ROUTE 66 AND THE LONDON BRIDGE AT LAKE HAVASU

We wake up to a misty morning in Flagstaff, a place described to me by our host as a travelers meeting spot near the top of a mountain. It is a ski town that he believes really has no more to offer than accommodation, good food and supplies as well as a base to head off to the snow capped mountain nearby. It is so strange how you are in the desert landscape one minute and seeing snow the next, what an amazing part of the world, it is all about elevation.

The mist soon rises and a blue sky awaits us as we head off to our next destination. We plan our way to take in a scenic byway, not just any byway, but the famous Historic Route 66, this being the longest stretch of the old road to be preserved. Thank goodness that it’s dedication in 1987 by the Arizona State will assure that this stretch of road will not just fade away into the landscape.

We had spent a short time traveling this famous roadway back near Chicago, but now was the time to get the feel for, Route 66, so famous to the world. It was amazing to travel along and try to imagine what it was like back in the 1920’s when people were traveling west to live the dream, reaching the Californian coast. This stretch makes its way through the frontier towns and it is a long baron road that must be scorching in the summer.

We eventually stop in the town of Seligman. This town is surrounded by some of the largest cattle ranches in Arizona, such amazing rolling country. We wander along the main street taking in the tourist shops, mainly to see the old cars and bikes, and purchase a couple of mementoes from some of the nicest people we have met. We stop at the Roadrunner Café though having just had lunch don’t partake in the “steaks’ on offer, sure they are very good though. Such a fun short break to stretch the legs and on we go toward our destination for the day, our time on this fabulous stretch of road an enriching experience.

What a contrast awaits us in a strange and interesting place that is Lake Havasu City. From out of the desert a city was born largely due to one man, Robert McCulloch. From 1934 to 1938 the Parker dam was built creating a lake with 450 miles of shoreline and a unique eco system within this parched world. In 1963 Mr McCulloch, owner of McCulloch Motors, was flying around the countryside looking for a site to test his outboard engines. Dare I say it, the rest was just history. He must have been a crazy but forthright man in his day, managing to create a city out of sand and rock. He and his friend CV Wood, designer of Disneyland, planned a community centred around the Lake.

McCulloch’s biggest brainchild was the purchase of the old London Bridge in 1968 for the cost of US$2,460,000. London had put the bridge on the market because it was basically sinking under the weight of traffic. I am told by a reliable source, my cousin Graham, that he originally thought he was getting the Tower Bridge, though I am sure he was not disappointed in the end. It took 3 and half years to reconstruct the bridge we see today. Firstly a steel framework was built on dry land and the granite bridge placed around it, creating a solid functioning bridge, stronger than the original, this London Bridge wasn’t going to be falling down. The land around it was then dredged creating “the Channel” of water over which it now spans to a newly formed island. It is just like stepping back to London for a moment, as it is complete with all the things that make it British including the vintage lamps that are made from the melted down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. It is the second largest tourist destination in Arizona after Grand Canyon. Locals will tell you that the bridge is seemingly haunted, by a police ‘bobby’ patrolling and by a woman dressed in black. What we do know for sure is that it is a home to many bats living in its hollow structure. Back in Cortez we spoke to an older lady who has lived in the lower southwest her whole life. She described the bridge as very bizarre, saying ‘one minute there was nothing for miles and then there was a city’. She was right by all accounts.

All in all, the coming of the bridge and McCulloch’s enthusiasm gave birth to the thriving community of Lake Havasu, it is a popular retirement town and romantic getaway tourist destination. It has a very pleasant climate all year round. Right now it is home to more RV’s than we have seen anywhere, all the travellers, (in Australia we call them Grey Nomads), roosting for the winter and catching up on their golf game I guess. Though glad we came to see it, this is not somewhere we would choose to come again. We are running out of light so find a camping spot in the outskirts of town, on Bureau of Land Management ground, and settle down to a spectacular sunset and sleep.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album ARIZONA.

A VERY GRAND CANYON

Well, finally the time has arrived to visit this Natural Wonder of the World, The Grand Canyon. When we were back in Australia planning this trip we basically just gave ourselves a brief outline of what we must see along our journey. We kept the plan very basic and have just followed our nose so to speak. For our USA part of the journey we have always said we must see New York, tick, Niagara Falls, another Natural Wonder of the World and another tick, and Grand Canyon. Over these past months we have seen so much incredible beauty it is with trepidation that we have been approaching the Grand Canyon. Will it live up to the hype that surrounds it?

