Let it snow...

Thursday was Grand Canyon day! There was a 40% chance of precipitation so we gathered our bad weather stuff and headed out. We started out in sun and headed toward the clouds...then light hail (little balls bouncing on the road ahead of us)...then snow (light flakes aimed at the windshield). It was pretty neat.

The Grand Canyon is still spectacular. The sun would be shining and you could see far distances. Then the clouds rolled in and there was canyon and mist. Then light snow and you could see fellow tourists (mostly speaking foreign languages) heading for cover (the shops). Then sun again - all within minutes. Quite an experience.

The bottom picture is the view from our living room this morning. My only firm plans today are packing - we have to be out by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow and I do dislike rushing. It's been a very short week.

Flagstaff - part 1

We're enjoying Flagstaff and are glad we've done our sightseeing with Steve and Lorelyn. Today is a stay-in day (they just left for Bluff, Utah for Steve's plein air painting class) - the winds are blowing mightily and we're doing laundry and catch-up reading (I'm only on book two of five I brought along).

Sunday Steve and Lorelyn arrived for supper and a show (the new Sherlock Holmes on DVD). Too much action.

Monday we checked out the Riordan Mansion (http://azstateparks.com/parks/rima/index.html) and downtown Flagstaff (lunch at Macy's) and evening entertainment of Last Chance Harvey. Nice film.

Tuesday was Walnut Canyon (http://www.nps.gov/waca/) and La Posada (http://www.laposada.org/) in Winslow for a wonderful gourmet lunch. The place was originally designed by Mary Colter as a hotel for guests traveling by train. It had fallen into disuse by the late 50's and transformed into offices - destroying a lot of the art and charm of the place. It is still being renovated but seems a wonderful place to stay.

It was two-fer Tuesday for videos here so our evening entertainment was A Serious Man (so-so) and Up in the Air (better).

Day 4, Flagstaff Trip

We did manage to make it to Flagstaff and check-in at 4:00 today - it was pretty hard stretching the 140 miles into a many-hour drive. We started with the Powerhouse Museum in Kingman and had to weave amongst the bikers and Special Car Show people and vehicles sharing the parking lot - another stress time for Ruthi (who doesn't like crowds).

The museum was great (once inside and up the stairs) - depicting the early days of the area, the wagon train travails, the depression era migration (Grapes of Wrath) by truck, and the 1950's Studebaker version of taking the family via Route 66. There were displays of 1950's diners and gas stations - made me think of how good it was to grow up in those days.

The GPS told us we'd be in Flagstaff by 1:00 so we decided to chance the bikers taking Route 66 to Seligman - I think most were already in Kingman - and it was nowhere near the beauty and enchantment of the previous segment (thus the lack of stress - there's always a tradeoff, somebody once said). But it was far more pleasant than the stretches on the Interstate.

We were up to arriving at 3:00 so we stopped in Williams (we'd enjoyed staying there one other trip) and walked the streets. There at least it seemed their economy was doing better (not quite as many closed businesses as I recalled) but still sad.

Then we were up to 3:59 - yippee!!! So back to I-40 and we arrived at our location in the nick of time (just kidding).

We have a "one bedroom deluxe" accommodating 4 people so Steve and Lorelyn will join us for a couple of days on their way to Steve's Plein Air painting class in Utah. Should be fun.

This condo has a wide screen TV and a Ruthi-favored fireplace (on/off switch), washer/dryer, full kitchen with dishwasher, whirlpool tub, private balcony and view of pines.

More later...

Day 3, Flagstaff Trip

Had a slow start in Needles - breakfast (we split a "Big Mess" Omelet with hash browns for Don and biscuit & gravy for me), Needles museum (Don's newest best friend Jackie had been born and raised in Needles then worked for Costco in Washington...), then to the next door thrift store (Don bought two T-shirts and a denim shirt so he wouldn't have to go into deep storage for the remainder of the drive to Flagstaff) then to gas that had jumped to $3.899 per gallon for Biker Weekend so we drove back to town to get 5.57 gallons for $20.00 ($3.59/gal).

Then onward...to Topock the start (or end) of the longest stretch of Route 66 - Very popular for the bikers. They were everywhere. And there were even more of them congregated in Oatman (otherwise a cute little desert town I'd like to stop to see sometime). As we entered the town the parking lot outside was packed with bikes and bikers and got worse as we passed through trying to avoid bikes, walking bikers, burros and other cars trying to get through too.

Otherwise, it was a beautiful scenic drive. We arrived in Kingman around 3:00 and checked in to our selected motel (the coupon doesn't work during Kingman Hog Days of course but the manager found us some special discounts so we stayed). Then to the Mohave museum and a walk around downtown. It is very sad to see all the closed businesses and for sale or lease signs in the windows. A lot of businesses and homes are in disrepair all over.

Tomorrow to Flagstaff - onward we go.

Day 2, Flagstaff Trip

Day 2 and we made it to Needles (by way of Calipatria, Niland, the Salton Sea - it was actually pretty and had many, many seabirds, - Oasis Date Gardens, and Mecca to Joshua Tree National Park - loaded with blooming wild flowers - dark yellow, light yellow, purple, a few pink - and Amboy Crater (http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles/amboy.html or http://www.desertusa.com/mnp/mnp_amboy.html)

Then on to Needles to use our special savings coupon for a motel room (less than internet rate) but since it was "Biker Weekend" it would be the normal weekend rate. Well, that explained all the groups of motorcycles passing us in a hurry all day.

Then off to explore downtown Needles. Guess I still like San Diego. We'd had a few sprinkles in the afternoon and the sky and clouds have been spectacular. There was a rainbow the size, clarity and closeness I've never experienced. We climbed the hill by the motel and were impressed by the views of the mountains and clouds with rain in the distance - so spectacular with the late afternoon lighting. Not something you'd notice midday.

We can't check in to Flagstaff before 4:00 Saturday, so we'll need to slow down. Don thinks we might make it to Kingman tomorrow.

(please note photos are in reverse order - maybe someday it will let me move things around to where I want them - this is definitely not the Pagemaker I eventually learned to love!)

Day 1, Flagstaff Trip

We made it to Brawley today (132 miles). It rained a bit going over the mountains and there were patches of snow on the side of the road. Once in the Imperial valley, the sun was out and it was warm but windy. Gas at Costco El Centro was $2.959, elsewhere it is $3.059.

Don had a watchful eye for the different crops being grown in the Valley - he didn't remember seeing corn growing here, and there was one field he didn't recognize so we stopped and determined it was cantaloupes (he didn't remember that growing here either). There was also a field filled with burlap bags we expect were filled with onions or leeks. We should have stopped and looked more carefully so we could be accurate.