-
- The Grand
Canyon
-
-
- Tusayan
Site
-
-
- Wupatki Ruin
-
Stats.:
- Route:
- Needles
 40
- 64180
- 6489
- Flagstaff
-
- Road Kill:
- Elk--2
- Dogs-1
|
I'm beginning to think that I should give
up on the idea of ever setting out early. Today
everything was going smoothly until I pulled
into a "76" gas
station. No sooner had I started filling the car
up than the older, slightly Mexican looking
attendant - with "Buz" printed on his name tag -
pointed out that my passenger side, rear tire
was loosing air. When he inspected the tire
closer he showed me why ... it had breaches in
the wall and was blistering. He then checked my
front two tires and found the same was true for
them. One and a half hours later (two hours in
all) I shook Buz's hand and drove away from the
station. I was annoyed as all hell - I'd had the
car serviced before I left San Francisco and
they were meant to have checked the tires ...
AND I was not all
together sure that I hadn't been had by Buz too.
(Tires aren't my speciality.)
So, it was about midday when I crossed
the Arizona border. My friends that have lived
in this area of the world assured me that the
entire state was just desert and extremely dull.
I was finding the opposite to be true. The
vastness of this land is just awe inspiring. I
was already feeling better about things when I
drove into the city of Williams. This is one
place that is obviously set up for the extreme
seasons in this area of the world. It is also
roughly where the snow line must be. This sort
of dramatic shift from desert scrub land to snow
fields and pine trees is another thing that
impresses me about the US. You see, in the UK,
if its cold enough to snow on the slopes, it
usually snows every where else as well.
Just outside Williams I took Route 64
North to the Southern edge of the Grand Canyon.
Just before the Grand Canyon Village, and
disappearing over the edge, the road deviates
right and follows the canyon's edge. Every mile
or so there were official view points but the
view from the road was magnificent in and of it
self. About two thirds of the way between the
village and Cameron are the ruins of the
Tusayan settlement.
This is one of the many areas settled by the
ancestors of the Hopi.
In this case there wasn't much left, but some
eighty miles down the road, fourteen miles off
the 89 heading South to Flagstaff, is another
settlement, The Wupatki National
Monument. In places the Wupatki
ruins stand several stories high. The fact these
old structures are still standing bares
testament to the incredible society that built
them. They also had great taste in locals; These
buildings are positioned such that they look out
over the beautiful San Francisco
Peaks and Monument
Valley.
I had been driving through sleet, snow
and rain showers since turning off Route 40, and
these grew heavier as I approached
Sunset Crater. So I
didn't linger too long, but I did stay long
enough to marvel at the cracked lava flows and
black, volcanic dust that passes as soil in this
area.
The weather and roads meant that it was
already 8pm by the time I reached Flagstaff. So
I found accommodation in the Hotel
Monte Vista. My room is named the
Bing Crosby Suite and
every other room is named after some other star.
Apparently this place was completed in 1926, the
same year as Route 66 first wove its way through
the town. The furnishings in the lobby look
suspiciously like those in historical pictures
hanging over the front desk. Which is not to say
that the place is pretentious or overbearing.
Quite the reverse. It is warm, welcoming and has
a damn fine bar in the basement.
Flagstaff was sold to me as being the
dead end of the world, but this appears to have
been unfair as well. It has a number of
interesting brew pubs (bars that sell their own
and other local bears), cafes, book stores etc
and due to some law dating back to early
settlement, most of the building are of old
brick or stone. Add to this neon light
reflecting off snow down small alleys and
streets, and you have a very pleasant stop
over.
|
