Catching Up - February 2009

A week ago, we celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The timing was great as we were already tired of the winter here in Utah. (That translates to "too long", "too cold", dull dreary weather, and about every complaint one can have when you aren't enjoying the moment.

So we decided to make a break for what we hoped for as warmer weather with pretty blue sky. Our trip was exciting from the beginning. We got to our hotel in Las Vegas where we saw what seemed to be a row of tents along the street. One would think that maybe this was for a tent sale by some store or perhaps people camping out to get first dibs on ticket sales for some event or concert. As we drove further, we found that this wasn't what it appeared. Down a side street was more tents and people and lots of trash strewn across the street. With windows up and doors locked, we quickly exited the area and found our hotel. When I went to check in, I asked the clerk what were all the tents about? He replied that these were "homeless" people. How sad?

Our stay was safe but it kept us wondering about the safety of that area. Next time, we'll look for a more upscale area. We drove on down towards Boulder and Henderson. We found a new construction of a bridge across the gorge where the Hoover Dam is. The construction was very scary because of the height and cables strewn across the gorge. I'm sure in a couple of years when it is finished, it will be a marvel to behold.

We based our visiting the Grand Canyon from Williams AZ. It is right on US Highway Route 66. The town of Williams had some feature found the the Disney Movie "Cars" complete with gas station, diner, and small town USA features.

The Grand Canyon surely is one of the 7 wonders of the world or country. Jo kept saying it is one be hole in the ground. But to the artist, it has all the makings of beautiful colors and just magnificent.

Since our visit was in the off season, it wasn't crowded at all and we could get up close with great parking access and spend as much time as we wanted at each viewing area. Anyway, here are some pictures of the trip.

Our trip home went through the Navajo Reservation and the town of Cameron AZ on to Page AZ and up into Kanab Utah. Then it was through Zion's National Park and then home to PG. A very long, exhausting, peaceful trip. Hope we get more blue sky on our next trip (California in May).