Seeing the Great Southwest!

I’m posting from Camp Verde, Arizona, after an amazing trip through the Arizona desert. We started out in Las Vegas, Nevada a couple of days ago and made stops in Phoenix and Tucson to meet some of my readers before heading up the eastern side of the state toward Sedona. We decided to camp about forty miles short of our goal at a really nice RV park where we could catch up on laundry. I’ve spent the past couple hours watching clothes go ‘round and ‘round (Ah, the glamorous life of an author...) thinking about the cool stuff we did today

The neatest thing was a two hour hike through the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which is an amazing cactus preserve outside of Superior, Arizona. Luckily, we went early, just before eight in the morning, and everything was fresh and cool. I imagine it turns into an absolute furnace by afternoon, but we saw some absolutely amazing cacti, and a lot of them were blooming.

The next really neat stop was near Lake Roosevelt where we hiked up a beautiful trail and saw Native American cliff dwellings. We couldn’t go inside them because they’re infested with bees! We were able to get really close and see how the dwellings were built.

The desert is still in bloom and the temperatures are warm but not too hot, so we’re having a great trip and seeing country that’s totally new to both of us. Plus, I’ve had terrific stops and visits with readers along the way at various bookstores, and there’s really nothing quite as much fun as putting a face with a name. I love being able to make this kind of connection.

You have to realize, my husband and I are mountain people. We’re used to life in a green forest of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir with lots of running water and an average yearly rainfall around 80-90 inches, so desert is totally new country for us. We’re having a great time, and can’t wait to see Sedona, our next stop along the way. That’s where I’m setting Hellfire, the second book in my Demon Slayers series, and I can’t wait to see the rock formations I’ve only seen photos of...which begs the question: what is your idea of the perfect vacation? I don’t think you can beat tooling along in a funky little motorhome, but that’s probably not for everyone. I’d love to hear what you enjoy the most.