The Inaugural Journey of the Carly Too

March 28-30, 2020, amidst the Corona virus pandemic, wondering if this was sane
Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow, AZ

Top Three Takeaways:

1. You have less space in which to escape the stinkbombs of an older dog's tooty-poots.

2. You join all other camper owners in singing the RV Owner's #1 Mantra: "We gotta get a better mattress."

3.  Despite the near-two-hour setup, the hassles of take-down, dumping, and general cleanup, camping in a trailer beats just about anything!

Bonus Takeaway:

4. Just because you named your trailer after your dog doesn't guarantee that will lead to your dog's sudden devotion to its namesake.

Our anticipated weekend at Homolovi State Park, reservations made long before Corona entered our reality, included star-gazing at the park's observatory; visiting a cultural exhibit on the ancestral Hopi people at the architecturally and historically delightful La Posada Hotel in Winslow; and a possible side trip to Grand Falls to see the renowned chocolate-brown cascade of the Little Colorado River. A week before we went, pretty much all three of these adventures were cancelled by the powers that be. We decided to go anyway, as getting outdoors while maintaining safe distances was still considered a good thing to do. Plus, we were really anxious to try out our RV. We'd been staring at our new toy, steadfastly parked in our driveway, long enough.

We left town around noon, joined by neighbors Jim and Cathy in their rig, and together caravanned the two hour drive to Homolovi State Park, just north of Winslow. The landscape here looked rather bleak; an expanse of Mormon tea, rabbit brush, and sand was only broken by rocky outcroppings and the park's two paved roads. While the visitor center was closed, there were personnel curating the reserved camping spots, answering questions, providing maps and information, and generally keeping the place tidy.

Homolovi State Park Campground

Finding our spots, the set-up began. We decided to time ourselves just for kicks to see how long it would take us from arrival to mixing the first cocktail. The 90-minute set-up time ended up including wrangling with the trailer hitch, as the ball somehow got jammed and wouldn't separate from the hitch. A hammer here, a screwdriver there, and the truck and trailer were freed from each other. We figured our setup took a net time of about an hour. Hopefully, we'll continue to beat that record every time we take out the Carly Too.

Set up and ready to go!

Speaking of Carly, this old dog really didn't seem to want to learn a new trick. We think that despite the pretty darn good stability of the trailer, there was enough wobbly-woo when two large adults walked around inside it to make it shaky enough to unnerve our girl. We didn't want her to go down the narrow steps on her own, either, so it became protocol to lift her in and out of the camper. She got better, and hopefully that will continue -- but it was not making her very happy. Indeed, the leash better be on and the dog under our control when we wanted to her get back in; she was inclined to bolt if we gestured to her to enter that big, wobbly box.

Thanks, I'll stay right here.

By late afternoon, happy hour commenced, and our other friends Bob and Moira made their appearance, driving up from Phoenix. They obviously had their routine pretty down pat, as it didn't take them very long to join us.

Settling in, we took a look around the campground, commenting on the pros and cons of a wide variety of rigs, and noticing that each camping spot had one little tree (still under winter dormancy), and then.....sand and scrubby bushes. But really, it was clean, well-built, and frankly all one could ask for.

We all chatted amiably while the sun set off to our side. Arizona has spectacular sunsets, this one was no exception. We decided since no activities were scheduled to structure the next day, our one full day here, we'd be able to leisurely explore the park's historical sites.

Homolovi Ruins State Park

Overview from the park's brochure: In the high grassland of 14th-century northern Arizona, an ancient people found a home along the Little Colorado River. These people, the Hisat'sinom (known to archaeologists -- and most of us -- as the Anasazi), paused in their migrations to till the rich floodplain and sandy slopes found here before continuing north to join people already living on the mesas to the north, people who today are known as the Hopi.

The Little Colorado River, surrounded by non-native tamarisk.
Not the lush river valley of cottonwoods and willows these ancient people would have seen....

The Hopi people of today still consider Homolovi part of their homeland, making pilgrimages to these sites, renewing the ties of the people with the land. This park, with support by the Hopi, was established in 1986, and serves as a center of research for the late migration period of the Hopi from the 1200s to the late 1300s.

Homolovi means "place of the little hills." Evident throughout the park are, indeed, small hills and outcroppings that break up the largely flat terrain. Two main ruins sites, Homolovi I and Homolovi II,  were established on the tops of two of these hills, and offer a wide viewpoint of both the Little Colorado River and surrounding lands. Several other smaller prehistorical sites are sprinkled throughout the park, and there is one historic cemetery, all that remains from the town of Sunset, the first Mormon settlement along the Little Colorado River. Each site includes interpretive signage, trails, and ample opportunity to explore on one's own. From most vantage spots, the San Francisco Peaks 60 miles away popped into view, covered in recent snow, and were a stark contrast to the deep blue sky.

Atop a hill covered with structural ruins, the San Francisco Peaks are seen in the distance.
The Hopi call them Nuvatukya'ovi, believing these peaks were the home of
their katsina, or kachina, spirits, who guided their lives.

Both Homolovi I and II each contain an estimated 1,000+ rooms as living quarters, as well as ceremonial kivas and other structures (i.e. storage facilities). It is quite something to be able to have peace and quiet as you stand among 700+ year-old ruins, contemplating the timeline of human life, gazing at broken pieces of pottery that previous visitors have laid out on rocks, and bonding with the spirits of people you can plainly see had a sense of artistry, a compelling need to make their lives beautiful, to create food and security, and to give thanks to their own spirits and gods.

We walked from the campground to Homolovi I, and agreed while walking back that the spring winds that had picked up that afternoon were just a bit too egregious to enjoy Homolovi II at the northern tip of the park. It was unanimous that a nap, instead, was most desirable, and we would meet up afterwards for a late lunch and then determine just what we wanted to do after that.

I took out my new electric spinning wheel and basked in the sun while doing a bit of spinning until I was fed up with the wind. I goaded Carly into the Carly Too, knitted a bit, soothing Carly until she fell asleep, and finally went into my own slumber.

Waking up to the sounds of Bruce and Jim getting the grill prepared for burgers and brats, we lunched and then Jim, Cathy, and I walked the near two miles from the campground to the Sunset Cemetery, and returned back to our campsites just in time for cocktail hour. Bob and Moira had struck out on their own after our morning walk to Homolovi I, and they too returned to join us.

The Sunset Cemetery, the only remains from the first
Mormon settlement along the Little Colorado River (and Arizona for that matter).
The youngest buried here was three months old, the oldest about 52 years old.
A very tough existence.

The morning of our departure, we had a leisurely breakfast, prepared the camper for its trip home, but took a bit of time out to drive to Homolovi II, exploring that 1,100-room site that had a fully excavated ceremonial room, more potsherds lying out and about, and a few more intact walls than yesterday's Homolovi I.

Heading home, we reflected on our first trip. So far, all went well other than getting the trailer hitch stuck; a few items we wished we'd brought were put on a list for next time, and upon pulling into our driveway, we were stunned to be faced with Takeaway #5: Make sure you lock the trailer door or it'll open and flop back and forth while driving down an interstate. Fortunately, no damage was done* and while our next trip is completely unknown as of yet (April plans cancelled....dang these pandemics), we can't wait to get back on the road!

*OK OK it was my fault. This was the second, unused door that I popped open to poke my head out to say hello to our friends....and then neglected to LOCK it back in place.