On Thursday night we stayed in Flagstaff, AZ, which is a cool college town that is absolutely overrun with bicycles. It's like, if you don't have a bike, don't even bother coming to Flagstaff. Anyway, after we went for our morning jog there, we went to a place called Macy's European Bakery and Cafe, which was awesome. They have a huge coffee roaster in the middle of the building. They serve tons of vegan and vegetarian food, and there are huge photographs lining the walls. If you're from East TN, imagine Tomato Head as a coffeehouse (a little more caffeinated, that is), and it's kind of like that. I did miss out on the vegan waffles, but I got some amazing housemade granola and yogurt.
After Flagstaff we headed to the Grand Canyon, which was incredible. Obviously. We hiked along the rim trails and took a shuttle to Powell Point at sunset. If you haven't been there, let us just tell you that the park service staff and shuttles are amazing. Everyone is really helpful and knowledgable about the canyon, and the rim trails are wonderfully maintained and clean.
The canyon itself is unbelievable, of course, and being there for a sunset is an unmatched experience for either one of us. What was cool about being at Powell Point was that is was much less crowded than the more popular sunset spot (Hopi Point), and there was a photography club meeting there and talking about their shots, photo exploits, travels, and of course, their ridiculously expensive gear. (Dad, you would have gotten a real kick out of it. Allen said, "I've never heard your dad b.s. like this, and I bet his photos are better than these guys'.") There was a couple sitting next to us on the rock who brought a bottle of wine and a bag of chips. Classic. We were so jealous, but didn't think we should try to sneak any wine onto the NPS shuttle.
We definitely saw a few condors flying over the canyon. The bus driver this morning told us that they wear numbered kevlar vests so that rangers can identify them. He also told us that about six visitors are lost at the canyon every year--falling off the rim and into the canyon below. That was pretty sobering.
The other thing we're curious about is all the prescribed burning that was going on around the canyon in Kaibab National Forest. If anyone out there knows what the burn strategy is or has time to hunt around on Wikipedia, we'd love to know more about it.
We camped last night after our afternoon at the canyon at Ten-X campground, which had two super-nice hosts and the cleanest camp toilets I have ever seen. It was a great spot. Allen built an expert fire and we shared a couple of drinks and some quality camping banter. The stars were breathtaking. And we slept in the rig, getting a little cold, and planning to get up at four to see the sunrise at Hopi Point. We didn't make it, but between five and seven am we slept great!
After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed west on I-40 and then took 93 North up to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam is pretty mind-blowing. And Lake Mead is beautiful, strangely situated among big rocks and hills that look like dirt mounds.
It was 103 degrees when we left the Hoover Dam, headed for Las Vegas, where right now we're in a casino hotel after a frustrating parking experience (as you can probably imagine). It was crazy to get out of the truck and find some interesting "calling cards" stuck under the cap flap in the back. Definitely not appealing to my feminist leanings. But kind of hilarious to experience the absolute excess and ridiculousness of this city. We have dinner reservations at Battista's Hole in the Wall tonight and plan to leave Vegas tomorrow morning at the earliest opportunity--with our dignity intact--to head to Los Angeles to see some good friends from Emory. We can't wait to see them and their gorgeous kids!
We'll update again as soon as we can. Thanks for reading!
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