Five million people from around the world visit this geologists’ dreams come true, and one of the few geological features of the world visible from space, every year. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide, though averages about 10 miles wide, and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 meters). Recent studies have concluded that approximately 17 million years ago the Colorado river and its tributaries chose their pathways to begin carving through the nearly two billion years of geological layering that make up this part of the uplifted Colorado Plateau. For all these years this mighty river has channelled this spectacular landscape and will continue to do so forever more.

The canyon is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, The Hualapai Tribal Nation, the Havasupai Tribe and the Navajo Nation. Descendants of these Indian Peoples have inhabited the canyon since as far back as 500AD. They were largely left in peace until the mid 1500’s when the Spanish made some exploration in the area but quickly left them alone until the 1800’s when the West was invaded and new settlers arrived. Once ‘discovered’ the canyon has been a hive of activity ever since, including mining exploration. The first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park was introduced in 1882 by then-Senator Benjamin Harrison, which would have made Grand Canyon National Park the nation’s second, after Yellowstone National Park. Many times the bill was reintroduced to preserve this natural world for future generations but it was not successful until 1919 under the direction of President Theodore Roosevelt, and in 1979 UNESCO dedicated the park as a World Heritage Site.

This has saved the park from disasters such as mining and damming but it is a constant juggling act to save the park from the effects of projects going on outside its boundaries. This diverse eco system has taken some hits along the way and management are constantly working to minimize our impact. A seemingly successful project to date has been the long slow process of saving of the critically endangered Californian Condor. Air quality is another interesting factor facing the park, as is uranium mining outside the park, all things requiring much research and debate. Minimizing the impact of tourism is another issue on the agenda that park officials must handle on a day-to-day basis. All in all this is a Grand Challenge.

Over the years the Canyon has taken its revenge so to speak. About 600 deaths have occurred in the Grand Canyon since the 1870s. Some of these deaths occurred as the result of overly zealous photographic endeavours, some were the result of airplane collisions within the canyon, and some visitors have drowned in the Colorado River. Of the fatalities, 53 have resulted from falls; 65 deaths were attributable to environmental causes, including heat stroke, cardiac arrest, dehydration, and hypothermia; 7 were caught in flash floods; 79 were drowned in the Colorado River; 242 perished in airplane and helicopter crashes (128 of them in the 1956 disaster where two flights collided over the canyon); 25 died in freak errors and accidents, including lightning strikes and rock falls; and 23 were the victims of homicides. Our Park Ranger at the Black Canyon had warned us of the care required to visit this park. This is a harsh environment that must be respected, especially when the weather is hot.

Our visit begins as we approach from the East to take in our first view from Desert View Watchtower. The top of the tower is 7,522 feet (2,293 m) above sea level, the highest point on the South Rim. It offers one of the few full views of the bottom of the Canyon and the Colorado River. WOW, WOW, WOW. What a view to begin our experience. When we arrive our view is obstructed by low cloud, though spectacular to see its disappointing to think we will not get a clear view, but, as always our luck prevails and over the next hour that we spend here the cloud lifts before our eyes to unveil the whole splendid vista from this interesting tower.

It is jaw dropping amazing to look out over the magnitude of this creation. It takes time to soak in the sheer size of this wonder. The river below that looks like a slender ribbon at the base is actually at least 90ft wide and rushes along calm at times and churning rapids at others. That first view will be embedded on our memory forever as well as the feeling of the sheer size of what we are seeing.

Our day is a progression of vistas, each different from each other but still the same, absolutely amazing. Our favourites are decided, the first and the most eye opening, Desert View, closely followed by both Hopi and Pima outlooks. We are unable to walk down into the bottom of the canyon, as this is a two-day overnight experience and time does not permit (also snow is predicted tonight), so spend our day taking various trails along the rim. We are so glad we are here in winter when the tourist numbers are somewhat lower.

We spend time at the visitor’s centre taking in a wonderful movie, learning lots and particularly enjoy the footage of the Californian Condor, what an amazing bird this is. It is almost sunset when we take our last look into this abyss that is the Grand Canyon. It is aptly named, as it is the biggest and grandest of all the holes in the ground that we have visited. But is it our favourite? We all agree that even though it is spectacular and a must see in any ones lifetime that we have preferred other spots, and in direct comparison of vast drops down into this wonderful earth, we would put the Canyonlands and Black Canyon and Bighorn up the top of our list.

