I was not defeated but tamed

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Scepticism was rife as thedribbleman was questioning whether it was too early for another ‘grand’ canyon experience. Only 13 months earlier I was standing in front of the 2^ndbiggest canyon in the world –Fish River in Namibia, Africa. Could I be “Wow’d” again like last time?



It’s hard not to compare sometimes and it’s even harder to experience a Grand Canyon view like the first time. But mine was in Africa. I said at the time, “Well I don’t think I need to do the Grand Canyon anymore.” I felt that way still even as we arrived into Flagstaff, the closest town to the Grand Canyon.



Roberts Parish had few requests and this was one. We managed to catch up with the 2 UK girls we met in Nashville a month earlier. Requesting a similar imaginative name like Robert Parish, for kicks I will call them Kodait and Googie from Japan.



So the 2 Japanese girls joined us to split costs and we drove the 45 minutes to the National Park. The added bonus for us was it was close to deep winter here so the place was covered in snow. Immediately I was excited because I knew I was getting a different canyon experience.



The set up is pretty good once you are there, a large parking area with a free shuttle service. With the time of year parts of the canyon was closed off but the year round Grand Canyon Village is open. Marther’s Point was the first stop and probably the most common view you see on TV.



I stood back a bit and let the others go ahead just in case I went “Oh that’s a bit disappointing.” And approached. From the landscape covered in snow it changed to a giant rigid dip, coloured in reds and light browns. A slight sprinkle of dandruff littered the higher peaks of the canyon.



It was a different feeling this time as there was tourists here and I wasn’t able to drive through the canyon like in Namibia. And my first sight I didn’t get overwhelmed by the depth of field but I was still impressed and glad I came.



There is a 1.1km walk along the canyons edge to Yavapai Point and on the way clumps of snow forced the branches of the trees to bend to absorb the pressure. With this much snow, the occasional snowball fight occurred, sometimes going over the top.



We took the shuttle bus back and took the car to try and gain some other vantage points. We went to the Grand Canyon Village and further onto Hermitt Rd and got a nice overview of the canyon and the village. The village looked like a ski lodge with that green treetop smothered in white. It also looked miniscule matched up with the white cliff face of the canyon below.



Time was ticking and the better spot for sunset was near Desert View Drive with the idea to go to Yaki Point. We didn’t read the map properly which said “shuttle buses only” so we parked the car and walked to a point that still enabled a chance to see the canyon change colour with the reds looking warmer as it set.



Robert Parish took some enjoyment earlier on in throwing a snowball over the edge of the canyon. So to kill some time whilst the sunset I decided to throw one. As soon as I threw, a bird comes flying along and as the snowball dropped the bird flew closer to it. Asking to take that last 5 seconds back, the ball narrowly misses the bird possibly unaware that it just fought off death.



Obviously summer provides more options to enjoy the canyon but with the added element of snow the canyon is photogenic and a place to marvel at but still I wanting to discover more.



Unsure where we were going to go next Kodait and Googie had a bus that didn’t show up -Their stories of Greyhound bus journeys reinforced that hiring a car is one of the greatest decision I have made in 5 Journeys - They had a connection bus in phoenix so with that we had a direction.



We wanted to travel to Sedona and Phoenix was only a few hours away from there so we made a day of it. Highway 89 is a classic American road trip drive. I’d recommend doing it this way because you are driving down through the rocky valley. Surrounded by trees at one point, hugging the cliffs edge another time you eventually get prime views once you get to the bottom.



Most of the time in travel I have tried to get up high for a vantage point. With Sedona it’s the looking up that makes it special and that is what is so distinguishingly different about the Arizona desert in general. You have these giant red rock formations looking down on you. The town itself is quite small and has some café’s and restaurants. Had we had our time again it probably would have been good to stay the night here instead of two nights in Flagstaff.



We said Sayonara to our Japanese friends and dropped them off at the greyhound bus station and headed toward Scottsdale. Phoenix is quite spread out and it seemed wherever we wanted to go it was a 20-minute ride. The three main regions for us were Scottsdale, Phoenix downtown and Tempe.



Scottsdale is a nice drive and close by between the two is where we went to for sunset. There is something different about this area of America, it seems far more relaxed. We drove up a hill where the rich live and caught the site of a green golf course, palm trees and cactus with rocky boulders everywhere.



I had a friend Nick who featured in JP2 and 4 who lives in Phoenix. Waiting for his call we ended up at Uncle Sam’s restaurant. The food is pretty cheap and the happy hour drinks were ridiculously cheap. Throughout my time here I have had a weakness (apart from drinks with the big red cup.) that is Buffalo Wings.



Buffalo wings are chicken wings with hot sauce and spices. Robert Parish was astounded with the ease that I was hoeing down these wings as described earlier on this blog. On the menu of most places they had things like “The Scorcher”, “The Heart Attack”, “The cardiac Arrest,” “Suicide”. At Uncle Sam’s hottest is, Suicide. I really didn’t want them but I decided I had to give them a go and went halves with Parish.



He ordered a milder one most of the time we had buffalo wings and would blush up a little, his pours opening up to reveal some sweat. (Worse when one time the waitress got our order mixed up and he got mine in Florida.) I on the other hand had only met one challenger, which was Buffalo Wild Wings. Before we left this road trip Parish wanted to see me in pain. He got a dry tear in Baton Rogue but this day he would get his wish. I will claim I was not defeated but tamed.



Every waiter says “Are you sure you want them?” when you order and this was no different. The first bite I knew I was in for a challenge I hadn’t had this feeling since my tongue went numb in Ann Arbor’s Buffalo Wild Wings store. I immediately got the waiter and said, “Can I have 6 more please!”



There are a few photos of me in a world of pain and one photo of the spices flaming up in a scorching yellow as the flash from the camera enflames it. (But Parish has disappointed and forgotten to send these picks to me. Send it you bastard!) It took me a long time to finish but I got there in the end. I’m not sure whether Parish was laughing or in disbelief that someone could put themselves through so much pain with little enjoyment other than self-pride. But I did get there in the end and that’s why I said I was not defeated but tamed.



I caught up later with Nick who took me to his old stomping ground near Tempe. It’s where the college students hang out in the second largest student population for a college in America. It was a Thursday night and they were all finely dressed for college students. Nick said they are a mix of Texan and California. There is a possibility I will come back this way before JP5 finishes.



There is a nice drive along Highway 93 heading toward Nevada. Again the desert scenery is epic with Joshua Trees scattered about. It also goes via Hoover Dam, which is at the border - 221m high and 203m wide. It took 4 and a half years to build. Originally built in 1935 for flood control but now is used as a hydroelectric plant. We just took a few vantage points including looking down from the bridge that divides Arizona and Nevada and the Pacific Time Zone.



As we entered the area the security was letting car after car through when it was our turn the guy goes. “Can you just park over there please, we are doing random car checks today.” “Random!” I sighed. Another one of those Rhode Island number plate moments.



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Here are the websites to the two hottest Buffalo wings I got hold of they are in multiple locations -

http://unclesamsaz.com

http://www.buffalowildwings.com

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