Goodbye Holbrook, Hello Rio Verde! Goodbye Van, Hello SUV!

This is April. She is the driver for the Holbrook Shuttle who is also one of my (many) saviors on this trip. She helped me unload the van into the Shuttle (minivan) and didn't charge me anything but the $7 one-way within-Holbrook fee. Then, she also helped me unload it into my hotel room, then the next day helped me reload it into the shuttle and drove me to Show Low, Az. to rent a car at Enterprise and helped me load that up too! I paid her for the driving part and tipped her for her help, but she was extremely helpful to me, I can't imagine what I would have done without her!

---

Scenery leaving Holbrook...

My new chariot, and my co-pilot (MKR). I was told I was going to get a Toyota RAV4 or something comparable, and was delighted to find out they were giving me a Hyundai Santa Fe, not only because it's bigger (but same price!) but because I loved Santa Fe and I took this as a good omen! :-)

These pics below are from the ride from Show Low, Az., where I rented the Santa Fe, to Rio Verde where Tim and Heidi's Hideway is. But first I stopped in Snowflake, Az. where the van had been towed because I left a couple of things in it (Hatch GMC).

As Tim told me, I first went through Ponderosa Pines and then saquaros.

I was absolutely amazed at the variety in the terrain, all within Arizona!

For some reason, when I first saw these saguaros, I got all choked up and teary-eyed. That was especially so when I saw them sprouting up on the sides of the mountain and silhouetted against the sky like in the photo on the right. I have many more photos of that, but they all came out badly because of the glare on the windshield (and the fact that I was driving while trying to take photos...)

This is Fountain Hill, Az., one of the towns right before Rio Verde. I sat in the park near the fountain for an hour to take a weekly step-work call from a sponsee. It was quite lovely. And f-ing hot!

This is approaching The Hideaway in Rio Verde. Tim made the street sign!

And THIS is the Hideaway!

Isn't is gorgeous and magnificent?! For many more pictures (taken by a professional) see this link where they advertise it on Air BnB (I was trying to be all fancy and put a hyper link but can't figure out how to do that in Weebly, so you're getting the whole URL): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22793665?adults=1&children=0&infants=0&toddlers=0&s=qffKg0Cd

I got here just in time to see the sunset. Looking out the front of the house you can see the setting sun, and in the back you can see the beautiful reflection of the sun setting on the mountains.

MKR is in the house!! (ok, OUT of the house!)

(Sigh). Sanctuary, at last...