Bonito Campground at Sunset Crater National Monument - 7/23/17

Bonito Campground at Sunset Crater National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona - 7/23/17

We left Tucson dripping in sweat ... A flurry of packing, loading, and puzzling over what we might have forgotten ... the humidity from the previous night's monsoon rain storm left us needing another shower after our shower.  We also caught bits of the final day of Le Tour and the ever dramatic final sprint on the Champs Elysees to the finish.  Viva Le Tour and the amazing athletes who enter our lives in July and the stunningly beautiful country of France that hosts this magnificent sporting event.

The drive to northern Arizona was dramatic in its own right for the monsoon storms swirling around the mesas and mountain tops, marching across the valleys.   Dark sheets of rain, clouds in menacing formation, blinding torrents of rain covering the roadways and then disappearing ... creating a visceral sense of the incredible energy found in these storms.

If you've never had the experience of monsoon storms in the desert Southwest, take a look at the work of photographer, Mike Oblinski, in the link below that captures the raw power of a monsoon.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5957544026/monsoon-iii-time-lapse-captures-the-raw-power-of-a-
monsoon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2016-october-18&ref_=pe_1822230_211942830_dpr_nl_227_32

Our return to Bonito Campground was welcome relief from driving in and around the storms ... having been here twice before it is starting to feel familiar, like a home base for starting and ending trips north.  We continued to have more rain through the evening, but Bambi kept us dry and Fritz got a rain water rinse to begin our travels.

Rain reflected in Bambi's side

Rain puddling on Fritz's "sun" roof

Raindrops glistening like jewels on the ponderosa pines (we've reached higher elevations - 7000+ feet)

We're on our way ...