Second Day In Tucson

1 October 2014

Weather: Sunny and 32C

This morning we had breakfast with Heather having stayed the night at her place.  At this point Justin left to spend the day at the Pima Air and Space Museum.  He had wanted to go to this museum and to see The Boneyard for many years.  When planning our trip originally it was too far out of the way from the other places we were going to visit.  We had wanted to do the trip a year early but due to other staffers holidays being when we wanted to travel we decided to hold off another year.  This turned out to be the best move as it allowed us to take an extra week than if we had of traveled the year before.  In the meantime I had met Heather, Mum's third cousin, so when the opportunity arose to meet her and her family and to stay a couple of nights it was just perfect.  Justin had his tickets to Pima and the 2:00pm tour of The Boneyard booked.  

Heather asked me if I would see Tucson with her but I said I would prefer to do family history and DNA research together instead.  I hope she was not disappointed.  I also used Heather washing machine to get some clothes washed.  We spent most of the day on Heather's computer using 23andme.com to see if we could find any additional DNA matches but we didn't have much luck there.  I tried to do some research on ancestry.com for her father’s ancestors but we didn't have much luck there either.  Do you know of an Ann Ramsay who married George Frederick Mietzcke?  We had a break from the family history stuff to have a salad for lunch and then a rest.  Having been on the road for three weeks it was good to have some down time.  After the refreshing rest I showed Heather photos of my family and she showed me photos of her family.  

We started to prepare dinner when Justin returned from his day out.  He enjoyed the Pima Air and Space Museum and was glad he got to go there.  If you want to know more about Pima I recommend you visit their website, as this is my blog and not that of my husband's (harsh), www.pimaair.org .  Here is some photos though.

B-36J Peacemaker

C-141B Starlifter

Pima Air and Space Museum

B-17G Flying Fortress

That afternoon we had a visit by Heather's son and grandson again.  We gave them gifts from Australia and sat around talking about the days adventures.  This would be our last night at Heather's place and it would be sad to say goodbye to our relatives. 

First Day in Tucson

30 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and 29C

This morning Justin drove us to Tombstone, the traffic from Phoenix was bumper to bumper on the highway so I was glad he was driving.  It was midday by the time we reached Tombstone which was later than what we had planned.  

On arriving we raced to Allen Street to see the shootout at the OK Corral.  Unsure on where it was to be held we followed the actors from out the front into the OK Corral where we paid the entry fee and rushed around to the area behind the shop.  The re-enactment is held very close to where the actual shootout occurred between the Earp's plus Holliday and the Clanton-McLaury gang.  Today the actual spot is set up with dummies in the positions where they were said to be in during the historical shooting.  At the end of the live re-enactment we walked around the OK Corral visiting the museum, saw where Doc Holliday was staying at the time of the gun fight, and visited the livery and the blacksmith's from the time, 26 October 1881.  They screen footage on the town’s history at the Historama but we decided not to wait to see it as the day was getting away.

Historama and OK Corral in Allen Street

Shootout

We had lunch in Big Nose Kate's Saloon where we were recommended the Rueben Sandwich.  If you don't know what a Rueben Sandwich is like us it is bread with a whole lot of corn meat on it and a bit of pickles, it was an enormous sandwich.  

Where we had lunch, Big Nose Kate's Saloon

After lunch we went downstairs in the saloon which was the original location of the bar and we walked around Allen Street which was the main street at the time of Wyatt Earp. We visited the Bird Cage which was the gambling hall but only saw the lobby as Justin planned to go in after we finished looking around Allen Street.  We visited most of the gift shops and I decided on buying some belt buckles for my Dad.  

In our travels we met the current Marshall in Tombstone, Danny, he walked around the street with us.  He talked about the history of the town as we went, he also answered questions we had about policing in the USA.

It was around 4pm when we drove through customs on our way north to visit Mum's third cousin who lives in Tucson.  It was about this point that we realised that we forgot to go into the Bird Cage, so please visit when you are in the lobby otherwise you might forget like us.

