I just got home from a relaxing and most interesting overnight at my neighbors' little ranch near Valle, Arizona. Its only about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon but 13 of those miles are on a dirt road across the desert. The afternoon was overcast with dark clouds with patches of blue sky and lightening in the distance. It got pretty windy at times but it never rained. Brad and Tania have put a lot of work into their property and its really a cool place to visit. They had a dutch oven over an open fire cooking beef is a delicious sauce. Tania made salads and I took pepperoni bread. We sat around the fire pit and told stories and enjoyed the day. Tania took me on a hike around their property: we picked up pretty rocks, I took pictures of birds, flowers and the views. Their neighbors came over by the time we got back and we had a delicious dinner including a decadent cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream...yummy. Built a bonfire and sat around till about 10. When I crawled into my tent the wind was howling and I was glad I staked it down really well. Sometime during the night the wind died and an incredible calm came over the desert night. I heard an owl off in the distance and at dawn the birds woke me with their singing. I fell back to sleep and when I woke a second time the sun was shining and I felt like I was in an oven. Figured it was time to get up and pack up the tent and sleeping bag. Destiny, one of the neighbors who came along stayed over night too so she and I headed out about 9. We made a few wrong turns but finally got on the right road and made it back to the paved road without any problems. We decided to ride into Williams, AZ. a cute little western town south of the canyon where the Grand Canyon boards passengers for the ride to the canyon every day. We had breakfast at the Pine Restaurant and then a stop at Safeway. Lots of cool little tourist shops, bars and restaurants...its on the historical Route 66 and they have some interesting old buildings. Three more weeks to go. The summer is passing quickly. This will be a long week with Betty off Thursday and Friday.