So sitting on our Grand Canyon train, on the Coconino carriage, with Mark as our guard, he said something very profound on the way back into Williams. Now those of you who know me well know that I have a terrible memory, but what he said was something a bit like this....
Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many moments take your breath away....
It was very apt, especially as The Canyon had taken the breath right out of our lungs!
I'm delayed in writing this blog as again we had a long day and got caught up in the chaos that is Vegas!
So we set off from our hotel in Flagstaff, heading for downtown. Once we found it, we parked up and took a stroll around the block. There was a lovely little shopping district that we had a peek into, tempting ourselves with goods, but saving our money for later. There were mainly hiking shops which is my dream, as I think Flagstaff is a start of all the main hikes into the canyon and the mountains. There are a lot of trails through there.
Onwards and we were back on Route 66, favouring this road over the interstate. It soon led us onto a road without pavement (gravel/dirt track) straight through the Kaibab National Forest. Looking out for lions (mountain lions) tigers (not a chance) and bears (black Arizona bears) and of course Elk and deer we advanced cautiously. We passed the Arizona divide putting us at 7335ft above sea level.
Out of the forest and into the poppy field... No wait! We're not in Kansas anymore!!
Out of the woods and straight into Williams, the town we caught the train from to the Canyon, and a brief stop for a natural. Our aim was to follow Route 66 to a town called Kingman, then we were going to detour on Highway 93 all the way up to Vegas via the Hoover Dam. The route didn't disappoint, and we passed through some little towns that were really on board with the Route 66 travellers. Displaying neon signs, cafes and souvenir shops, or just photo opportunities. We observed from the roadside and took time to appreciate the sights. In this drive we found a radio station, Route 66 Good Time Oldies - KZKE 103.3 or 95.1. A good playlist for driving!
Kingman reached and we fuelled up, before our detour into the desert. We soon found ourself travelling North, heading for Nevada. We hadn't got far along highway 93 and a huge black swarm cloud was heading straight for us. Then this explosion splattered onto the windscreen and we at first thought it was poo from a giant bird, but there were no birds around, and washing the windscreen was all sticky!! It was only when we stopped, had a closer look at the front grill and realised that we had murdered about 70-100 wasps!
Next stop The Hoover Dam. A massive man made construction on Lake Mead to help brining water into the desert. We drove all the way down to the dam, almost paid $10 for parking, but realised if you drive over the dam (yes! How cool!!) then you could park for free on the Arizona side and walk down. So we went for that option. It was hot!! 99 degrees to be precise! And the restrooms were in one of the pillars of the dam, which was pretty cool as when you looked out the window, you had the famous view where 007 jumped off... It was huge! And an impressive structure.
We had made good time and were about 30 miles from Vegas, so headed into the bright lights. We came in from the South end of The Strip and drove up towards the North end. It was a pretty impressive drive... Totally surreal. Passing the pyramid of the Luxor hotel, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the M&M shop, The Belagio and their fountains, and finally into the Venetian, with St Marks tower and twisting canals. It was all very surreal. And huge! Took us 30 minutes to get from the car to find the check in desk (we went the long way apparently!) there are slots, bright lights, crazy noise, people everywhere. It's amazing! Checked in, room upgraded (oops!) and we enter our suite... There's a view of the strip, with electronic blinds... A lounge with three piece suite, dining table and study desk... Up a couple of steps into the bedroom, down the corridor into the bathroom, with separate bath and shower... It's huge... Bigger than our whole house!!
Think we will like it here....
Day: 12
Total Miles driven: 2534
States Crossed: 7 (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada)
License Plates Checked: 41
(Wyoming)
Road Kill : 1 + a swarm of wasps!!!