It was around 6pm when we arrived at the relative’s home because we had stopped to get a memory card for the GoPro on the way and we had missed some of the turn offs to get to her place.  We spent the evening talking about the differences between Australia and the USA and there is a lot to our surprise.  It was great to meet relatives we had never seen before but which I had been communicating with through email as we have a shared interest in family history and this is what brought us together.  We all seemed to get along like a house on fire. 

Phoenix

29 September 2014

Weather: Early storm followed by a sunny day 22C

This morning Justin still woke with a headache so we didn't rush to check out of the Red Roof Inn leaving around 8:30am.  Justin drove from Gallup to the Barringer Crater where we did the one hour walking tour on part of the rim.  During the tour you learn about how the crater was created, early studies of meteorite craters, how the Barringer family bought the land and view some fossils.  We spent time looking through the museum and took photos from the two highest viewing platforms.  We decided to have lunch there as they have their own Subway and if wasn't much different to the ones back home in Australia.  

Holsinger Meteorite 

Barringer Crater

Barringer Crater Museum

Afterwards we drove onto Sedona as we wanted to see Boynton Canyon.  The road to Sedona was windy and most of the State Forest was closed due to fire, this meant that you couldn't stop at any of the pull off areas and so we didn't see any turn off for Boynton Canyon.  I freaked out when driving up to our first roundabout on the whole trip, driving on the opposite side of the road I wasn't sure if I could handle it, so we pulled over before the roundabout and Justin took over the driving.  He did a great job finding our hotel the Courtyard Marriott - West Phoenix/Avondale.  The hotel was of a high standard of accommodation and reasonably priced.  There was a NFL game being played nearby at the stadium between the Cardinals and the Redskins.  Justin watched the game in our King Room and I relaxed, that evening we dined at the China City Buffet which was not far away.  The selection of food on offer was amazing.

King Room at the Courtyard Marriott - West Phoenix/Avondale

Making Our Way To Gallup

28 September 2014

Weather: Rain & storms and 22C

We had a 5:00am start, checking out of The View Hotel by 5:30am to try to drive to Mesa Verde National Park for a 9:00am tour of the Cliff Palace.  We were delayed an extra 15 minutes as I had read on the internet that there was a flood watch for Colorado but couldn't find any information on any road closures, so we decided to go and see if we can get there.  We drove for over two hours to reach the Mesa Verde Visitor Centre and there was no road closures anywhere along the way.  We purchased a 9:30am Cliff Palace Tour ticket because we couldn't guarantee that we would reach the meeting place in time.  Justin drove another hour in the rain up the mountain side, arriving in time for the 9:00am tour.  Justin still had a headache from the day before so he relaxed in the car while I walked around the carpark.  I thought there was a museum there but all I found was some pit toilets and a picnic shelter.  We met the ranger at the overlook and at this stage there was a fine mist which lasted throughout the tour.  Laura was our ranger/guide, she was very knowledgeable about the Pueblo’s and the cliff dwellings history.  The walk to Cliff Palace was quite easy as I was worried about the ladders, being scared of heights, but the ladders weren't that high.  Once we finished the tour we drove around to the starting point for the Balcony House but it was not visible from the overlook. 

Our guide Laura at the Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace from the overlook

Balcony House sign

From here we drove South West to Four Corners Monument to have our photo taken on the four states which we had visited: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.  We stayed in the last two states mentioned but only drove through or visited the other two.  At Four Corners Monument there is an entry fee so you might as well take your time there. We looked at the Indian jewelry stalls but there wasn't many stalls open due to the rainy and cool day.  It is cheaper to buy jewelry here than at The View Hotel but there was nothing as elaborate as those at the hotel.

Justin at Four Corners Monument

Four Corners sign

Once we were done at Four Corners we headed South East to Shiprock.  We had seen Shiprock Mountain on Google Maps and wanted to get some photographs, but the weather was not ideal for getting the shots we wanted.  We stopped in Shiprock Township for lunch at KFC.  The menu is very different to Australia as they only had one burger and a mini roll.  They do the fried chicken, hot wings, chicken pot pie and a soup.  

