Did I mention the Elk? I don't think I did.... As we were walking back from dinner on the first night at Grand Canyon we passed a family of Elk munching on the grass in front of the hotel! They were entirely unperturbed by us walking nervously past, or by the guy taking flash photos of them. They were back again the following morning and Stephen was taking photos. He said that people didn't notice they were there as they walked by - obviously focused on directly ahead and not looking left or right!
Notice I said Stephen was taking photos. I had been struck down with a little tummy trouble during the night so I wasn't up for taking sunrise pictures...any excuse for an extra 1/2 hour in bed!! I made it out of bed fairly early, enticed by the thought of a latte as promised on the promotional TV channel that had been running. What a HUGE disappointment! My latte was made first, then Stephen's Americano. He said that he knew something was wrong when he looked in his cup and the liquid was light brown as opposed to black. He said to the guy "you didn't change the coffee" and was told that the coffee was changed when it got "old". WHAT?? How often was that? Every hour? Day? Week? He re-made Stephen's with fresh coffee but mine was left. My latte can best be described as a "Vaguely coffee flavoured milk beverage" and the scones were freshly chiseled from the cliff face that morning. What a rip off! It cost us $17!
We did a portion on the Rim Walk round towards the East. It was beautiful. Absolutely stunning views! We were laughing at the total lack of Health and Safety. The path was paved, and at viewing points there were guard rails, but everywhere else it was just a few feet from the path to a very long drop! Given my vertigo and incredible ability to fall over my own feet I stayed well away from the edge.
We went to the nearby town over lunchtime to watch the Imax film of the Grand Canyon. It was great, even if I was beginning to drop off - darkened rooms are not good for keeping me awake! I had the beginnings of a headache so I was glugging water in an attempt to stave it off. We headed back to the Grand Canyon and began the rim walk to the West from Powell to Mohave Point. The first section was paved and an easy walk. The second section was just a well-tramped dirt path. It began as an easy walk around the rim. Granted it was a little closer to the edge than previous trails, but it was okay. It was about 3/4 of the way round that it began to get more than a little scary! It had snowed recently and with typical Spark luck, the only part of the path that hadn't seen the sun and thawed out was the bit that sloped steeply down to a sheer vertical drop!! It was a lovely combination of ice and mud practically guaranteed to tip us over the edge into a mile long free fall. I made Stephen go first... We inched our way down very carefully, knees knocking! By the time we got to Mohave point my head was pounding- probably from a combination of stress and dehydration - so we got the bus back to the village where I slugged another load of water and put my head down for an hour. I was no better after that so Stephen went out to get sunset photos whilst I had another sleep. When he got back I was dying and demanding painkillers before my head rolled off my shoulders. The shop was closed and the front desk told him that all shops in the Grand Canyon village close at 6pm on a Sunday for stocktaking. D'oh! I was going to have to suffer - and I did!!
We were woken at 1am by some woman along the corridor letting out a piercing scream. As we were 10ft from the front desk I thought we'd let them take care of it - and judging by the lack of doors opening I guess everyone else thought the same. Besides, she'd woken me up and made me realise that my head was still pounding and only tenuously attached to my neck! We figured that she'd found some wildlife - mouse, elk, tarantula....
We were still unable to get painkillers the next morning as the shop didn't have any. We were going to go for a walk until we got outside and found out just how terribly cold it was! Instead we packed up the car and headed to Flagstaff which is supposed to be a lovely little town. It wasn't terribly appealing in the howling wind and beginnings of snow so we hung around only long enough to find a Best Buy and buy another passport drive as we'd filled the one we'd taken with photos, and buy painkillers and water.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Driving to the Ditch
Exhaustion got the better of me last night and I didn't have the energy to write about our journey from Monument Valley to the Grand Canyon. The first 100 miles of it were pretty ugly as you'll have seen from the photos! Snow was forecast and boy, did we get it! It hadn't reached the valley when we set off, but it had hit a couple of miles away. A few miles further on and we couldn't see anything out of the side windows of the car. There could have been stunning scenery and we wouldn't have had a clue! We did see one unforgettable sight though... We were driving through a town when we saw three horses being herded across the main road by a dog. No sign of a human...but there was another dog watching to make sure they made it across okay!
