My last post was a 2 part pile of garbage about leaving Las Vegas. TLDR.... ??? Either way, I had to have the realization that these blog posts will be nice to look back on in the coming years. Whether you like reading these or not I'm committing to continuing these and maybe I will come to a point where I enjoy doing it :-) but again, I will sure love looking back when I'm old and sweet smelling. Maybe I can get the guy that wipes my butt to read these to me?
So all complaining and self deprecation aside, this trip over the last 2 1/2 weeks has been enlightening. I got news that a family member will likely die of cancer in the coming weeks. While I didn't get the opportunity to know them well I knew a lot about them. They had money and success in their career, have successful children who finished college and went on to their own careers, and through it all still had their significant other. While they likely could afford any experience or item, the one thing they cannot buy is more time on this earth. No matter your level of success or lack thereof it all ends the same for all of us. At times when its the end of the work day and there is nothing to do or work on, (life of a renter) I found myself homesick. However, I'm learning to reflect on whats important and realize that home is where my wife and children are. The anxiety of the road and the uncertainty is subsiding and I'm finding myself more open to adventure each day realizing that time is fleeting and I cant buy more.
Last weekend we went to the Grand Canyon. Its about 3.5 hours from Phoenix. On the way you pass a few towns such as Camp Verde which is home to the Montezuma's Castle National Park, Flagstaff where people fly in to stay and golf, and not as notable but important for this story Munds Park; population 631.... The drive is very scenic, passing tall mesas and countless numbers of saguaro cactus. You can watch the storms blow across the valley from the highway. This is something you might see in the Willamette Valley in Oregon or maybe the high desert of eastern Oregon, but no less fun to watch. We could see rain, and eventually drove into it. The windshield wipers decided they were on Holiday I supposed because they didn't want to come out of their home under the edge of the hood. I drove through the light rain to the next stop which was a rest area. From what I learned I have suspicion that the cowl was removed at the repair shop which required the wiper arms to be removed. I found 1 arm clocked improperly and the other arm not securely fastened down on its 2 mounting points. I told Krystal we are going to need to get to some tools before I can do anything. This meant a wild dash another 15 minutes up the road to Munds Park. Fortunately in this thriving metropolis (Pop. 631) in the rain now turned to snow I bought the last pair of chinese slip jaw pliers which should work to fix the wipers in the parking lot. While the kids and Krystal stayed warm inside the car I was given the opportunity to be the hero and repair the wipers. Those cheap little bastard pliers allowed me to reclock and tighten everything up just enough to get us back on the road. I hope my kids remember these moments so when they are teenagers they cant say Im completely worthless and ignorant. I can at least fix the windshield wipers with next to nothing on the side of the road in the snow... Oh boy was I glad it cropped up then, because the next day we drove for the better part of 2 hours in the snow, it was a blessing in disguise to have encountered the adversity then. Its all a matter of perspective.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon having an idea of what to expect. On the road in we got to see some elk grazing, close to 30 I suppose. As we approached the parking lot near the rim we were exercising the motto we are making every attempt to embrace which I learned from my father "Sense of Adventure High Expectations Low". The walk to the rim from the parking lot was about 2 minutes, would have been shorted but Ava wore her favorite pair of sandals, less than appropriate for snow, which there was some of, about 2 inches. I threw her on my shoulders and approached the rim. It was unbelievable pictures and video do not capture the scale or palate of colors on display. While it is quite a spectacle the history of the canyon is even more interesting to me. Abbreviated history that I care to share as follows-
-Native Americans have and still occupy the canyon to this day.
-There are multiple examples of ancient Petroglyphs in the canyon but many are considered sacred areas and off limit to the public (thank god, people suck)
-The native populations in the canyon traditionally cremated their dead until religious groups began forcing burial. Their traditional cremation ground is now a camp ground for tourists.
-The first Europeans visiting found it of no value because they couldn't get to the river with intentions on navigating it to the ocean. (one expedition by the Spanish gave up after 3 days of trying to get to the bottom having never reached the Colorado River)
-Only 3% of the canyon has been surveyed, there is still to this day unexplored caves and side canyons (by modern man anyway)
-There is a particular layer in the canyon walls that are known to have caves that yield artifacts. These artifacts are normally figurines made of a single willow branch. These are known to have only ever been found in the grand canyon and nowhere else.
-I'm too fat to ride a donkey to the bottom...
And that brings you up to speed. So we didn't hike the canyon, its about 8 hours down and back and approx 24 miles if memory serves correctly. We checked out the Hopi lookout, took some pictures, and took off back towards the hotel.
Back at the hotel we checked in and then drove over to the IMAX theater at the Grand Canyon Visitors Center. I believe it was $40 for all 4 of us and it was a good time. The movie was about the history of the canyon and while the video was spectacular the narrative was so so. They show a few story lines but give no back story or history. If you go your experience will be much better with a quick brush up on the canyons history. We ended up grabbing dinner after the movie. If I had to do it again I would have brought food. Everything there has inflated prices. It is about 60 miles from the nearest town, so its a coin toss as to whether they are justified, but it seemed unreasonable in my opinion. So remember BYOB BYOF BYO....everything.
The drive home was exciting. As I mentioned before we ended up waking up to and driving in snow for a significant amount of time. We did buy a set of Autosocks which are a traction device for vehicles that cannot take a traditional chain or cable device. Knowing that I have an AWD and DOT approved traction devices I could get back to sense of adventure high and expectations low.
We caught a break in the weather around Camp Verde which was fortunate, we had plans on visiting Montezuma's Castle. I soon came to learn it was neither a castle in the traditional sense or owned by Montezuma at any time. These were both names given by Europeans settlers in the 1860s. The castle is more of a large housing unit than a castle housing as many as 40 people which would consist of multiple families. The name Montezuma was artistic liberties takes by the europeans when naming it. The real Montezuma is an Aztec. The structure that is there now, tucked into the cave wall is thought to have been built around 1125ad which makes it somewhere between 800 to 900 years old. Archeologists have determined that there was actually many other structures similar to this in the same area but at least one was destroyed by fire. The native americans learned to dig canals to divert water and grow crops which is ultimately the reason they were able to build permanent structures that could support large numbers of people. For me the visit was fascinating and I believe the oldest structure Ive ever seen with my own eyes.
We hopped back on the highway and continued on into Phoenix, we encountered some more rain and a some pea sized hail on the outskirts of town. Considering everything it was a good weekend overall. We got to see some natural and cultural history. No one threw up or fell into the canyon.
Next weekend we will be visiting the Impact Crater site off Interstate 40 in Arizona on Saturday as well as an overnight stay in Holbrook. This town sits on Route 66 and was one of many towns on Route 66 that influenced the artwork and animation seen in the movie Cars. The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook specifically was the inspiration for the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars. We watched the movie last night and I look forward to showing the kids the actual motel on Saturday. Sadly we will not be staying there, though you could if you like. We are staying at a different hotel in Holbrook. The following day we will be visiting the Petrified Forest National Park on Interstate 40 before reaching our final destination for the weekend, Albuquerque New Mexico where we will be staying for a week. Tune in next week for an update on these fun filled destinations.
BTW, Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors, I'm doing my best, and often dont fully re-read these after typing them. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything in the comments below.
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