Travel Day to AZ: Moqui Cave & Horseshoe

Our furnace kept everything nice and cozy overnight and I think our chilly nights are behind us now. We left our chilly campsite and headed to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. We stopped along our beautiful drive at Moqui Cave to take a tour of the museum. 

The Chamberlain family purchased this cave over 50 years ago. When the cave was purchased, a lot of western movies were being filmed in this area. The biggest complaint among the actors was the hot summer heat during filming. They all wanted a cool place to relax and get out of the sun. Lex Chamberlain had a great idea and turned the cave into a bar and dance hall and it soon became a local hotspot for Hollywood actors. 

It remained a bar for years, but after one too many bar fights Lex decided to turn the cave into a museum. Fascinated by archeology, he filled the museum with many artifacts from this area, including a large display of Indigenous artifacts, along with unique fluorescent rocks and minerals from around the world.  The museum also contains a large collection of dinosaur tracks. We were fascinated by all there was to see.  What was once the old bar now displays pictures and autographs of the famous people who came to enjoy a cold beverage here. The old dance hall is now a showcase of fluorescent rocks.  These rocks that glowed in so many different colours fascinated Ariel and Wyatt. 

We continued on our journey and made one final stop to see Horseshoe Bend. This horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River is simply stunning. The contrast of the red rock formations with the green-blue water added to the beauty of this landscape.  We saw a couple of boats cruising up the river and we thought that would be an incredible way to view this bend. The boats looked very small on the river and it was a reminder of the fact that we were very high up. Some people ventured beyond the safety railing to step out onto the rocks. I, on the other hand, was happy to stand safely behind the railing.

After enjoying the view, we made it to our KOA campsite just outside Williams, Arizona. We set up, and then Ron wanted to head into town. The theme of the quaint town is Route 66. There were some fun diners and gift shops that we saw on our way to dinner, and I hope I get a chance to do some shopping along their downtown street tomorrow. We ate at Red Raven restaurant tonight and I think tomorrow we will try the Route 66 Dinner. 

We don’t have great service at our campground, which did not surprise us considering how poor our service was along our drive today. The kids had a hard time finishing their classes today and sadly Ariel could not finish all her assignments tonight. I think most of her work will have to wait until our adventures in the Grand Canyon are over. Thankfully we have a weekend coming up soon so that will give us a chance to catch up. With no homework to do, we put on a movie and all got cozy for the night.  

Goodnight from Arizona!