Shiprock

Once our tummies were full be headed South to the Red Roof Inn in Gallup, where I was to meet a distant relative from doing the DNA genealogy.  Justin was still wrecked from the headache and cold so I met Constance.  Constance is Mum's 5th cousin, we just don't know which side of the family we are related through.  Constance drove me to a Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I had the crumbed chicken livers, fried okra and corn.  This was the first time I had tried okra and was glad to see it on the menu, I enjoyed it, but sorry I can't remember what it tasted like now.  Constance bought me a souvenir of the USA, cowboy boots salt and pepper shakers, too cute!  She also bought Justin a vegetable soup which we took back to the hotel, where he was trying to sleep off the headache and he hadn't eaten anything at that stage.  Constance and I got on like a house on fire and so I grabbed Justin's iPad and sat outside with Constance.  Showing her photographs of the relatives living and dead to see if she could see a resemblance.  It was cold and started to rain so we sat in her jeep in the carpark looking at each other’s photos of family and our home towns, using the hotel’s Wi-Fi.  Many places we stayed in the Wi-Fi was pretty disappointing but not here at the Red Roof Inn in Gallup.  Constance said that her father and my grandfather looked very similar so we are guessing that the connection must come from that line somewhere.  Once we ran out of things to talk about we called it a night, me returning to my sick husband and Constance to her sick friend in Gallup as she lived in another state but agreed to meet us at this point in our trip.

Our room at the Red Roof Inn in Gallup

Fried Chicken Livers, Fried Okra and Corn

Constance and I at Cracker Barrel, Gallup 

Second Day In Monument Valley

27 September 2014

Weather: Stormy and 24C

Today we planned to hike Wildcat Trail but since we had ridden the horses along it the day before and Justin had a headache and still sick with the cold, the afternoon forecast was for thunder storms, I decided to watch the sunrise over the buttes and mittens.  I sat on the balcony one hour prior to sunrise to watch the sun come up, seeing the light and colours change.  Justin joined me about 15 minutes before sunrise to take photos and to enjoy the view.  Afterwards we went back to bed to sleep in until around 10:00am.

Sun rising behind Merrick's Butte

Sunrise of Monument Valley from our room

Sunrise seen from our room at The View Hotel

Having rested up we then got ready for our day and drove to Goulding’s Trading Post to do our laundry.  Afterwards we drove along the road which we were going to take the following day to Colorado to take photos.  The next morning we would be leaving in the dark so there would be no photo opportunities.  

Justin and I at Monument Valley, Highway 163 

Monument Valley seen from Highway 163 

Monument Valley seen from Highway 163 

Photos taken we returned to The View Hotel to look through the gift shop and go through the museum.  While in the museum a storm blew in and we got a great view from both the museum and then later from our balcony.  The jewelry in the gift shop were very expensive even with their sale on, so I decided not to buy any. This turned out to be a mistake for me as nowhere else had the jewelry as nice.  Other places were lots cheaper but they looked cheaper too.  From both this trip and the trip before to Switzerland, the moral of the story is, if you like something buy it when you see it, because you won't be returning to buy the item you saw at the start of the trip.

Storm seen from our room at The View Hotel

We had an early dinner around six o'clock bought some gifts and went back to the lobby to spend some time on the internet before an early night. 

First Day In Monument Valley

26 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and 29C

This morning we checked out of the hotel at Page and drive the couple of hours to Monument Valley via Kayenta.  We arrived at The View Hotel 30 minutes before our afternoon tour, so we tried to check into our room but it wasn't ready.  We left our food and medicine with reception as it would be colder inside the hotel than in the car.

North of Kayenta 

Monument Valley

Just after midday we met our guide Robertson, known as Rob.  He saddled up our horses while we signed the injury waiver.  The horse I was to ride had a nasty cut to its lower leg so Rob changed my horse to one named Mighty.  Once saddled Justin and I followed Rob on our horses, going out along the Wildcat Trail around Left Mitten.  The ride was hot and dusty with very little shade, from memory there was only one tree which we stopped under.  The ride went for two hours and not having ridden a horse in many years, I found that I had a stitch in my side which got worst every time the horse went faster than a walk, so I had to keep it to a walk.  Both Justin and I were sore in the top, inner parts of our legs and my bottom.  Having finished the tour and back at the yards we watched Rob unsaddle the horses.  Mighty let himself into the yards, whereas Justin's horse, Missy rolled in the dust.  

