the_dude07

Well there really isnt too much to tell about the rest of my trip. I went from the Grand Canyon to just east of Amarillo in one day then the next day went from Amarillo to Atlanta. It was a lot of driving but to be honest I didnt get tired at all driving. I was supposed to go to the Petrified Forrest in Arizona, but after the Grand Canyon, I was ready to go home. And besides, what could top the Grand Canyon. Of all the places I visited, Tucson was the best. I mean you can see all these great places, but nothing tops meeting a really special person. In second place is a tie the Grand Canyon for the hiking the last day and surprisingly, Carlsbad Caverns for its otherwordly caves. Third place ... read more

Today I left Cottonwood, AZ for the Grand Canyon. I decided to take the scenic route, 89A to Flagstaff and then 89 to 64 West. Driving north out of Sedona, it is heavily forrested, but you can still see the rocks through the trees. Very scenic. I stopped off at the scenic view stopping point along 89A about 10 miles north of Sedona to get a picture. Arriving in Flagstaff I drove for a little while on the old Route 66. I'm not quite sure why people drive the entire Route 66 as at least the part I drove just had the usual strip malls, gas stations, and old hotels. Nothing really to much to see. I guess its mainly for nostalgia. I didnt stop in Flagstaff but the downtown area did look pretty cool. I ... read more

So I head out from my hotel to hike a trail or two around Sedona. The first trail I choose is Devil's Bridge and from what I've read there are some great views and you can actually walk out on to the natural bridge. So I find the turnoff on to the Forrest Service Road I needed and go about a mile to the parking area for the trailhead. The trail itself is only about 2 miles roundtrip, but it proved to be my worst hiking experience of my trip. This has to be the worst marked trail I've ever seen. Once you get to the base of the mountain where Devils Bridge is, there is absolutely no direction as to where to go. I ended up off on some "trail" stuck on the side of ... read more

Today I took a break from hiking and had planned a morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is located about 15 minutes west of downtown Tucson. Its a privately owned facility that is a combination zoo desert garden, and museum. Let me first get my negative impressions of the place out of the way. First, some of the displays contained fake items. For instance, there were some "manufactured" fossils and even though they were displayed as such, it was somewhat disappointing. Luckily most of the displays were real such as the gem stones and the really, really, really old rocks. Secondly, many of the displays containing the wild animals were not large enough. For instance in an area there were 2 wolves and both were just pacing around their area in a circular pattern...over and ... read more

Again arriving before the monument opened, I was somewhat disappointed as I had gotten up early so I could get some pictures of the sunrise out in the White Sands. Oh well. I had to settle for some pictures by the side of the road. After entering White Sands I head straight for the only hiking trail of any real distance in the park, the Alkali Flat Trail. Eventually the road turns to compacted sand, which I find out later is maintained by heavy equipment during the day as the sand is ever moving and trying to cover the road. I was the first to arrive at the trail so I had it all to myself. The trail is a little over a four mile loop and instead of being guided by signs or rock markings, ... read more