January 9, 2009. Prescott, Arizona (34° 34′ 6″ N, 112° 27′ 41″ W)

DESCRIPTION OF PREVIOUS WEEK:
Alice:a people oriented week, driving up to Prescott visiting with folks we met at last year's Overland Expo, rock climbing with the kids, some great breakfasts & a jazz evening out.
Jay: Cough, cough, cough. Ahhh – Finally those antibiotics are kicking in. Had a great time meeting people and sharing travel and “doing good as you go” ideas.
Kurt: Everyone we visit with has such cool cars and trucks; wow, what nice views and sunsets up in Prescott.
Maya: I like it when I get so much attention from new people we meet, but don't forget my nap and bedtime, because I'll get even crankier!
Perl & Flash: OK, so the truck shakes much more than our house. This is enough now, can we please go back home.

PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY
Eco-guests – None at the moment, taking reservations, let us know!
Friends
1)Don and Kim Greene: The Greenes are a wonderful couple that have been to 70+ countries, starting with backpacking and then upgrading to their Mistubishi Fuso. Along the way, Don and Kim have started a foundation to foster learning about other cultures amongst US schoolchildren called Adventure Learning Foundation (www.QuestConnect.org). They've developed detailed teaching curriculum and assignments for teachers to engage their students. We'll definitely be using their information as we teach our own kids but also as great guidance along the way as we travel as they have great country backgrounds and links. Most recently, Don and Kim have started Harvest Hosts (www.harvesthosts.com) – a very interesting organization which sets up opportunities for Overlanders to stay overnight in vineyards in the US. Hmmm – beautiful hillside locations, quiet stargazing, lots of unique wine – a perfect idea. So, we had a great visit with Don and Kim at dinner and then stayed in EcoRoamer on their gorgeous property in the Prescott hills, complete with deer, running water and stellar views. We had some great discussions about their travels, their foundation work, our foundation work (www.themuskokafoundation.org), their new venture and where they are traveling to next (UK, Europe starting in April).

2) Scott and Stephanie Brady: Scott leads the charge for Expedition Portal (www.expeditionportal.com) where we met all of our Overlanding friends for the first time. Our Ecoroamer build thread has 100,000+ views on it and we've received absolutely amazing input from the community on building our truck. Scott is also the publisher for our favorite magazine, Overland Journal (www.overlandjournal.com) and Stephanie is the designer for the magazine. Stephanie – how do you make it all look so professional and beautiful without a huge office and staff? we are in awe! We had a great discussion about how the Overlanding community can “do good as you go” and perhaps start out on the Arizona/New Mexico border with a Native American tribe, we'll keep you posted on these efforts. Scott also let me borrow the big red Dodge Power Wagon for a while – awesome driving, next time I'll have to try it off-road. Scott and Stephanie are off to Argentina for a while on a well-deserved vacation, have fun!

3)Others at Overland Journal (Jeremy, Michael): - thanks guys for visiting our EcoRoamer home and taking pictures!

PLACES
Camping/waypoints
1) Point of Rocks private RV park (www.pointofrockscampground.com) - very nice RV park right opposite the Overland Journal office. Many of the sites are surrounded by huge boulders common in the area, with nice views of the vicinity. Kurt, Maya and I climbed all the way to the top of the rocks near the campsite, Kurt all by himself – here's a picture of us at the top ! We avoided falls and managed to scale around the scary cacti that jump out at you (our friend Mark in Scottsdale ended up in the emergency room with the needles in his hand from one of these cacti). There are some long time residents in the RV park, but their areas are kept very clean and sites are relatively far apart with actual trees and rocks in between. There is also a nice hike from the end of the park with views of the lake, Kurt, Maya and I had a great time walking around and exploring. The rest rooms are clean, large, and incredibly heated! Before our heat solution really kicked in, I must admit I was hanging around inside. By the way, we are finding ideas for RV friendly places to stop at www.rvparksreview.com and The Frugal Shunpiker.

Notable food:
1) Dinner and Jazz – 129½: An American Jazz Grill . Great food, nice wine and some very simple jazz with older gents on an upright piano and a bass. The kids stood right by the musicians and enjoyed the music for several tunes, it was perfect.
2) Breakfast – Waffle Iron. Pretty much the best waffles I've ever had with unusual homemade syrups such as apricot and boysenberry. Pay the few cents extra for the real stuff. Their eggs, hash, steak, was very mediocre, but between the good coffee (no cappuccinos here) and the amazing waffles, definitely worth a stop, note closes at 2pm.
3) Breakfast/brunch – Dinner Bell Cafe at Creekside. The waffles, relatively speaking, were mediocre, but great selection of eggs, omelets, sausages, options for free range eggs, soy and non-fat lattes, really made for a great elegant breakfast. The location and the décor are pleasant and just a nice place to while away the time along the little creek that runs through town. Can go for a little hike along it after a nice breakfast/brunch.

THE TRUCK
- Things are starting to really come together, we bought wonderful warm comforters for the whole family, extra pillows, foldable dish rack, extra shoes for the kids, a shoe rack (until our stair shoe drawers are put in), etc. Really feels like we're making our home here. The kids have put up pictures (INSERT) that they've drawn and the stockings from Monika and Gary's place. We've also put up a picture of the USA and will be adding in states as we travel. The kids and I are very far behind Jay in terms of where we've been in the USA, so this is an adventure for all of us!

YOGA ON THE ROAD (YOTR)

There were limited yoga options this time around due to all the visiting and driving, but I saw one interesting studio opposite Creekside Cafe called YogaShala at www.yogashalaarizona.com but the classes did look slightly skewed towards the restorative/yin yoga styles rather than power/ashtanga, nothing wrong with restorative, but that's usually not what relaxes me. Yes, I admit, I am one of those people that get seriously relaxed from a killer workout and get very stressed during an easy, relaxing session. Even during massages, I need the really deep tissue massage that most people would find painful, when I get one of those aromatherapy messages, I lie there the whole time being slightly frustrated, I'm sure that says something about my personality, but I embrace it fully. Now, back to yoga: I ended up doing lots of yoga on my own at the campsite and this is how cold I was – yes, you guessed it, I put my mat down in the heated bathrooms! I've always said, yoga is so amazing, it can be done in very difficult conditions, including prisons, tight spaces, and I suppose bathrooms, so here I am living my point.