'I envy anyone's first view of the Grand Canyon', said the park ranger on the Grand Canyon tourist channel, the night before our visit.

And the views really are that good.

Staying in the nearest town served by Greyhound, Flagstaff, we also managed to kill two birds with one stone, as our motel was also on Route 66. No photo of the famous sign, however, as they have all been swiped by people the world over looking for the perfect souvenir.

The day of our arrival into Flagstaff was spent firstly 'handling' the fairly obtuse and very unwelcoming owners and then experiencing huge relief at being able to sleep in a bed again, after the always uncomfortable and unpleasant overnight bus journey. We then spent far too big a chunk of the afternoon in our first Wal-Mart of the trip; they seem to sell everything they can possibly get their hands on and everything is so ridiculously cheap that although we probably spent far too long in there, it was well worth it. We did well to come out of there not having spent hundreds of dollars on everything from Playstation 3s, to ipods, to flatscreen tvs. The evening was then very well spent in the local buffalo wings joint, drinking local beer and watching yet more baseball. Why can't every restaurant in Britain have Sky Sports and ESPN on a continuous feed?

Back to the Canyon, then. Having to get to the bus stop to be picked up at 8am, we initially questioned why we needed a whole day just to see a few views around the Grand Canyon village. We soon realised, though, that the viewing areas available at the South Rim are miles apart and that every area is very similar yet hugely unique. As you can see: the views are stupendous.

Kev