Arizona: Not what I expected.
Midwesterner that I am, I hear "Arizona" and think of tumbleweeds and cacti. Turns out, Northern Arizona, specifically the Flagstaff area, is very treey and mountainy. In fact, every part of the state that I saw was much more green than I'd expected.
The highlight of my day in AZ was, of course, the Grand Canyon. I'd always heard that the Grand Canyon is the one thing that never disappoints visitors and that was certainly true for me. I think it's just impossible to accurately anticipate something of it's size and scope. Like my mom, I now want to go hiking and camping in the Canyon. Alas, all we had time for yesterday was the typical tourist stops on the southern rim. Another trip is definitely in order.
We spent the night in Flagstaff, which I've heard is a nice town but I didn't see much of. We rolled into town after sunset and it was raining, so there wasn't much exploring other than finding a place to eat dinner. We eventually settled on a slightly seedy looking diner that was full of people who appeared to be locals. It was a good choice; the corned beef hash (my favorite road food) was lovely.
The hotel and diner were both on Route 66, which I've seen quite a bit of on this trip. I didn't realize until yesterday that I-40 pretty much follows 66 across the southwestern states. A few stretches that I've seen have been cool, but for the most part the road's now kind of . . . seedy. It's too bad. It's easy to see how traveling it 40 or 50 years ago would've been a good time.
Oh, I guess I also think of the Arizona Billiards Bar in Potsdam, Germany when I hear the word, "Arizona," but that's probably a story better left for another time.
The highlight of my day in AZ was, of course, the Grand Canyon. I'd always heard that the Grand Canyon is the one thing that never disappoints visitors and that was certainly true for me. I think it's just impossible to accurately anticipate something of it's size and scope. Like my mom, I now want to go hiking and camping in the Canyon. Alas, all we had time for yesterday was the typical tourist stops on the southern rim. Another trip is definitely in order.
We spent the night in Flagstaff, which I've heard is a nice town but I didn't see much of. We rolled into town after sunset and it was raining, so there wasn't much exploring other than finding a place to eat dinner. We eventually settled on a slightly seedy looking diner that was full of people who appeared to be locals. It was a good choice; the corned beef hash (my favorite road food) was lovely.
The hotel and diner were both on Route 66, which I've seen quite a bit of on this trip. I didn't realize until yesterday that I-40 pretty much follows 66 across the southwestern states. A few stretches that I've seen have been cool, but for the most part the road's now kind of . . . seedy. It's too bad. It's easy to see how traveling it 40 or 50 years ago would've been a good time.
Oh, I guess I also think of the Arizona Billiards Bar in Potsdam, Germany when I hear the word, "Arizona," but that's probably a story better left for another time.
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