Category Archives: Arizona

Arizona, Belaggio, Colorado River, Five Diamonds, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Las Vegas, Nevada, No guns!, Old Route 66, Route 66, Uncategorized

Viva Las Vegas! 🎼🎹🎤

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Today has been a day of extremes as we started in Kingman, a small, albeit very comfortable, Route 66 motel and have ended the day in 5 diamond luxury at The Bellagio in Las Vegas. Of course, I have to mention the visit to the Hoover Dam along the way.

Let’s start with our journey to the Dam through more of the Mohave Desert, but with rocks and mountains of granite rather than the sandstone we loved in Monument Valley.  There was an openness to the vista and wide sweeping valley floors, miles wide, before the land rose to another mountain range. Deep into the mountains at the edge of the state, we also knew that we would have to cross a magnificent bridge from Arizona into Nevada before turning back on ourselves to wind down a steep road back into Arizona to access the Visitors’ Centre and the huge dam across the Colorado River.

Any fans of thriller films will have seen heroes diving or abseiling from such structures but my heart was in my mouth at the mere idea as I tried to photograph the wall of the dam from top to bottom.

 

The engineering involved and the electricity generated, to say nothing of the spectacle created, are just jaw-dropping in terms of statistics and sheer beauty

We spent quite a bit of time walking across the top of the dam and around the terraces of the Visitors’ Centre before taking the odd comic photo and travelling the remaining 20 odd miles further into Nevada. A slight difference in scenery.

As Carolyn has never been to Las Vegas before, as I got an exceptional hotel deal, and as I hadn’t stayed here before…I thought I could justify a bit of luxury at this stage of our trip.  Just as an aside, if anyone thinks luxury comes with total ease and comfort, think again. I am shattered. Just walking through the hotel to get to the elevators, only to walk miles of corridor to find your room, is a workout in itself.  But the view!  The Bellagio fountains are dancing, the Hotel Paris and its Eiffel Tower are opposite and the neon lights of The Strip are burning vast wattage. It’s Blackpool on speed!!

After cocktails and a wander, a visit to Caesar’s Palace, which has grown beyond all recognition from the place I once knew – they even have a Gordon Ramsay pub and grill! – it’s time to retreat and enjoy the luxury.  So, with a cold beer in hand, that’s it for tonight.

Carolyn’s Curios

So, we’re in Las Vegas. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it is impressive. ‘Blackpool on speed’ is one description but it is bigger and grander by far. However, despite its best efforts, it still has an air of trying too hard at pretence, somehow.

Every hotel, it seems, has a Casino. Games of Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker… and myriads of different ‘Slots’ – the latter, predominantly populated by women – are everywhere. I almost laughed out loud when I walked into ‘our’ Casino and heard the first track of music being played… The Police’s “Can’t stand losing…”!!! Seemed appropriate.

As Kath mentioned, the journey over incorporated visiting the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. It wasn’t on our original schedule but we wanted to build it in. Well worth the slight detour and the time spent there. Getting there brought us into disrepute with our Sat. Nav…. again. The website said we couldn’t cross the dam from Arizona. Ok, so, as we were coming from Arizona and wanted to drive over the dam, we intended to drive from Arizona to Nevada over the new bridge. Then we would drive over the dam from Nevada to Arizona. Hmm. But,… we found, once there, we could drive back over the bridge from… Arizona to Nevada! As Hannibal Smith used to say in the ‘A’ Team, “It’s good when a plan comes together.

The dam is impressive! Very impressive! Needless to say, security is important and we had airport type scanner scrutiny. Guns and knives were banned!

As today was a detour, we only spent about 600 yards on our beloved Route 66. Tomorrow will be the first (and last!) day of the trip without us being on any part of the Mother Road. America’s Highway will have to wait until the next day. Tomorrow is Las Vegas and the Strip with Rock of Ages in the evening.

Arizona, Awesome, Chipmunk, Colorado River, Elk, Grand Canyon, I40, Mules, Prairie dog, Route 66, South Rim, United States, Williams

River deep and mountain high…🎼🎤🎹

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There is no doubt that the Colorado River, that flows through the Grand Canyon, is deep and the sheer sides of the cliffs are a mile high.  It doesn’t stop the millions of visitors from peering over the edge and stepping out onto the unguarded ledges, so who were we not to join in?

It was a first visit for both of us and, after some last minute research, we elected to go to the South Rim which is managed by the National Parks and is quite superb.  For $30 per car you can park at any of the excellent parking areas and spend the day hopping on and off shuttle buses which take you to to many vantage points to capture the odd photograph. There were films, information points, guides, restaurants and just about anything you could need. We had intended to drive ourselves around, and many do, but the shuttle buses were an easy solution. The ticket last for a week, too

In the film we watched, we were told that the only limit to the vistas was the extent of our imagination, and so it was.  Let a small number of our photographs provide the evidence for wanting to stay for 10 hours and wait for the setting sun to paint its own tribute…..

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Carolyn’s Curios

Our first day since Chicago that we haven’t moved hotel! A long day at Grand Canyon but well worth it. The history it has had, and shows, is incredible.

So,… animals? Today, we saw a prairie dog, several elks: including two walking in front of our car in the dark! Oh, deer (sic!). And, Alvin! Well, it was a chipmunk and aren’t they all called Alvin?

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Mule trips are recommended here but we didn’t succumb. My dad looked after a mule when he was in the army during the war. He named it after my mum. Apparently, she had stubborn genes. What?!

