Out West USA

Going West
Throughout our travels, we were asked by many if we had been to certain places in the USA. While we could answer affirmatively to many places in the east, we tested very poorly on the western attractions. Of course it is easy to overlook the beauty of your own country. We always told each other that we would visit places like the Grand Canyon a few years later when we have children. But then again, why not go now? It is not like we are working or anything. After all, once we are back--we are back.

Our travels out west began with few goals. We mainly wanted to visit Rich's mother in Vegas and stop to see a few friends along the way. Fortunately, the western United States is large. We cannot help but drive through stunning landscape and, yes, stop to see the Grand Canyon.

ON THE ROAD FROM NEW MEXICO TO ARIZONA: CACTUS AND CANYONS

Friday, March 9, 2001

On the road again. It is 2:38 pm Mountain time. We have just passed the New Mexico-Arizona state line. We are driving through the same open space that the American Indians roamed through hundreds of years ago. We are able to cover territory much quicker than the American settlers of the nineteenth century.

We just passed a sign for the Painted Desert-Petrified Forest National Park. We are going to give it a go. Why not?

Just came out of the desert/petrified forest. We are pleased with our experience. It was pretty cloudy, however.

Back on the road to the Grand Canyon.

THE GRAND CANYON: THEY DO NOT CALL IT GRAND FOR NOTHING

Saturday, March 10, 2001

It snows up there in the Grand Canyon. Who Knew? We certainly did not know. After last night's drive in, we do know now that it does snow up there..it snows a lot. By the time that we entered the park gate last night it was dark. We came in through the east entrance via highway 64. We had no idea where to go. Our friends, Jan and Dave had recommended El Trovar hotel. We did not ask them where it was, nor did we call the hotel before coming. We figured how difficult can it be? And so we drove, looking for hotel signs. That is when the snow began to fall. It did not just fall. It came at us like rocket ships out of space invaders. Rich managed to keep his wits about him. Then we passed it. The sign that said 23 miles to Grand Canyon Village. 23 miles!! We thought that we were there already. And so 23 miles passed slowly as Rich held on to the steering wheel with white knuckles as we drove the 23 miles to the village. We hoped that El Trovar was in the village, because that was where we were going.

We pulled up to El Trovar eleven hours after we had left Jan and Dave's in Ruidoso, New Mexico. We were pretty tired, but excited to actually be at the Grand Canyon. Rich sat in the car while I ran up to the hotel. We had planned to bargain and pay $70 at the most. El Trovar is the nicest hotel in the village, but we figured that it would probably be empty this time of year. I walked up to the desk and asked if any rooms were available. The nice young gentleman told me that there was only one room left: the Coronado Suite. In fact, it was the nicest room and it cost a lot more than $70. The Coronado Suite had two rooms and an outdoor patio which provided the very best views of the canyon. He quickly offered to reduce the price. It was late and they wanted to fill the room. The reduced price was still too much for us. All of the hotels in the park are tied to one computer. The nice young man offered to check the other hotels. A somewhat nearby hotel had one room for a cheaper price--but not much cheaper. I ran out to explain the situation to Rich. We decided to offer a lower price for the Coronado Suite. The kind young man accepted my offer and we went up to our suite. It was a beautiful room. We did not feel cheated by the deal whatsoever. We looked forward to waking up and seeing the sun rise over the Canyon from our deck.

My alarm went off at 6:15 am. Rich got up to look out our window and shouted that we had gotten about 8 inches of snow. The visibility was minimal at this early hour. However, we hoped that by sunset time (6:46 am), we would be able to see the Canyon. 6:46 came and went--no Canyon. I decided to jump in the shower while we waited. Suddenly, Rich shouted that the Canyon was out. I ran out in my towel and there she was. The grandest canyon that I had ever seen. She had far exceeded my expectations. We quickly got dressed, ate a peanut butter sandwich from our cooler and went out for a hike around the rim. The buses were not running due to the snow and the roads were still in poor condition, so this was the only way to see the Canyon. We walked for an hour and one half and enjoyed the breathtaking views.

By 10:00 am, the clouds came back and the views were gone.

We feel so fortunate that we had that small window of opportunity to see the Grand Canyon. It is truly a natural wonder. We are happy that we got see her with snow on her peaks. We also look forward to seeing her on a nice warm day in the summer. We plan to come back some day in warmer weather and hike down to the river and see the Canyon from the bottom.

I now know why people were so shocked to find out that I had traveled around the world, yet I had not seen the Grand Canyon. It just goes to prove that you do not have to travel thousands of miles to see the great things of this world. Most times the best that the world has to offer is right in your back yard.

I rushed out of the shower to see the canyon as soon as Rich shouted that he could finally see it. This is our porch!!

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