23rd November - Grand Canyon - Phoenix , AZ, USA

We headed out this morning bidding a fond farewell to the Grand Canyon. Whilst it had been a three hour flight from Vancouver and an 800 km round drive from Phoenix, it was well and truly worth it to see one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world. We headed out to Williams for our first stop. We stopped for coffee and to take a few photo’s but mainly so we could proudly say that we have driven a small section of the historic Route 66.

Next along the drive on Highway 89A with the start of being the Oak Creek Canyon. We hopped out and had a look at the Canyon, which really, after the Grand Canyon, appeared quite average. A quick stop and then we continued on with our drive heading towards Sedona. The drive itself was absolutely beautiful with the Canyon being at its narrowest and changing colours from deep reds, oranges and gold limestones. We also headed past the beautiful Slide Rock State Park. Every corner was a photo opportunity and we stopped many times. We finally made it into Sedona. Whilst the township surrounding it was beautiful the town it self was purely tourist driven and perhaps just a tad tacky. Anyhow, after lunch we continued on.

Whilst photographing one area, we had a couple pull up in their car and then proceed to bring their cat out the car for a walk. We thought it was hilarious. Whilst we had seen many children and dogs, not one single cat. I had to take a photo of “The Cat at the Canyon”. We then stopped off at Montezuma’s Castle. Which the native Indian people had built their house into the side of limestone cliffs in 1400 AD. It was quite amazing to see and how the people lived and a bit of a mystery as to why and where they had gone. However we couldn’t stay for too long having to head back to Phoenix.
One the drive back to Phoenix, we stopped off and got some photo’s of the huge cactus’s that dot the countryside. They were in huge clusters on the side of the road and also single cactuses. They came in all shapes and sizes. The sun setting over Phoenix made it quite beautiful. We finally made it back to town, ready to call to start the next leg of our adventure in Mexico.

Oh, a word of warning, never, ever eat Cinnamon Tic Tacs.... yuk.

22nd November - Grand Canyon, AZ, USA

Happy Thanksgiving – our second Thanksgiving celebration since we have been in South America.

Well I wanted to wear shorts in the US and my wish come true. Pity, they were under my jeans because it was cold. It was hovering around -1C when we got to the Grand canyon this morning. We were both excited driving on the road out the edge in the eerie twilight of dawn.

We arrived at Mather’s Point, where we visited the night previously. I had two t-shirts, a long sleeve t-shirt, a hoodie, shorts and jeans on. The easterly wind coming up the cliff edge cooled us down. We can’t complain as northern Saskatchewan is averaging between -20 to -30C at the moment.

The point was crowded with people having the same intention as us, watching the sun rise over the canyon. There was a band of cloud on the horizon which the sun as it peaked through was some what dim. The colours of the deep majestic canyon were playing with our minds. Different hues of red, yellow, grey, brown and orange changed by the minute. It was spectacular watching the colours change and the Grand Canyon unfold in front of our eyes.
As soon as the sun peaked out from the cloud, most of the people left much to our amazement. The sun shining into the canyon created some awesome shadows with bluffs and mesas appearing out of nowhere. Sunrise at the Grand Canyon, a fantastic but rather cool experience!!! We found the café and had some warming hot chocolate. On the way we saw some mule deer crossing the road. Lucky for them the speed limit is only 25 miles per hour. Warmed up we hit Yavapai Point. The same herd of deer had made it’s way there so we got up and close and personal.
Awesome vistas. Words can’t really describe what we saw.
We headed back to the hotel for some coffee and breakfast. This stage coach was rather rickety and Tan was spotting the servo up the road with this brave.
This is a token, welcome to the Grand Canyon, shot.
Round Two – The Hermit Road shuttle. The great thing about some parts of the Canyon is that you can access some of the great vistas via walking or via a hop-on/off shuttle. The track was a round trip of 14 miles, so we opted for a mix of shuttle bus and walks between spots. We stopped at Maricopa Point and this was the jaw-dropping, we are in the Grand Canyon view. The green rapids of the Colorado River were faintly visible below on the canyon floor.

It didn’t seem right, but in the middle of this brilliant National Park was a headframe and below us was a glory hole with ladders going into it. In the early 60’s copper and uranium was mined 1500 feet below the south rim of the canyon. The Orphan Mine was closed in 1969.
On the way to Powell Point we come across another herd of deer with two bucks butting heads antlers.
We walked to Powell Point and then on to Hopi Point. Splendid views.
Other areas along the way included Mohave Point, The Abyss and Pima Point. The latter was also spectacular and had a good view of the raging torrents below. Hermit’s rest at the end of the line was a great spot for a late lunch.

After the bus trip we decided to head east to watch varying stages of the afternoon sun setting on the canyon.
After all the touring and a big day in the canyon we hit the hot tub at the hotel. We followed that with an IMAX feature on the Grand Canyon which was excellent. Thanksgiving was a turkey dinner washed down with beer and wine and pumpkin pie. Not as good as Kim and Judy’s feast in northern Saskatchewan, but still pretty good.

