First, a postscript from yesterday: the Ramada Limited in Holbrook AZ was a good choice. The price was incredible - $55.00 including taxes – and the room was clean and quiet. They have a fitness room with a really nice treadmill and elliptical. I want people to know that there are good rooms for not much money out there!
Then we drove on west through Flagstaff and then headed north on state highway 180 and state highway 64. The highways took us through miles of National Forest land and into the mountains. At first the mountains were heavily forested with tall, straight pine trees. This gave way to grassy stretches of land with piñon bushes and that gave way to mountain desert land. It was soothing and beautiful and we saw some fortunate folks who lived in lovely homes on lots of land with great views. We also saw homes of people who had settled in very remote land and seemed to be providing their own electricity with solar panels. There is certainly enough sun to use solar power for most needs.
Yesterday and this morning Dennis did not seem too enthusiastic about this side trip, but I could not get this close to the Grand Canyon without a visit. I suspected that movies, videos, photographs and paintings did not show the “real” canyon and its power. When we reached the park, our new senior lifetime pass saved us the $25.00 admission fee (yay!). We found a parking space and got out with the camera, wearing walking shoes and ready to walk part of the rim path.
When we reached the rim path and got our first glimpse of the Canyon, we stopped in our tracks, awestruck. Dennis said, “I hope you are happy to know that I am glad, now, that you made me do this side trip.” I stood for a few minutes in silence just breathing it in. The Grand Canyon wears its age like a solemn, coat of many colors, just waiting for us puny humans to begin to appreciate our relative insignificance. It brought tears to my eyes to see such powerful beauty and to try to imagine what it took to form this natural wonder. I usually think of our planet as a finished product, but here as we have driven through so many changing landscapes and especially today, it has become clear that our planet is a living, changing entity.
We took many pictures, but we agreed that no photo can really do it justice. We wanted to try to capture the many faces of the canyon. There were many overlook sites that became crowded with other tourists – all of us with cameras and taking different pictures for different reasons. We were surrounded by people speaking a wide variety of languages. We easily identified German, French, Spanish, Japanese and several variations of English. It was great to see people from all over who were awestruck by the natural splendor of this great National Park.
We tried to capture the colors, the layers of antiquity, the fabulous rock formations, the gaping chasms, and the scale. We are including a few examples with the understanding that it simply cannot convey what we saw and felt.
We walked the half mile to the Geology Museum, stopping for an occasional picture. The museum helped me to understand a little more about the formation of the Grand Canyon and the ineffable time scale. We walked around and read the displays and thought about what we were seeing. I would like to do a hike into the Canyon at some point, but I have to admit that it looks pretty intimidating! I bought a book to begin to learn about the preparations I need in order to be able to do a hike.
I have to give a big shout out to Lisa G. today. As we were walking the half mile back to our starting point, she texted and sent a picture of Pearl to let us know that Pearl is OK. Thanks Lisa! It was great to see our kitty and know that she is still doing her kitty best to guard the house.
We drove back to Williams AZ and found a motel room. Tomorrow we will cross the state line into California for more Rte 66 adventures. This was a grand side trip and we want to return. (I am secretly planning a luxury land cruise!)
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