Justin and I in front of the West Mitten

East and West Mitten plus Merrick's Butte 

We had booked a Combination Horseback/Jeep Tour with Scared Monuments Tour ( http://www.monumentvalley.net/horse.htm ) which meant we then had a three hour jeep tour through Monument Valley.  We got into Rob's 4WD for a tour of most of the buttes and mittens, as well as seeing arches, petroglyphs and springs.  

Great photo opportunity on the Jeep Tour

Rob's 4WD, Justin and I posing on the sand dune

Petroglyphs

Justin struggled through the jeep tour having a cold and a bit of heat exhaustion, he was glad when it was over as we checked into our room.  Justin spent the last part of the afternoon and early evening in bed trying to get some rest.  I spent my afternoon walking backwards and forwards to the verandahs so I could get the best sunset possible.  I wasn't sure which would be best, looking into the sun or away from it.  As night fell the hotel started a John Wayne movie which was projected onto a wall outside.  There were chairs and tables set up in front of the wall where the movie was being screened but we could watch it from our balcony as the volume was loud enough that it was like being in a theatre.  This stopped Justin from being able to sleep, that being said he stayed in bed and I took some time in the lobby to use the internet.  

Our room at The View Hotel

Movie from the balcony

Sun setting behind Mitchell Butte 

Sunset from our rooms balcony

Later in the evening we had dinner at The View Restaurant.  The food here met our expectation of what we had been told by other Aussies who had travelled to the USA.  We were told the meals are cheap and so big that two people could share the meal.  Up until this point we had found neither true.  Justin not feeling well wanted a small meal so he ordered the nachos which was an entree but the plate was as large as the oval platter we use at home to put a roast on before serving it.  I had chosen the Susie Yazzie Taco, which was a huge size as well.  This restaurant was value for money that is for sure.  Having eaten as much as we could we returned to our room, Justin tried to get some sleep and I tried to catch some photos of the stars.  It was storming that night so there was a fair amount of cloud cover but the sheet lightning helped to provide light to the photograph.  Not that I knew what I was doing and hence the blurry photos.  

View from our room at night

Second Day In Page

25 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and 34C

This morning we were up at 5:40am to get ready for the first tour of the day.  We grabbed a little bit of breakfast from the Clarion Inn breakfast area.  To this day it still cracks me up, Justin got two round creamy coloured items which he thought was pancakes and covered them in maple syrup.  I thought he was strange but he thought I was the odd ball.  He took a mouthful and discovered he had poured maple syrup all over his cheese omelets.

We drove around to the Colorado River Discovery Centre ( http://raftthecanyon.com/raft-the-river/half-day-raft-trips/ ) were we boarded a bus to the Glen Canyon.  The bus went through the wall of the Glen Canyon to reach our boarding location for the raft.  At this point we had to don hard hats and walk along a walkway over the water’s edge to reach the rafts.  Our group was divided into two smaller groups of 14 people and we floated down the Colorado River with our guide David telling us facts about the Glen Canyon and the dam.  We drifted most of the way to Horseshoe Bend then it was time to hit the throttle and we reached no more than 15 miles an hour.

Glen Canyon Dam

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado Rover

We stopped at a beach area on the way back where we walked along a track to some petroglyphs.  No one knows there meaning but most of them are of horned animals, mostly bighorn sheep.  To my disappointment there was no sheep sighted but we saw Blue Grey Herons, Osprey and a Californian Condor.  The condor was too high up in the sky to take a photo but you could see it with the naked eye.

