Adventures with Liz

Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

Road trip day 6: Santa Fe, NM to Grand Canyon, AZ.

First things first... a few pictures I couldn't upload yesterday: the palisades, Eagles Nest Lake, and me in front of the Rio Grande (I took that one myself... aren't you impressed?).

Today was a lot of driving. I think I was on 40 West forever. Arizona is not quite as pretty as New Mexico, but maybe I'm just biased. It was interesting though, that everything was reddish orange, even the roads! I also drove in all sorts of weather, including rain, snow, and hail. I stopped just outside Albuquerque to see Acoma Sky City, which is one of the oldest settlements in the U.S. I didn't have time to take a tour or anything, but I managed to get one picture of it sitting up on the hill. And I drove by Winslow, Arizona, as made famous by the Eagles, which was really exciting for me, since they're my favorite band. There was really nothing in Winslow, it was just cool to drive through it.

The main event of today was visiting the Grand Canyon. It was really frustrating and confusing at first... it's hard to figure out where you're supposed to go, and the park only sells 7-day passes, so it cost me $25 to spend 2 hours there, but oh well. When I first arrived, it was incredibly foggy and cloudy, and I couldn't see anything. I found, though, that the clouds were constantly moving and shifting through the canyon, so the view changed every few minutes. And I got to see some pretty spectacular views. Once again, I had the feeling of being very small. The canyon is really something you have to see in person to fully appreciate, I think. There's no way I can fully describe it, and pictures just don't do it justice.

I also found during my visit that they're not kidding when they say it's a small world. I met a couple from Indianapolis that had a nephew that attended UD, and a man who used to live in Dayton, and his parents still lived there. Apparently everyone knows someone from Dayton.

I'm staying in a little town just off 40 tonight, since I get to get back on 40 in the morning for even more driving. It's still kind of lonely on my own, but Persephone is actually great to talk to... she listens to everything I have to say and never gives me attitude or criticizes me. ;-) The new car and I are also bonding well, so that's a good thing. Tomorrow it's on to California!

posted by Liz @ 10:56 PM