Grand Canyon

After skipping a couple of weekend homes, it was great having Darlene come out to visit me (thanks, Mr. Jones) in Flagstaff.

Late Friday afternoon, she and I took a little run down US 89a toward Sedona.  As you descend down alongside Oak Creek, you are treated with vermillion cliffs that make you stop every chance you can, just to marvel at the beauty.

In Sedona, we weighed our options on eating and finally settling on The Cowboy Club where we both chowed down on a brisket sandwich.  I must mention that it had started raining that afternoon and found ourselves fighting for space under a hastily purchased undersized and over priced umbrella.  So that may have played a part in the decision for the Cowboy Club since it was in walking distance from the parking garage.

Making our way back up the beautiful Hwy 89a, we sat by the fire at the hotel and chatted with a couple of Canadians who knew more about the area than I did after 4 weeks here.

Saturday, we headed up to the Grand Canyon.  Arriving there, it was cold, wet and the visibility was less than opportune.  We were confronted with sudden storms of something called "graupel", a substance somewhere between hail, sleet and snow.  With that and the wet splattering snow, we rode east back to the eastern entrance and checked out the trading post in Cameron before giving up and coming back into Flagstaff.

Needless to say, Darlene was more than just a little disappointed in the canyon experience so for her last day here, we decided to try it again.  As we drove west on I-40, we began to see more snow and by the time we were to turn north at Williams, there was enough of it that we began seeing snow trucks dropping sand.  Within 20 miles north of the interstate, the heavens opened, the snow ceased and the sun came out and began to warm.  What  a difference a day makes.

We had not intended to walk as much as we did but found ourselves walking from the visitor's center all the way to El Tovar Lodge.  Along the way we were swarmed with Asian tour crowds and watched as they took selfies of themselves with hand held extensions for their iPhones.

Getting away from the bus stops, we still watched people taking extraordinary photo opportunities near the edges.  We heard stories of the more bullet proof visitors doing hand stand near the edge and we witnessed several near edge experiences.  Of course the older ones kept a safe distance.  Time being short, you just don't want to lose those extra days.

At one point we saw a very large bird taking advantages of the updrafts.  Having heard about the California Condors being released into the area I wanted to believe I saw one. Zooming in, I could see what appeared to be white numbers under the wings.  One man's Condor is another's buzzard.

I might have been wrong but still, this squirrel was keeping an eye out for it.

  As we walked, we couldn't help stopping, taking pictures and marveling at every turn along the trail.

Each and every view seemed to be more spectacular than the last.  As we walked, we speculated on how difficult the trail down the canyon would be and if we were able to not get down...but if we could get back up.  That place is deep. 

After walking better than 3 miles along the paved walkway, we came to a cliff that overlooked Bright Angel Trail, the more widely used trail

It's also the one that the mules take riders down.  I wouldn't ride one simply because I'd feel sorry for the mules.  It reminded me of the poor horse I rode up a trail on Maui last year.  In this picture, you can see a glimpse of the Colorado River.  The dark line in the top right is the bridge that hikers as well as the mules use to cross the river.

Anyway, we arrived at El Tovar, near the park shuttle connection, and had lunch there.  The prices were reasonable and the food was great.  I had the Reuben sandwich.

After taking the shuttle back, we got back into our car and rode around the camp grounds admiring some of the travel trailers and motor homes.  There were elk all over the place but looked pretty scruffy as they began losing their winter coats.

Along the way headed east, I was a sucker for every pull out along the canyon rim.

As we ended the trip, the sun was getting low which warmed up the canyon walls.

At Desert View, we could see the Colorado River quite well near the beginning of the larger canyon.

   It was a great trip and Ms Darlene hopes to return soon.

Noted visitors

Arizona and Utah

It's Flagstaff, Arizona.  I'll be up here for maybe 6 weeks and so far, I've not been back to the Grand Canyon yet but have made my way up to the Arches National Park and Monument Valley in Utah.

As I was headed north into Utah, I looked back in my rear view mirror and noticed something familiar with the view.  Pulling over and getting out, I recognized this spot where Forrest Gump stopped running.  I'd always wanted to see this spot.

 

It seemed you could drive forever on this road without seeing anyone for miles but kept on plugging away toward Moab, Utah.  

Knowing there was about to be a full moon and an eclipse that weekend, I went directly on to the Arches National Park hoping to find a great spot for the moon shots. 

Being several hours prior to sunset, i visited lots of the turn outs with dozens of arches

As sundown approached, the formations began to glow, bringing out incredible desert colors.

As I was headed back to a spot I wanted to photograph the full moon, I turned through a canyon and was face to face with a full moon.

