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Published: August 21st 2015
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Still Sedona: R didn't get to eat cactus salad because the restaurant where he had eaten it before had poor reviews now.
AZ is on standard time, breakfast was not till 7 am, we woke up at 5 am local time, got ready, went to uptown Sedona and enjoyed the vistas in the cool morning air. R showed me some buildings that still were like they were 20 years ago - wooden structures, low with porches. The renovated and newer ones now are red stucco and brick, still low. Would be crazy to build any taller, as they would obstruct the magnificent red rock buttes surrounding the town. They are what make Sedona an attraction. I could see how he thought on his first visit, that it had potential as a major tourist attraction with enough clientele (even if exclusive) for his restaurant to be a success. I am glad we made the detour and spent an evening and overnight in beautiful Sedona. The drive down Oak Creek Canyon alone was worth it.
Back on I40 again, a little after Flagstaff, the pines gave way to scrub once more and as we got to lower elevations the temperature rose. We reached Kingman before 11 am. This is one turn off to go North for the Grand Canyon. We turned north on 93, right on Pierce Ferry Road for 30 miles, right again on Diamond Bar Road for 20 miles to get to Grand Canyon West. It was like driving through the dry landscape of Tamilnadu, except for an expanse of Joshua tree Forest for a part of it. Joshua trees look like tall cacti, so don't envision a dense shady tree forest! We could see the road winding and straight way faaaaaaar in the distance.
The highlight and draw of getting to Grand Canyon West was the glass-bottom Skywalk built by and on the land of the Huailapai Native American tribe (Spelled Hwai'Bay, pronounced Wall-a-pie). We got off the shuttle bus at Eagle Point (Sa Nyu Wa home of the Eagle), waited in line (luckily indoors) and were wowed when we got on the SkyWalk. The walk projects into the Canyon so you can see the bottom of the Canyon floor at the South Rim, the walls, and across you can see the North Rim clearly. And you see a part of the Colorado River, which was very muddy and looked reddish brown today. We feasted our eyes on the stark beauty of the canyon walls, and followed the graceful darting of the Canyon Swifts showing off their white throats.
R had opted for the add-on meal in the ticket package, Eagle Point was the only place for a vegetarian option. We had to get the meal at a window and sit out at picnic tables with umbrellas. On our trays, there was a non-chilled bottle of water, an orange, 1 1/2 cups of cooked white rice and heated veggies from the frozen stir-fry package you get at the grocery stores. One spoonful of taste and I said " they may have added some seasoning included the frozen package." R said " I don't think this has seen any seasoning." We both thought and then shared "Ga puNi poLeka toopa dakkaitha." As he kept struggling to eat the veggies, R kept saying "I'm only eating this for my health." Suddenly there was a gust of wind which blew dust and grime around us. Thanking the wind for blowing dirt in his veggies, he threw it away. "Hangachi jenanka randapa korun kaLna. Nusti nayi thanni ooNe zathari Assachi." We carried our oranges with us to the van- they were juicy and much needed for hydration in the 100 degree temp.
Entertainment at the Skywalk entrance: While we were waiting to show our tickets, two young Asian women came running to the ticket collector from behind her and asked if they could sell their skywalk tickets to someone inline as they had an appointment somewhere else and could not wait to go on the skywalk. They were told 'we don't like it if you do.' We wondered how long they could wait to find someone to sell them to, since most people had bought tickets at the main entrance place. Then they asked if they could get a refund. We remembered the sign at the ticket booth that said 'all sales were final, no refunds.' But the women were told they could go talk to the supervisor. They were given slightly complicated directions to find him,which made them somewhat suspicious, but they set off to find him. We saw them dashing around when we were on our way to the Skywalk. We'll never know if they found the supervisor, if they got their refund or they decided to leave to get to their 'appointment.'
No pictures here. Since no cameras or backpacks are allowed on the skywalk we decided to just leave everything in the car. We do have the water bottles with special labels from our special lunches.
Shoe covers are to be worn when on the sky walk. I got mine on easily, R got one on and was trying to get the other one opened when the lady came and got it open and put it on his hoe! R asked her if she was trying to speed up people getting on the skywalk and off of it to maximize use of it, and she said that the sun was going down fast! This was at 1 pm!
On the way to Barstow, CA we took the exit to Needles, CA because Snoopy's brother Spike in Charles M. Schulz' comic strip Peanuts lives in the desert near Needles. Just drove 1 block and got back on the interstate and drove by the desert too.
Reached Barstow around 7 pm with the hot bright sun beating down on us all the way.
By the way we saw more cargomtrains today, I was able to count them, about 140-160 cars.
Tried to upload pics - they are too large, sorry.
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