My first view of the Grand Canyon, from Desert View 7.30 am August 18 2010
So the miracle of the Grand Canyon has been witnessed at last. And a cloudy old morning it was today! I was to have seen it for the first time in 1977 but my flight from Phoenix to Flagsaff was cancelled because of a big snowfall so we proceeded to our final destination of San Francisco 24 hours earlier than planned. And it has now taken me 33 years to catch up! But it has been worth the wait for that awe inspiring first look at this amazing natural work of art.
So we proceeded early this morning from Cameron to the Desert View on the South Rim - and then on to a variety of other impressive vistas before having lunch at the wonderful old El Tovar which has been welcoming, feeding, and watering travelers since 1905. It is the place to stay - but it was full so we had to be content, as we were, with the excellent Cameron Trading Post. But if you can plan ahead go for El Tovar.
We then made our way to Sedona where we will be spending two nights, one car free day, before going on to Santa Fe on Friday for a long weekend of opera, also known as work! To get there we drove to Flagstaff, a pleasant university town, as well as the home of the Lowell Observatory. And then, and this was the real trip, the road down to Sedona through the Oak Creek canyon. And the approach to Sedona, with those red rocks, is astonishing.
This journey was through yet another of the remarkable government managed pars, in this case the Coconino National Forest, dominated by those wonderful Ponderosa Pines. The work of the US government in this area is a demonstration of the usefulness of government, somewhat important to remember thse days with so much Libertarian nonsense being propagated. The impressive work of the government in the Grand Canyon, the remarkably well managed enterprise which is clearly a going concern commercially as well as being an activity for the public good, must make any tax payer feel OK! This is noble investment indeed.
Also on our travels these last days we have been struck by the superb new roads, and well maintained and upgraded old ones, which span the country. There appears to be a lot of stimulus money at work around the nation!
We have some exciting activity tomorrow - watch this space!
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