Driving back the fifty or so miles tonight reminded me of the importance of dipping headlights and that, it seems, American drivers don’t accept that. Dazzling – sights during the day; headlights at night.

Finally, from me, the power of nature…
The Grand Canyon has what are described as “unique combinations of geologic colour and erosional forms which decorate a canyon that is 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep”. The Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses through its immense size. It was formed millions of years ago and has been mainly eroded by the Colorado River. Water carving its way through rocks over eons of time to a mile in depth. Animals and plants forcing their acceptance in the harsh environment and, above all, humans for thousands of years have lived here. In awe, as ever.

Arizona, Bobby Troup, Brunch, Flagstaff, I40, Meteor Crater, Mountain Time, Route 66, Sipp Shoppe, Take it Easy, The Eagles, Time zones, United States, Walnut Bridge, Winona

Take it easy, don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy 🎼🎤

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We left our tepee fairly early and, at that particular moment, we were still fairly confused as to the correct time. Our watches said one thing but the phones said one hour earlier. We knew yesterday that, within the national park, the State of Arizona adopted standard Mountain Time, ie not Summer Time, but our experiences today indicate that it appears to apply throughout. Therefore, in line with California, we are 8 hours from the UK.

Just a mile or two down the road we found the Jack Rabbit Trading Post sign, which is a bit of an icon on Route 66.  It looks tired compared to examples in the books so we had to have fun with the jack rabbit metal model – of course, we did!

The day had been designated by us as a ‘rest day’. In other words, it wasn’t far to Williams, so a gentle drive and early arrival we thought. Pah!!  Where better to go than Winslow to take it easy with The Eagles?  What a great place for Route 66ers and Eagles fans alike.  We found a statue, murals, quaint shop frontages and a delicious brunch at Sipp Shoppe. So far, so good.

The next detour (only about 12 miles each way!) was to a world famous meteor crater, used by astronauts for training and for imagining the appearance of the moon’s surface. It was hot and required a bit of effort (because of the altitude) to walk up to the top viewing platform but the views of both the crater and the landscape were well worth the effort.  Once again, huge efforts have been put into a theatre, learning centre and we both agreed the detour to be very worth while. We’re pictured above with Eduardo, the Director of Guides and the third largest piece of meteor in the world

On with the journey.  Next stop, Flagstaff, but don’t forget Winona.  I will leave Winona to Carolyn and say how much I enjoyed ‘Old Town’ Flagstaff.  The town has, obviously, sprawled outwards but the old town, which is right on Route 66, is full of olde world charm.  We were looking for a burger bar where you can grill your own burgers but struggled to find the right place, which appeared to be out of town.  A young couple suggested the finest burger place in town was Diabalo.  Carolyn said the burger was indeed mighty fine and I can confirm the house salad with blue cheese and ranch dressing was equally so.  We had some great conversation, too, with our companions on a shared table – a young couple who live in Phoenix but  have, unusually for Americans, visited the U.K.

No more diversions. We crossed the Arizona Divide at an altitude of 7,335 ft and cruised into Williams (a mere 6,800 ft) to find our hotel.  No tepee tonight and a bit more space.  Grand Canyon tomorrow – excited!

Carolyn’s Curios

OK. Winona. The lyrics of ‘Route 66’ have Winona out of order geographically and the writer, Bobby Troup, only included it to rhyme with Arizona. However, the words say “Don’t forget Winona”. So, ever obedient (when it suits!) we headed for Winona. Armed with a Sat. Nav., guide book, signposted roads and a good sense of direction, what could go wrong? But, it did. We left the I40 at the designated junction which was signposted ‘Winona’. What could go wrong? Only half a mile away. As we left the Interstate, another sign, simply ‘Winona’ with an arrow which we followed. But, where? We drove west. No! Back East! No! Looked for side roads. No! Reset Sat. Nav. Retraced route. No! No! No! Tonight, I researched online to find it barely exists and “which, alas, is now little more than a name on the exit sign along I-40.” It, also, said it is was called ‘Walnut’. Thanks! We didn’t find ‘Winona’ but we won’t forget it!!! But, we did find Walnut Bridge

Brunch in Winslow was excellent! One of the best experiences for me – music and memories! Take it easy? Sure. But, …

“Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy.”

I’d like to add two photos to Kath’s because I was ‘chuffed’ I’d taken them. Simply that.

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Meteor Crater was another breathtaking set of views. The brickwork formed a surreal picture frame and the panorama was hard to capture.

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Strange things happen when you look. Three women of a certain age, together with their husbands, entered Sipp Shoppe where we were having brunch. Nothing unusual … unless you noticed they had identical white trousers and pink t-shirts which all proclaimed ‘Sisters – nothing better!’ Fine. Except, within minutes they all had changed into identical black t-shirts advising everyone to ‘Take it Easy on Route 66’. Hmm!

Flagstaff? Really interesting place with so many things to look at and photo. Me? I did a photo of a Flagstaff flagstaff! What else?

Meep! Meep! We saw a (wily?) coyote a few days ago and yesterday, truly, Roadrunner! Zipping across the road in front of me  I couldn’t take a photo but a sign today reminded me.

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So, very long trains (145 wagons and five engines),  meteor crater, our new friends, Eduardo and the couple at Diabalo’s… and the day ends … but the journey … and, the ellipses … continue!