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Published: February 27th 2007
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Green Gator
Monument Valley Phew... Lots to report this time.
We woke early in Kayenta, Arizona, and saw the early morning sun on the surrounding rocks. So beautiful. We headed to Monument Valley itself after a strange breakfast (I guess in remote areas, they run out of stuff).
It all seemed very familiar, and then I remembered we had watched Forrest Gump jogging along the same road on the motel TV the night before.
You can really appreciate the scale of the huge, bright red rocks against the small ranches on the flat ground at their feet. I got out of the car a couple of times to take some pictures, but nearly got frostbite - it was soooo cold.
Back through Kayenta, we headed west across a changing landscape - the red rocks changed to a paler colour, with more scrubby foliage, some areas with snow on the ground, some without a trace of it. We passed by the 'Little Painted Desert' which looked like another planet with rocky layers of pale pink and green.
Once we got on the main highway to the Grand Canyon NP, there were intermittent native american stalls on the side of the road, so we knew we were
getting close to the action. First stop was the 'Little Colorado River Canyon'. It was one of the most awesome things I'd ever seen (probably because I was expecting something 'little'). I hoped the Grand Canyon would be at least as good.
After a brief stop where Nic bought some buffalo jerky and a lucky arrow head (think he had Vegas in mind), we entered the Grand Canyon NP, paid the $25 entry fee and headed for the Desert View lookout point. By golly, it was freeeezing. If the wind chill factor had been slightly milder than arctic, I would have lingered at the edge for hours, marvelling at it's beauty. As it was, we stayed as long as we could stand it.
Coming out of the park, we headed south to Interstate 40 (parallel to Route 66) and checked into the first hotel we could find so that I could watch the Oscars. (I know it's sad, but I do it every year). This is the first year I've been able to see them at a reasonable hour. Unfortunately, with all the time changes, I got the start time slightly wrong, so CJ and I took advantage of the
indoor pool. It was lovely swimming in the tepid water looking out at the snow on the ground.
Next morning, we checked out early again and as soon as we were able, got onto Route 66. We stopped at Seligman for breakfast at the Roadkill Cafe - 'You kill it, we grill it'. Thankfully, this premise was just a gimmick, and we had the best (but biggest) brekky of the trip, surrounded by quirky R66 memorabilia. We'd read that Peach Springs was the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the Cars movie, but were disappointed. It must have just inspired the name. Not a single Casa Della Tires or Organic Gas stand in sight.
We then pressed on to Kingman, where we visited a Route 66 museum, got a couple of souvenirs, and said goodbye to the historic road, as we took another highway north to Nevada and the Hoover Dam.
They're building a dam bypass road, so the whole area was a bit chaotic, and the traffic over the dam was quite slow. We were going to stop and have a tour, but the crowds put us off.
So we began our final descent into Vegas via Boulder and Henderson.
Handicrafts Stall
CJ took this pic! The landscape is so flat we could see the strip 19 miles away. When we were finally able to cruise down Las Vegas Blvd, we were amazed at how much had changed since we were last here in 2002. I guess demolition and construction will never end in this town.
We're in the Sahara hotel, as it's cheap, and despite the horrendous reviews we read on the web, it's no different to the kinds of places we've been staying all along (except of course it takes you an hour to walk anywhere within the hotel).
As I type, CJ is fast asleep, exhausted from our afternoon trip to the Circus Circus indoor theme park, and Nic is downstairs in a Texas Hold 'Em Poker tournament. His dream come true. Hope his lucky arrow head is doing the trick.
As we have to pay a fee for internet access (first time this trip), and each day will probably be pretty similar, I may not post another blog for a week or so. Unless Nic wins big, of course!
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Mum and Dad Bennett
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Good luck Nic.
We log on every day to follow your progress - those photo's are awesome !!! Sad that it has been so cold on a lot of your journey but your 'GREEN GATOR BUS' looks very comfortable to travel in and I am sure it has a great heater. You will certainly be very well travelled and ready to settle down to normality - for a little while anyway. Good luck Nic !!!!!!