We came out of the other end of the snow storm into clear blue skies and mercifully clear roads. The lack of caffeine was hitting hard and Stephen and I were niggling each other. I was being berated for making us set off from Monument Valley so early as we were going to get to the hotel before 12. Needless to say I wasn't amused. This was the freakin' Grand Canyon we were going to...surely there was enough to stop and stare at en route?! We came across a trading post in Cameron so we stopped, looked round the gigantic gift shop, marvelled at the Navajo rugs (and their very high price tag) then went in search of their restaurant for coffee. We had brunch as well. My goodness the portions were HUGE! Stephen had the Chili and Navajo Fry Bread - what a plateful! I'd had the Navajo Fry bread a couple of nights before. Its delicious drizzled with honey, but very greasy. I suspect that there may have been some Navajo/Scottish cross-breeding at some point in the past as deep fried sweet/savoury things seem to be popular in both cultures. I bet Fry bread and honey would go down a treat in Glasgow, and deep fried Mars bars could become a new Navajo staple!!
As suspected we didn't make it to the hotel until nearly 5pm as we stopped at nearly every viewing point to marvel and take another shed-load of photos. It was a cracking clear day. Visibility was around 130 miles. Its difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the canyon. We were looking at peaks that seemed relatively close and were actually 20 miles away.
Sunset was spectacular. We went to Hopi point on the bus (along with many, many others!) and watched as the colours changed from pastel to vibrant reds and orange as the sun made its descent. It was a little bit Disney at the end through - very efficient - as a stream of buses came to pick people up, then there was a stream of headlights as people left the park.
And we're no longer dry! The restaurant makes cracking margaritas!!
We came out of the other end of the snow storm into clear blue skies and mercifully clear roads. The lack of caffeine was hitting hard and Stephen and I were niggling each other. I was being berated for making us set off from Monument Valley so early as we were going to get to the hotel before 12. Needless to say I wasn't amused. This was the freakin' Grand Canyon we were going to...surely there was enough to stop and stare at en route?! We came across a trading post in Cameron so we stopped, looked round the gigantic gift shop, marvelled at the Navajo rugs (and their very high price tag) then went in search of their restaurant for coffee. We had brunch as well. My goodness the portions were HUGE! Stephen had the Chili and Navajo Fry Bread - what a plateful! I'd had the Navajo Fry bread a couple of nights before. Its delicious drizzled with honey, but very greasy. I suspect that there may have been some Navajo/Scottish cross-breeding at some point in the past as deep fried sweet/savoury things seem to be popular in both cultures. I bet Fry bread and honey would go down a treat in Glasgow, and deep fried Mars bars could become a new Navajo staple!!
As suspected we didn't make it to the hotel until nearly 5pm as we stopped at nearly every viewing point to marvel and take another shed-load of photos. It was a cracking clear day. Visibility was around 130 miles. Its difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the canyon. We were looking at peaks that seemed relatively close and were actually 20 miles away.
Sunset was spectacular. We went to Hopi point on the bus (along with many, many others!) and watched as the colours changed from pastel to vibrant reds and orange as the sun made its descent. It was a little bit Disney at the end through - very efficient - as a stream of buses came to pick people up, then there was a stream of headlights as people left the park.
And we're no longer dry! The restaurant makes cracking margaritas!!
Our scenic drive to Grand Canyon
Should have gone to Florida....
....why aren't we in Florida?....
...REALLY should have gone to Florida!...
...SO HAPPY we DIDN'T go to Florida!
The Grand Canyon (or a small bit of it anyway)Saturday, 7 March 2009
Sunset at Monument Valley
In search of the pefect sunset shot we jumped in the car tonight and drove about 10 miles away from Monument Valley. The things we do! Standing by the side of the road, freezing our fingers off....and in the end it wasn't even a really spectacular sunset. We'd been hoping (as we always do!) for a really rich orange/red sky, but our hopes were dashed.
Okay, so it looks pretty good even it we didn't get the depth of colour we were hoping for!
Okay, so it looks pretty good even it we didn't get the depth of colour we were hoping for! When we got back we headed for dinner. We have been dry for the past two nights as they don't sell alcohol on Navajo lands. D'oh! If I'd known I'd have come prepared!! My ears pricked up tonight when a lady along the way was asking her friend in for Happy Hour. She had hooch!! I was debating whether we could gatecrash, but had nothing to bring to the party as we'd eaten the Mini Eggs for breakfast...
We're also two days without Starbucks. We'd better pass one tomorrow or Stephen and I will be killing one another in the car!! I think caffeine withdrawal will be pretty severe by tomorrow!!!