21st November – Seattle – Phoenix, Arizona – Grand Canyon, USA

Up really early this morning to catch the flight to Arizona. Bring on the t-shirt and shorts, it is going to be 27C there. Our cab driver, Victor, was the coolest guy, Seattle born and breed and his stories were very entertaining. Like us he enjoys playing in the snow!!

We took off in the very back row of the plane. Seattle is a nice city and seeing it from the air gave us good perspective of all the surrounding water.

The best thing was that flew really close to Mount St. Helens. This firecracker erupted at 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980. Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.
Now you can clearly see the blown off north face and remaining crater rim. The mountain was covered in snow, and the lava flows, tree-less, are also covered. One geological monument I wasn’t expecting to see.

We got to Phoenix in Arizona. It was great, the t-shirt was donned and it was a warm and beautiful 27C. We got our little car with Texan number plates and took off along the I-10 and eventually on to the I-17 heading north. The interchanges were like curling clover leaves and there was exit to go to Los Angeles. Traffic was slow but it was Thanksgiving Eve, and everyone was heading to spend the day with their families. While we were stopped in traffic Tan saw a sign “If you are backed up as this freeway, visit ….. (a septic specialist)”.

Not far out of Phoenix, the stereo-typical cactus appeared, and then another, then there were hills sides of them. It looked like something out a Western movie. We stopped at a servo, got some tucker and snapped a quick shot of an Indian.We were amazed by the nunchakas, swords, blow dart guns and knifes readily available along with ham and cheese sandwiches.

We powered along in awe of the scenery, it was more hilly than we expected. The road was dual lanes to Flagstaff and we could travel at 75 miles per hour!! Speedy! At Flagstaff, we saw the sign “Grand Canyon” along with Arizona Ski Bowl. Yep.. it’s desert but further north we get higher and it snows (enough to ski on). One pass north of Flagstaff was over 8,000 feet high, higher than Australia’s highest peak.

On arrival to the Grand Canyon village, 370km later, it was chilly, a nice sunny 3C. So much for shorts and t-shirts, we didn’t think it was going to be this chilly, worse still is that we left all our cold weather gear back in Canada.

The sun had just set but we still wanted to see the canyon in twilight. We hit the road, found Mather Point, and were amazed by the canyon in the twilight and under the shine of the moon. This snippet was enough to whet our appetite for tomorrow.
Beers and wine in the Grand Hotel, very different to the one in Kalgoorlie, where Tan sat in the saddle chair. Traditional country music hits such as Rawhide and some Johnny Cash songs graced our ears.

20th November – Seattle, WA, USA

A trip to the post office with the highlight of USGS Postal Service having Star Wars stamps! We bought a fantastic world map yesterday and found out that it was too long to send via post. For $110 we could have couriered it… but we didn’t.
We found the original Starbucks shop, the one that started the franchise, 13,500 shops ago!
An arty shot too!
We have found some interesting advertisements and products.

This beer ad was a good one.
Did you know you can buy a home enema kit? And this one was the biggest joke. Diet Cola with vitamins and minerals!! No joke.

19th November – Seattle, WA, USA

If you come to Seattle, you have to go and have a tour of the Boeing factory! This complex is massive and the shed is the world’s biggest shed, it’s even in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was a cool and wet day, so an indoors trip was the best way to spend it.

First up, was the “flight of the future” displays. We both have spent a lot time on planes and seeing them in a different light, that is, up close and personal was good. The tail fins on these large jet air liners are large and the engines, unlike myth busters showed the other night, can suck you in. Captain Tan and First Officer Dan, took this leg of the flight.
My best Austin Power’s impersonation.. haaalp!!!
There was also a cut away section of fuselage and the interior of the new 787 Dreamliner, Boeing largest passenger plane.

After hanging out there, we went on the camera free Boeing factory tour. Impressive! This shed was huge and there were 747’s in the distance and either side of our fourth level viewing platform were the 777 assembly line complete with four planes in varying phases of assembly. The other side had the 787 Dreamliner, the new series. This plane was painted up and was shown to the world on the 7th August, 2007 (07/08/07) but was incomplete on the inside. The plane has had some setbacks and so far hasn’t hit the skies. We saw the first 787 and another one was in the line up. This plane is made from carbon fibre, so it has less pieces, less fasteners and 65% larger windows. They expect it to be in the air around March next year.

Outside we saw the Dream lifter, a 747 that has been modified to fit 787 pieces from around the world. Imagine a 747 attached to a glass blower’s pipe, a few minutes in the oven and few quick blows, yep, this was Boeing’s attempt at the Michelin Man plane! On the line up outside awaiting test flights were planes for Angola Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airlines. Driving back past the runway a brand spanking 777 for Emirates embarked on it’s maiden voyage to Dubai!

That night, on a recommendation from Hornado, we went to Benihana, a Japanese restaurant. Our traditional teppanyaki chef (from Mexico) did an awesome job. An onion ring volcano, complete with flames was the highlight. The food cooked in front of your eyes, the speed, the skill, the entertainment and the taste made it well worth it. We met some people from Seattle, Ray, Hanya and Ella, who were great company. The Teppanyaki experience is something we want to do again!! Good choice, Horn.

We walked home with Seattle starting to light up with Christmas decorations.