff through Thursday (which is when we originally thought we would depart) because there is a historical museum that we want to visit - but it is only open Thursdays through Mondays. It is wonderful to have the flexibility to simply change our schedule on a whim. We'll give you an update if it was worth it or not.

This afternoon the temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 40s and the wind has subsided so we are planning to take a hike on a trail at the back of the RV park. It goes to the nearby Elden Pueblo, another ancient Sinagua ruin that we haven't visited yet. We'll post a few pictures when we return.