Is this unbelievable that we could not rank it Number 1? Don’t hold it against us! I think our preference has a lot to do with the fact that our favourites were experienced, for the most part, totally alone, when we could take in the grandeur in tranquil peace with time to reflect on the magnitude of that moment in time. Considering this we decide we would like to return to visit the North Rim, closed to us due to snow, and get a more lonely experience. We also have to come back to get to the canyon floor and we have decided the way to do this best is to take a ride down the amazing Colorado River, an adventure requiring a much higher temperature. More for the bucket list.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album ARIZONA.

MONUMENT VALLEY

We wake up to more rain than we have seen in quite some time, and it seems more than this part of the country has seen in quite some time also. Can’t complain, it is winter after all. We are planning a driving day anyway so off we go. We are in a place called Cortez, where the desert meets the mountains, heading into the desert. Moving through this part of Colorado it is dead flat boring, but still amazing and different, until we cross into Utah again, guess what, we magically hit the dramatic world of rock buttes, valleys and gorges again.

We are taking a route that snakes its way along beside the San Juan River and is just beautiful. We are actually in the area known as Four Corners, where four states, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, meet. We are on the south side of the very influential Colorado Plateau now and heading for Monument Valley, not a designated National Park, but a part of the Navajo Reservation, the largest reservation in the US. This is the unique world that got away from Utah, the Navajo Tribal Park being just inside Arizona.

The rain has stopped but when we get to the valley it is completely shrouded in dense wet cloud. Though a sight well worth seeing with its haunting veil, we decide we still need to explore the area on a clear day so elect to stay on the Utah side of the road at Goulding Lodge. Harry Goulding and his wife “Mike” (real name Leone) purchased this property in 1921 and started trading with the Navajo people out of a tent, later building a brick trading post with their living quarters above. This building is still standing and is the Museum within the Lodge grounds for visitors to explore. When the depression hit both the Gouldings and the Navajo hard, Harry came up with the idea of approaching John Ford, the movie director, to get some money to the area. The rest is history as they say, John Ford fell in love with the area and shot the first of many Western Classics, “Stagecoach” starring John Wayne, here. That was the beginning of a long movie making history, the Monument Valley area giving the perfect backdrop to the ‘Western’ genre. The tradition continues with films like ‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Thelma and Louise”, ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘Back to the Future III’ having shot scenes here.

This spectacular area has in fact been used in many genres of movie making, computer games, music videos, TV productions including cartoons and many advertisements. Harry started a lifetime of photography that has helped the area thrive. The Gouldings continued their association with the Navajo all their lives and even today the Lodge is a major contributor to the people. We are loving the atmosphere of this very comfortable and interesting place to spend the night. The complex is built beneath the towering rock cliff that one can look back across to the first buttes of the Valley from your balcony, a view we manage to catch at sunset when it is lit brightly, especially gorgeous with the cloud cover today. We enjoy a movie relating to the area in the theatre building and follow this with dinner served at the restaurant, yum.

Our day begins slowly but eventually we head out into the magnificent Navajo reservation area that is Monument Valley. We take the road down into the valley and start our self-guided tour to view the magnificent mesa,buttes and spires. It is truly beautiful with its colours ranging from sand to orange to deep reds. It is mainly dark red however and it is stunning. The recent rain seems to have made the valley green in only a day, it is somehow different from the day before. It is interesting to read the Navajo explanation of the different formations giving significant meaning to this spectacular landscape. Along the way we stop to meet some Navajo people and chat with a mother and daughter about their way of life living on the reservation without power and water and all the conveniences that come with it. They are selling jewellery that they have made from the local gemstones, predominantly turquoise and buffalo bone and juniper berries. It is interesting to get a small understanding of this life.

We finish our time in the valley all the more rich for the experience. We head back to the hotel and spend some time in the museum that was the original trading post and home of Harry and Mike Goulding. It is an excellent display mainly left in its original condition with the added bonus of movie memorabilia and Indian information. Once again we are richer for the experience. They even have John Wayne’s cabin that was used in his movies. Another day comes to an end. Our time is over in this truly amazing part of the country.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album MONUMENT VALLEY.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

Sadly we awake to a not so favorable weather report for the coming days. Precipitation is on the cards. We are embarking on a scenic route, one of America’s oldest and most revered, US 550, that is a mountain trail that comprises 3 passes over 10,500ft, the largest being Red Mountain at over 11,500ft. It is known as the Million Dollar Highway. This classic stretch of two-lane, no barriers road, forms a swirling ribbon through the San Juan Mountains, the wildest and most rugged peaks in the Colorado Rockies.

