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The show is more important than the content. That is what Europeans often think of Americans and while travelling, we get the feeling more and more it is true. The guides we meet always exactly know how to get their story across. We are deeply impressed, but the information is often superficial and when we have questions beside the story we never get an answer, though no one will admit it is due to lack of knowledge.
While we drive over the American Interstate 10 across Arizona we see every now and then signposts with names of people along the road. 'In memory of John Peterson'. In the beginning we thought it was in honour of people who had had a carcrash on the very spot. But later we realized people pay money for it to get their names shown. 'Jack Ferguson and family.' It is a kind of legalized graphiti. Even in the middle of the desert we see big billboards along the road with: 'You feel you did not get your rights? Call D.H. Wells.' A picture of a trustworthy and fierce looking face must convince you that of course you are right and attorney Wells will get
it for you. It is all a big show.
That this sad story also applies for American nature, we had never realized. Americans put their nature in a showcase. You can see it very well, but you have to face you cannot make contact. That is what we feel when we visit the natural parks of the USA. Everything is signposted, everything is arranged. Look out here it might be slippery, here you can take a picture and if you hold your camera this way, you get exactly the picture as made by National Geographic. We even saw a billboard with: 'the road goes down here. Realize when you go down, you have to walk uphill afterwards.' No risks, no adventure.
Anyway nature is beautiful in Arizona. We visit the Saguaro National Park with its 8 meter high Saguaro-cactusses. Of the 50 species of cactusses we see Cluding Hedgehog, Barrel, Fishhook, Prickly Pear and Teddybear Cholla. It is told that the last one will hold you with its spikes, once you make contact. The desert is completely different here than in the Big Bend, due to more rainfall.
We drive to Biosphere 2, where between 1991 and
1994 experiments were done with humans in a big greenhouse. Two years they stayed inside. The experiment failed because oxygen level went down, due to absorption by the materials inside. Nevertheless it was an interesting experiment and the University of Arizona is still doing experiments like the reaction of plants on V.O.C's (Volatile Organic Compounds).
In our Biosphere 3 we drive over highway 77 to the North. It becomes colder, now we are about 2000 high. We even bump into a snowstorm. When we go to the west via highway 180 it becomes better, but now we meet a strong gale full of dust, which makes driving hardly possible. Some 20 miles after Winslow we stop at Meteor Crater, a perfect crater supposed to be formed 50,000 years ago by the impact of an iron-nickle meteor. Someone bought the crater and made a museum around it from where you watch the crater behind glasswall. Nature in a showcase.
Via Flagstaff we drive over highway 89 and 64 to the Southern rim of the Grand Canyon. The views are amazing. It is a big show indeed.
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Frits
non-member comment
Everything is signposted, everything is arranged
Hey André en Linda, Nice stories you tell us ! And nice pictures you show us ! "The show is more important than the content", it's so true as far as the americans are concerned ! By the way, the overkill of warnings on the public road, in schools, restaurants etc. has probably also to do with the american practice of sueing each other and claiming compensation (millions) for supposed dammages on life and property ! The most spectecular example: a sustained claim of several millions dollars because of a burned tongue by drinking hot coffee in a MacDonalds ! Since then the visitors of MD are warned to drink hot coffee slowly ! Have fun ! Frits