Petroglyphs, Glen Canyon

Petroglyphs, Glen Canyon

Sandy beach on the Colorado River, Glen Canyon

When the tour finished and we had returned to Page we headed out to the meeting point for our afternoon tour to see what time it starts after the previous night’s confusion.  Our afternoon tour wasn't until 2:00pm so we had some lunch using the groceries we had bought the afternoon before.  Then it was time to head out again to Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours ( www.navajoantelopecanyon.com/tours.html ) to meet our guide Noah, who took us to see Rattlesnake and Antelope Canyons.  Rattlesnake is not as popular, it is open to the sunlight making it better to photograph.  The iconic shaft of light that enters Antelope Canyon in summer makes it more popular but for September it was too dark and most of the photos turned out blurry.  We had an enjoyable tour as it was just the two of us and our guide.  That afternoon we met Lionel Bigthumb who would be taking us out on the night tour.

Me at Rattlesnake Canyon

Antelope Canyon

After the second tour of the day we had a couple of hours of down time.  I spent some of the time writing in my travel journal, while eating grapes and drinking water.  We are in the desert so one needs to keep themselves hydrated.  Justin had a nap as he had caught my cold and had a headache, maybe not enough water?  Rested up we had Thai for dinner at Dara Thai Express then drove out to meet Lionel for the night tour.  Justin was the photographer for the night using our SLR camera and tripod.  Luckily he was the photographer as I had sinusitis for the first time in my life and had taken Benadryl which meant I kept falling asleep even when I was standing.  Justin took photos of the stars as well as a flame spun around in the air by Lionel in the dark.  We then went into Antelope Canyon to get photos of the stars and the canyon at the same time.  Justin also took photos of the canyon walls which where lit up by Lionel to allow enough light to capture the photos.  The process involved Lionel lighting the walls up in various locations for short periods of, this is called light painting.  I slept all the way back to our car and I think the way back to the Clarion Inn but the medicine was doing its trick.  Handy note don't take Benadryl when you really want to do something interesting like a tour.

Stars at Antelope Canyon

Night photography at Antelope Canyon

First Day In Page

25 September 2014

Weather: Sunny and at least 29C.

This morning we had a good sleep in at the Golden Nugget because check-out wasn't until 11:00am.  We didn't stay that long because we had an almost 5 hour drive ahead of us.  We headed out of Las Vegas following the directions of the Hertz Neverlost System and were not sure which way it was taking us.  We stopped at a gas station (I know we call them a service stations), to see if we could but a map but none of them were printed very clearly or covered the area we wanted.  We did manage to work out that it was sending us the right direction.  

On the road from Las Vegas to Page

Arizona sign

At first we followed the signs to Salt Lake City.  The drive was spectacular, passing through the Virgin River Gorge and through a number of National Parks with amazingly barren mountains of interesting shapes and colours.  

Justin and I at the Virgin River Gorge

We stopped in St George, Utah looking for some lunch and followed the signs to the Visitor Information Centre which was in a temporary location within the Rosenbruch World Wildlife Museum which is worth a visit.  I picked up a map and brochure on the Kane Country, it showed the route the Neverlost system was taking us.

Me with the Utah sign at St George

We drove onto Hurricane where we stopped for Taco Bell.  We had tacos and a wrap, which tasted alright to me.  We also had a nice cold cordial which was yumberry and pomegranate.  

Justin drove us out of Hurricane and then I had ago of driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time.  I drove for an hour to Kanab where we filled the Dodge up with gas (fuel) and then Justin drove to Page.

Before reaching Fredonia

Justin relaxing on the side of the road before we reached Page.

I thought we had a night tour booking of Antelope Canyon where we had to meet the guide at 8:30pm so we checked into the Holiday Inn Express Page which had changed its name to Clarion Inn Page.

Our room at the Clarion Inn Page

After checking in we walked across the road to Big John's Texas Barbeque for some dinner.  We weren't a fan of the flavour, I had the chicken nachos but it was nothing like nachos as I know it. Justin had the sampler with ribs, beans, potato salad, sausage, pulled pork and bread.

The sampler at Big John's Texas Barbeque

After dinner Justin drove us out to the meeting point for the night tour but they had already left for the night.  We weren't late and we waited 40 minutes but still no-one turned up.  It turned out the guide had that our tour was the following night which was fine as we had two nights in Page.