The origin of the “Million Dollar” name is clouded in myth. Some say it was first used after an early traveller, complaining of the vertigo-inducing steepness of the route, said, “I wouldn’t go that way again if you paid me a million dollars.” Others claim that it derives simply from the actual cost of paving the route in the 1930s. But the favourite explanation is also the most likely: when the highway was first constructed, the builders used gravel discarded by nearby gold and silver mines, only to find out later that this dirt was actually rich in ore and worth an estimated “million dollars.”

The route used primarily follows the one carved by a pioneer Polish Postie named Otto Mears. Suffice to say we are a little worried about the conditions on the road but decide to press on anyway, mad Australians. You know the saying ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’, well that is how the morning went. We were watching for signs of tire chains on the traffic passing us in the other direction but saw none, knowing these are not something we have on board.

As the trail got higher the rain turned into snow and it was evident by the new fall that we were the only ones going in our direction. Going at a ‘glacial pace’ we traversed this winding surface whilst to our side was a certain death drop into air. Negotiating passing a couple of snow ploughs going the other way was heart stopping to say the least. Should we press on or not is the topic of conversation.

We eventually get to the Red Mountain pass and have crossed to the other side of the mountain, putting us away from the edge for the majority of the time, and we decide we are probably over the worst, so we push on. Thank goodness we did. What an amazing road this is, dotted with a couple of pretty little tourist towns, but majority wild mountains covered in snow decorated spruce and pine with snow white ground and magnificent views. Though the view would definitely be more distant without the falling snow and low hanging clouds, what we experience is spectacular, wild and just gorgeous. It’s a good job we are a little crazy!

After two more high passes we are eventually heading down hill for the last time and into a more sedate landscape. Next stop Mesa Verdi. We reach the visitors centre about 2pm and are advised to head straight out to the Museum and the only open ruin available to visit at this time of year, Spruce House, for a 3pm guided tour. So off we go through the winding mesa to the end of the road, approximately 20miles into the park. Just in time we head off with our guide down about 100m along an easy walkway to start our learning experience of this national treasure. Along the way we learn how the cliff dwellings were largely left inaccessible with only a toe hold climb down the cliff.

The Ancestral Pueblo people, and their descendants, inhabited Mesa Verde for more than 700 years (550 A.D. to 1300 A.D.), but for the first six centuries, they primarily lived on the mesa tops. It was not until the final 75 to 100 years that they constructed and lived in the cliff dwellings for which Mesa Verde is known. It is believed that they began living beneath the cliffs to improve their shelter from the ever increasing severity of the harsh conditions in the area, or perhaps for defence though there is hardly any evidence of fighting or threat between these peoples. Basically they were suffering major drought and finding supporting themselves very hard, we are talking of communities in the thousands.

These were primarily a farming people who over these centuries moved from excellent basket weavers to sophisticated pottery craftsmen famous for their black on white designs and from pole and adobe builders into skilled stone masonry craftsmen. The canyons selected for their new abodes were the ones that had natural seep springs that could give them a small water supply, it is believed that this was only equivalent to a litre per day. Their only other water source was the river a few miles away. There is also evidence of trade with objects from other parts of the nation such as shells and turquoise and also cotton, none of which occur naturally in this area.

Spruce House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger), was constructed between A.D. 1211 and 1278 by the ancestors of the Puebloan peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (kee-vahs), or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people. It is an excellent example of the exceptional masonry ability of these people and shows the way they plastered the interiors in mainly yellow and pink, and also some drawn decoration.

Our guide continues to give us interesting information about these very intelligent peoples that toiled against the elements to survive. The mortality rate of the children up to 5 was 50% due, primarily, to infestation of worms caught from their domesticated animals, turkeys and dogs. Otherwise it is thought that they lived to around 35 with some evidence of 50 to 60 year olds. All our knowledge today has been gathered by study of the relics left. The date of building is concluded from the timber that is still preserved within the structures. Fortunately for us, the Puebloans used to just throw their rubbish over the edge of their cliff homes leaving us a garbage heap of knowledge. Because they did not have a written language there is some guesswork involved in concluding their politics and day-to-day community existence.

