After our visits at the three national parks, it was time to head back East toward Florida. It was late October, 2025, and we had roughly 3 weeks to get to Tennessee where we had planned to spend Thanksgiving in the Smoky Mountains with my (Kim’s) family. From the Grand Canyon, we headed south to Flagstaff, where we stayed at Woody Mountain Campground located on historic Route 66. We spent 3 nights in Flagstaff which gave us 2 full days. We chose Flagstaff because Randy had found a hike there on Mt. Humphrey’s, which happens to be the tallest peak in the state of Arizona. I mean, we hiked the highest peak in South Dakota (Black Elk Peak) many times, so why not?
Mount Humprey’s, Flagstaff, AZ
So, our first day in Flagstaff would be to summit Mount Humpreys. As we drove up the mountain, we realized that the hike would begin at 9,200 feet. For reference, the summit of Black Elk Peak was 7,242…we were to start the hike at almost 2,000 feet higher! This hike was no joke. In typical Randy fashion, the 9ish mile hike turned out to be more like 11 with 3,400 feet elevation gain which ended at 12,633 feet! But that wasn’t the worst of it. Just walking to the trailhead we were both unusually winded and once we were a couple miles in we both got headaches. We basically had altitude sickness the entire hike!
Somehow we prevailed. It definitely took a very long time with taking lots of breaks. Eventually, we acclimated but the hardest part was the volcanic rock we had to navigate for several miles near the top. It was loose rock that was difficult to stay on “trail” and if you got off trail, it took half a mile to get back on. In several areas taking a step would sink your boots up to your shins in loose rock. Hardest. Hike. Ever! But so glad we made it through. Definitely not doing that one again…check it off the list.
Day trip to Sedona, AZ
The second day we had in Flagstaff, we decided to drive to Sedona with Sophie which was a beautiful drive. Once there we stopped at historic Tlaquepaque village which is known for it’s vibrant arts and cultural shops and restaurants. We walked along the shops and enjoyed the outdoor sculptures throughout the mall. After that we drove around a bit more to explore. The Sedona area is much more populated and busier than we expected so we didn’t get to see everything. Hopefully, we’ll be able to stop again on a future trip.
After we left Flagstaff, we continued traveling on Route 66 (which is now I40) across Arizona and to Albuquerque, NM, where we stayed at a Harvest Host called Starr Brothers Brewery. We arrived later in the day than we wanted but found a place to park in the crowded lot. We grabbed a couple of beers at the brewery before retiring back to the RV. The next morning, we continued our journey on I40 to Canyon, TX (near Amarillo), where we stayed the night at a lovely winery called Bar Z Winery. At Bar Z, we sampled some wine before buying a couple of bottles to take with us. Again, the lot was a bit crowded to us since we’re mostly alone at Harvest Hosts. It appeared that everyone else was making their way east along with us.
After a couple days traveling and staying at Harvest Hosts, we booked a week at Lake Thunderbird State Park in Norman, OK. We decided that since we didn’t have to be in Tennessee until the end of November, we could slow down a bit. After we left Oklahoma, we stopped again in Barling, AR (near Fort Smith) to spend another week at a state park there called Springhill Park. It was nice to slow down a bit after our 3 weeks traveling in Utah and Arizona. I got some sewing for my shop done and we could still get workouts in at nearby Orange Theory studios. We also enjoyed the fall weather, leaves changing and a couple campfires.
After chilling at the state parks it was time to move on. We continued east and stopped at a brewery in Morillton, AR, called Point Remove Brewery. We stayed one night there as the only Harvest Host guest before moving on the next day to Samuel T. Bryant Distillery in Jackson, TN. The distillery was very cool and we sampled a few of their spirits but ended up buying a couple local craft beers to enjoy on their porch.
At this point, we still had about a week before we were due to be in the Smoky’s, so we booked a few days at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill, TN. We had planned to stop in to meet Brian Preston and Bo Hanson of the Money Guy Show in nearby Franklin, TN. Randy has been a long time listener and follower of their show and it was great fun to meet Brian Preston during our tour there. After our time in Chapel Hill, we made our way to Precision RV repair in Golden, MS. We planned to leave the RV there to have some work done on it while we spent time in the Smoky’s with family for Thanksgiving.
After spending Thanksgiving with my parents, sis and nephews in the Smoky Mountains, we headed south toward Florida for the winter. We made a stop at Folklore Brewing & Meadery in Dothan, AL, for a night and had our first Harvest Host stay with electric hookups. The beer was awesome, although the weather was not! It was cold and rainy but still glad we got to check out this really cool spot. We’d love to stop here again someday. After one night in Dothan, we headed to Lake City, FL where we stayed a night on our friends property before heading further south to Estero, FL, where we’d spend winter.
