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Round the West - Day 35
Our drive east (how strange it is to be going east again) was all along I40 which runs through the desert, past unseen government bases, abandoned houses and trailers and tiny little towns where the only places to eat are fast food. That being said, the scenery is gorgeous with stark, low hills showing up on all sides, and later, cactus reaching to the sky with their spindly fingers. Route 66 runs right along the road sometimes and we marvelled at how narrow the road was and how bumpy and twisty. We didn't drive it, simply because 40 was so poorly maintained in places, historic route 66 would have been hell, plus it takes a lot longer to drive 66 and we had a goal of reaching the Grand Canyon before sunset (Our hotel of the night before was actually on Route 66 so we did drive part of it.). We ended up at Dennys for lunch, and at the next town, got our cheapest gas of the trip (3.09). From there, it was a long run to the Grand Canyon, watching the desert turn into scraggly trees. At Williams (or rather, just after Williams, the tourist trap) we turned north and sped through the forest to get to the entrance. The ranger who let us in understood our purpose perfectly and directed us to Yavapai Point and told us the sunset was in 40 minutes. We followed his directions and found out Yavapai was perfect for watching the sunset with a curve in the canyon there so you could see it on both sides and a high bluff in the west for the sun to set into.
It's a truly astonishing place. My first reaction was just to gape and say, 'Wow!'. We started on the east side of the point and took lots of pictures. Dad was very nervous for me when he took this photo. From there, we moved around the point to the west, stopping to take many pictures along the way. When we settled on the west side of the point, we were able to watch the sun go down and slowly illuminate more of the canyon in an orange-reddish glow. Meanwhile, the other parts of the canyon that didn't get the sun were turning a deep blue and purple. We watched for awhile, taking many pictures and eventually the sunset, which we also took many pictures of. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad our timing worked out so well.
From there, we headed to our hotel which was about an hour away since anything closer was either expensive or filled with bedbugs (*shudder*). (You can stay cheaply near or in the Grand Canyon, you just have to book well in advance.) We ended up stopping at the Cracker Barrel for dinner, mostly because we haven't seen one in weeks and it's Dad's favourite restaurant (though I like it too, even if this one sent me into a coughing fit cause of their fireplace. stupid asthma.). Once we hit the hotel, it took awhile to sink in, but we eventually decided it was time to make our way home. We're skipping one or two places we'd planned on (like Carlsbad caverns), and just heading straight back to our family in the midwest. This takes us straight through some places though so we'll still be stopping along the way. Ja ne.
It's a truly astonishing place. My first reaction was just to gape and say, 'Wow!'. We started on the east side of the point and took lots of pictures. Dad was very nervous for me when he took this photo. From there, we moved around the point to the west, stopping to take many pictures along the way. When we settled on the west side of the point, we were able to watch the sun go down and slowly illuminate more of the canyon in an orange-reddish glow. Meanwhile, the other parts of the canyon that didn't get the sun were turning a deep blue and purple. We watched for awhile, taking many pictures and eventually the sunset, which we also took many pictures of. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad our timing worked out so well.
From there, we headed to our hotel which was about an hour away since anything closer was either expensive or filled with bedbugs (*shudder*). (You can stay cheaply near or in the Grand Canyon, you just have to book well in advance.) We ended up stopping at the Cracker Barrel for dinner, mostly because we haven't seen one in weeks and it's Dad's favourite restaurant (though I like it too, even if this one sent me into a coughing fit cause of their fireplace. stupid asthma.). Once we hit the hotel, it took awhile to sink in, but we eventually decided it was time to make our way home. We're skipping one or two places we'd planned on (like Carlsbad caverns), and just heading straight back to our family in the midwest. This takes us straight through some places though so we'll still be stopping along the way. Ja ne.