Contrary to popular belief, the Ancestral Puebloan people of Mesa Verde did not disappear. They migrated south to New Mexico and Arizona, and became today’s modern pueblo people. To conclude our time in this area we move up to the museum enjoying all the relics on display. There are no human remains as about 20 years ago these were returned to the peoples for private burial. Before the sun sets we head out to see the dwellings preserved on the top of the mesa, showing how they developed small villages of houses all in a row and also more traditional kivas. This is an amazing place of such importance in the preservation of an ancient civilization. Well done to Wetherill brothers who made their discoveries in 1888 and didn’t stop campaigning until they convinced the government to dedicate this area as a national park in 1906. In 1978 Mesa Verdi joined a select group of UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sites. Lucky for us who get to experience this history.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album COLORADO.

BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK

After a day of magnificent scenery we have twisted and turned our way into the Rocky Mountains. It is well after dark when we pull into the town of Montrose to find a hotel for the night. We read a little information about this area and discover one of the newest designated National Parks in the country, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, listed in 1999, though preserved as a National Monument since 1933.

This is an area of fantastic history and geological wonder being some of the oldest rock of North America exposed by the lifting of the Colorado Plateau, volcanic eruptions and the 2 million years of carving by the unyielding Gunnison River. We are wondering why we have not heard about it before. We decide a detour is necessary and head off to the park.

It is a short distance from Montrose and within 20 minutes we are up close and personal with one of the most magnificent views one could ever have. It is written that one cannot help but be affected and moved by ones first sight of this natural wonder, and they are right. This is a series of canyon and gorges that at their minimum plunge 2,000ft down to the ferocious Gunnison River. It is easy to understand why early explorers declared this an impenetrable area.

At the Visitor Center we meet the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable Park Ranger who begins our learning curve by showing us the best introductory movie yet. It details the history of this deep chasm cut by the raging torrents of the river. Through history, even in the lives of the Ute Indians, man had known of the canyons existence but had always left it in peace, because it was thought impossible to descend into its depths. There had been only 3 previous attempts by intrepid men risking their lives descending into these sheer cliffs from 1853 – The Gunnison Expedition, 1883 – The Bryant Expedition and 1900 – The Pelton Expedition, all only reaching the Narrows, a spot in the canyon only 40ft across and not very far into the region. In 1901 two young men, Abraham Lincoln Fellows and Will Torrence, came up with the daring plan of using inflatable rafts to traverse the waters where all others had failed. They scrambled and swam, fell and literally just through themselves into the rapids hoping to survive and pop out the other side and miraculously managed to traverse the valley floor, going where no man had ever managed to go before. Their efforts eventually lead to the building of a tunnel that transported life giving water to the Uncompahgre Valley, once a barren waste land, to become a flourishing fertile productive area, supporting many lives, in 1905.

Luckily this magnificent, jaw droppingly gorgeous, view was made accessible to the people and today we can take in the vantage points of the park to experience the wonder for ourselves. Before we head out to explore we chat with our park host about all sorts of things, his advice being invaluable for other areas we still have to come and also increasing our knowledge of those places we have been. What an amazing young man who has already experienced life as a serviceman in Afghanistan and is obviously passionate about the Park system that he now works in, having spent time in numerous parks around the country. It was a pleasure to chat with him.

On with our visit, the snow having shut some roads, we can travel the South Rim Road to see some of the most majestic vistas the park has to offer, especially enjoying the Painted Wall. This is the highest cliff in Colorado at 2250ft from river to rim. It is particularly beautiful as it is a showcase of the layers of different rocks and minerals laid down over billions of years to then be carved and eroded by the power of this river. Due to damming of the river up stream it is now only one fifth as powerful today but is still carving away at a rate of 1inch per 100 years. We are impressed by the sound of the water drifting up to us, apparently it is impossible to talk and be heard at the rivers side, something we will not experience this visit as the pathways are too dangerous to make a descent. Each lookout is made all the more beautiful by the snow highlighted north faces, punctuating all the nooks and crannies of the cliffs and gorges. This park was an unexpected jewel in our adventure, one that took the day to explore so returned to our previous nights accommodation. No forward progress made but our lives enriched by this relatively unknown park.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album COLORADO.