Welcome to our 50th Anniversary road trip....

We had a great rest and fantastic breakfast at the Comfort Inn in Williams, AZ then we launched for our days adventure through Williams to SR64 N and then to the Grand Canyon.  As I have said before, I’m an Air Force Brat, having moved all over the world every few years.  My Dad was a goal oriented person; he knew where the cheese was and the most efficient way to get there.  I had actually passed by the Grand Canyon as many as 22 times but we never took the time to stop and see it!  So today would be a check mark on my bucket list for sure.

 

Traveling north on SR64 is a straightforward deal….not a lot of unique countryside, just a continuation of the rugged desert panorama.  We did make a mental note to stop at a couple places on the way back down SR64 but for now the pull of the big hole in the ground was overpowering.  Linda had studied the stops we would be making on our journey and she had this one dialed in real tight.  We parked in the parking lot (what a concept) then walked to a bus that would take us on our adventure.  It would stop along the way at prearranged ‘turn outs’ so we could get off the bus and walk to the edge of the canyon wall.  Hmmmm  I am more than a little altitude adverse….in fact I won’t climb a ladder with more than three steps without a safety net and someone standing near with their thumb on the 911 button of their cell phone.  I actually get wobbly legs and nausea feelings.  So when we arrived at the first turn out we both pranced off the bus and moseyed over to the ‘official’ viewing area.  I was ok, I was looking horizontally at the magnificent view, the striking ruggedness of the Colorado river’s carve out that began millions of years ago.  I was taking pictures as we walked closer to the cast iron railings?  Why were they so massive?  I kept looking mostly straight ahead, taking pictures of the majesty of the moment.  Linda got ahead of me and I heard her say something like….WOW, look at that!  I lowered my camera to find her then noticed she was hanging over the substantial railing, looking down.  I was caught up in the moment and moved closer to her and looked….over….the….railing.  Down down down about 4723 miles to the bottom!  My legs began to turn to silly putty….I thought I was going to lose everything I had eaten for the last 25 days as I slowly retreated.  I kind of froze my upper body as I moved back until I got to the bus.  The rest of the morning I would stay on the bus and be running tapes in my mind of the bus going over the edge….down down to the bottom, crashing into a pile of bones from previous adventurers.  I did manage to take some pictures through the glare of the bus windows….but Linda would have to be our official photographer for the rest of this part of the trip.  I do not know how to adequately describe the Grand Canyon; you just have to check out the photos below or better yet….go there yourself.  Just stay on the bus….

 

When the bus ride was over we walked back to our car and decided to drive around the village a little on our own….a good decision, I recommend it.  Linda visited a few “gift shops” in the village while I took a power nap in the car.  We did some vehicular exploration and saw a small herd of Elk resting in the shade of the pine forest along the way.  As we left the area we saw where the Grand Canyon Airport was that was the base for the many helicopters taking hapless victims out to the Canyon.  They had a few sitting, waiting, with turbines warming up….waiting for their next prey to arrive. 

 

On the way back to I-40 we saw the snow capped mountains of Grandview Peak on the east side and antelope roaming in the plains of the west side till we arrived at Bedrock City.  The first thing that caught our attention was a Chevron station with a gathering of hot rods parked on one end of the building.  Naturally we stopped to check them out and they seemed to be drivers and very nice drivers at that.  Then a little further south we saw the Planes of Fame Air Museum.  We didn’t really want to take the time to browse the museum because we had a full day ahead of us so we kept driving.  If we come back this way again I’ll have to ask the social director to factor in a few hours to explore the museum.

 

About 2 PM we arrived back in Williams so we could dine at the Rt. 66 Diner.  Yes, the traditional Rt. 66 (the Mother road) runs through Williams and the local businesses capitalize on that coincidence of history.  Everything on the main road is somehow related to Rt. 66.  Kinda of cool but it began to remind me of Roswell, NM where everything had an alien connection….everything!   The Diner was a time capsule of the 50’s with memorabilia on the walls, floors and ceiling.  The food was tasty and the service was great, you have to experience it when you are close by. 

 

We left Williams on Rt. 66/I-40 till be reached Flagstaff where we turned south on I-17.  We soon began noticing the Saguaro cactus as we drove the rest of the day’s 280 miles to Phoenix and the Country Inn & Suites.  Anytime we visit this area we stay at this motel….we have never been disappointed with it.  As soon as we were unloaded we contacted our friends, Lee & Brenda, and drove over to visit and go out to eat.  I had noticed that Linda’s camera was acting peculiar and decided her memory card was close to being maxed out.  Tomorrow Lee and I would go on a treasure hunt for another memory card….hmmmm