It really was an inconvenient place to stop for a photo so took a quick shot and moved on to one of the turn outs I had mentally reserved.  Others who had seen the large moon rising were stopping and a crowd formed snapping photos with iPhone and iPads too.  I probably took a dozen myself.

Realizing I had failed to nail down a hotel for the night and had no cell phone coverage, I went back to Moab where I was turned down at 3 places.  The nice lady at the Hampton told me there was absolutely nothing to be had for a room but gave me the number of a lodge 20 miles up the Colorado River.  I got the last room.  The next morning, before sunrise, I got up and rode down a couple of miles along the river to witness another Blood Moon eclipse.  Gosh it was cold out there.

There was a lot of prophetic stories about this Blood Moon/Eclipse so I found it just a little spooky out there by myself watching it.

After checking out of my room I went back to The Arches National Park to see a few things I missed the afternoon before.  My pedometer on my handy dandy Samsung phone told me I walked 4.7 miles through that dust place in a pair of Justins.  I really needed a more appropriate set of hiking boots.

Arches after arches. Since I may never get back there, I mistakenly thought I had to see them all but after a while, one decides that if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

So, after woofing down a hamburger in Moab, I headed south toward Monument Valley, passing by my Forrest Gump site.  Monument Valley is run by the Navajo Nation and so my good ole National Park card was no use there.

By the end of the day, I  was tired, dusty and felt like the desert around me.  Headed back south, I stopped off at a lesser tourist area and checked into a mom and pop motel and was glad to get it.

I apologize

It's been a while since I've visited my travel log/blog.  I have no excuses other than an acute case of apathy.

Since I left New Mexico, I've visited Vancouver, Washington for which the experience was so miserable, I'll think twice about wanting to go there again.  Other than a side trip to Canon Beach, I consider it a bust.

From there, I spent several weeks experiencing the bayous and Mardi Gras near home in Morgan City, Louisiana near home

 

as well as a few weeks in Kansas City, Kansas being able to catch a car show and visit the World War 1 museum.

 

Flagstaff, Arizona is next.

"Goat Your Hand Baggage"

"Cabra su equipaje de mano" or "Goat your hand baggage".

At least that's what my handy-dandy language  translator app told me about American Airlines' luggage size checking thingy.

I find if you reverse translate it 3 or 4 times back and forth between Spanish and English  you get an interesting variety of translations.

Now, if I could just get my AA flight app to work, I would be in business.

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

I've been working in Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico again so instead of flying home for the holidays, Ms Darlene flew out so we could cruise around from Albuquerque through Santa Fe and Taos.



Our first night (Wednesday) was in Santa Fe where we wandered around the Old Town sector and eating at a local restaurant called The Shed.

It's quite common for people to put out luminaries during holiday seasons.  Luminaries originally were paper bags with a candle in them.  We saw newer versions in store that amounted to a plastic version of the bag with battery powered candles in them.

For Thanksgiving Day, we made our way up to Taos and the Taos Ski Valley which had just opened for the season after receiving a bit of snow.  Unfortunately, Angel Fire was not due to open until later on in December.

Instead of taking the quick way up, we took the scenic route stopping often for the views.

  We were amused at how tame the deer seemed to be as we rode around the homes at Angelfire.

Our memorable Thanksgiving meal was a chicken sandwich from the ski shop but that's OK, we didn't over eat. 

We sat and watched the skiers for quite a while, marveling at the age of some on the slopes.



One little girl we talked to was only 4 and already quite the enthusiast.

Friday after Thanksgiving we drove around the Enchanted Circle through towns like Eagles Nest, Red River, Sipapu and Questa.  Red River and Sipapu had small ski slopes open and seemed to attract families on a budget.



 On past Questa, we drove across the Rio Grande Gorge bridge just north of Taos.  Now, that's a deep ditch.  After a walk halfway across it and back again, we enjoyed the sundown in the square in Taos.






The last night in Taos found us shopping for....well, just the sake of shopping but eventually wound up in El Prado and had dinner at Orlando's.

 Orlando's is pretty popular and located in an older, bright colored home with a fire pit outside. The only problem I had was while we waited outside at the fire pit, they would call people's names to be seated and the speaker was so loud, when it went off I nearly threw my cell phone in the fire...twice.







 Saturday we removed ourselves from Taos and headed back to Santa Fe in time to wander a bit more in the Old Town.

Visiting the cathedral there.
 

We had been advised to check out the crepes at a French bakery.

 Just as it began to darken, they lighted up the trees in the square where local musicians sang and drummed.

Over all we really enjoyed our 5 day weekend and ended it by driving back to Albuquerque to meet up with one of Darlene's long lost cousins.  The best part was we didn't have to eat Mexican food and enjoyed ourselves at Pappadeaux's cajun restaurant of all places.

So, Monday morning I put Ms Darlene on the plane and headed back south for Truth Or Consequences.