Monument Valley - Shaken and Stirred
Unbelievably, whilst we are on holiday, we have been up at 06:15 two days in a row now. I hope Stephen doesn't get the bug for sunrise photography...sunset is a lot more civilised seeing as it usually comes with a cocktail or two! It was worth getting up though. The sunrise was pretty stunning this morning. Would you believe that, despite being up at dawn, we were still pushed for time? The Valley tour begins at 09:00 and at 08:30 we still had to get out the door and buy tickets. No time for breakfast, so we ended up scoffing the remains of a packet of Cadburys Mini Eggs I had in my bag. A couple of mini eggs was enough to stave off immediate hunger, but a couple of real eggs would probably been better!
My weirdo alert was screeching this morning as we were sitting waiting for the tour jeep. Some guy came up to us and asked if we had been into the Valley yet. We said we were about to go on the tour and there followed a thorough interrogation. He was probably only trying to make conversation, but he did it in such an accusatory manner and without blinking it began to weird me out!! I was really glad when he walked off with his girlfriend and got in their sedan car to self-drive the 17 mile loop.
If he had done his research he would have seen the words "partially-paved" when describing the roadway, and if he was observant he would have seen that all the tours were in 4WD vehicles. I would not have liked to try and get a regular car round the Loop that is for sure!! I'm pretty sure that axles must get broken out there!
Eddie (our Navajo guide) was obviously a veteran. He knew when to drive up the wrong side of the road to avoid the potholes and the really rough bits. Not that it was a smooth ride. Far from it! We were bounced about until our teeth rattled and swayed like we were on a camel. We were definitely shaken....and when we stopped at the first point on the tour I was certainly stirred. I do seem to have become an emotional wreck in recent years. The slightest thing will make me well up...today it was seeing the majesty of Monument Valley spread out before me. It was utterly, utterly stunning.
I have wanted to come here for many years - probably something to do with all the old Western movies I used to watch on a Sunday with Dad. John Ford made about 8 movies here and John Wayne starred in quite a few of those (Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon etc), so many of the vistas are instantly recognisable, each more stunning than the last.
We bounced our way round the valley for 3 hours taking loads of photos. Competition is fierce between us, and we're both getting loads of great shots. I spent this afternoon sorting through some of them as it was becoming a daunting task!
My weirdo alert was screeching this morning as we were sitting waiting for the tour jeep. Some guy came up to us and asked if we had been into the Valley yet. We said we were about to go on the tour and there followed a thorough interrogation. He was probably only trying to make conversation, but he did it in such an accusatory manner and without blinking it began to weird me out!! I was really glad when he walked off with his girlfriend and got in their sedan car to self-drive the 17 mile loop.
If he had done his research he would have seen the words "partially-paved" when describing the roadway, and if he was observant he would have seen that all the tours were in 4WD vehicles. I would not have liked to try and get a regular car round the Loop that is for sure!! I'm pretty sure that axles must get broken out there!
Eddie (our Navajo guide) was obviously a veteran. He knew when to drive up the wrong side of the road to avoid the potholes and the really rough bits. Not that it was a smooth ride. Far from it! We were bounced about until our teeth rattled and swayed like we were on a camel. We were definitely shaken....and when we stopped at the first point on the tour I was certainly stirred. I do seem to have become an emotional wreck in recent years. The slightest thing will make me well up...today it was seeing the majesty of Monument Valley spread out before me. It was utterly, utterly stunning.
I have wanted to come here for many years - probably something to do with all the old Western movies I used to watch on a Sunday with Dad. John Ford made about 8 movies here and John Wayne starred in quite a few of those (Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon etc), so many of the vistas are instantly recognisable, each more stunning than the last.
We bounced our way round the valley for 3 hours taking loads of photos. Competition is fierce between us, and we're both getting loads of great shots. I spent this afternoon sorting through some of them as it was becoming a daunting task!
Friday, 6 March 2009
Photos of Monument Valley
Appraoching the Valley
06:20 Sunrise over Monument Valley taken from our balcony
Stunning!
Wow! What a show nature puts on...
The left mitten
John Ford's point. A very famous vista seen in a LOT of Westerns!
Me!
Left a bit Stephen....
The Three Sisters
The Totem pole.Clint Eastwood climbed this during the Eiger Sanction.
The top is actually large enough to land a helicopter on!
At Window Rock
A male Hogan (traditional Navajo dwelling)
A Petroglyph
Artists PointIt looked like someone had taken a giant watercolour brush and painted the desert floor.
Window rock
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