After checking out of our hotel, we headed back to the Rim one last time so Ashlee could get some of the shopping out of her system -- yeah right, like that will ever happen. All the stores we visited carried pretty much the same inventory and we found a couple of t-shirts that we liked. After shopping, we walked over to El Tovar, the fanciest lodge in the Grand Canyon Village.
On the way to El Tovar, I noticed a maintenance person scooping up shovel-fulls of pooh from the neatly manicured lawns of the Arizona Room. What animal was responsible for those monster heaps, we wondered. Well, we soon found out.
After walking through El Tovar like we owned the joint and enjoying the view of the Canyon on its comfortable patio rocking chairs, we were crossing the parking lot when we came across a deer quietly munching grass next to a car. At first we startled it, but we quickly gave it space and it calmed down. So that's the Crap Culprit!
Shopped out, me more than Ashlee, we headed back down the Rim Trail in the direction of our hotel. On the way I stopped to take a picture of the canyon when we noticed a group of people staring up a large condor perched on top of the look-out house. Amazing! What a fitting end to our visit to the Grand Canyon!
We soon grabbed a quick snack at our hotel, loaded into Hamish, and hit the road. To get to Zion, we had to drive along the southeast edge of the Grand Canyon towards the middle of Arizona and then northwest to Utah. It was a gorgeous drive and Hamish tackled it like a dream.After stopping at one last scenic turnout (Grandview Point) we said goodbye to the Grand Canyon National Park and officially entered Navajo Land, or as Bella...er...Ashlee calls it, "the Rez."
As Grandpa Jon promised, we soon happened upon our first Navajo road market. They are literally these wooden lean-tos clustered together on the side of the road decked out with flags waving in the breeze and sporting hand-painted signs saying things like "Really Really Good!" and "Nice Indians!"
We stopped at several of these markets and admired the handiwork. They all sold similar items: all sorts of Navajo jewelry, pottery, tomahawks, sculptures, etc.. Everything was claimed to be handmade there in Arizona and everyone was very friendly. After much deliberation, Ashlee made a purchase: a hand-sized turtle sculpture made of fired horse hair.
After visiting these markets, I was struck by the seemingly strong cultural affinity between Native Americans and what I have read about traditional Mongolians. Both are a very hardy people who are nomadic by nature. Both are very friendly and hospitable. Both exhibit a profound reverence for nature and show deep respect for animals, particularly horses. Lastly both are a fiercely proud people who seem to be fighting against the current to survive in the modern world. Hmm, maybe after our time in Mongolia, Ashlee and I will explore more Native American culture.
Between stops at these markets, the drive was beautiful. Again, maybe it helped that we were just passing through in an air-conditioned turbo-charged Hyundai and it's not yet summertime with its sweltering heat, but there is just something striking about the land that captures you. Perhaps it is because everything is so rugged and untamed, which is the complete opposite of how things look in developed and manicured Southern California.
On the way through Arizona we passed through the towns of Gap and Page and then Lake Powell. We soon found ourselves in Utah.
In Utah we found more gorgeous countryside. Ashlee remarked how the scenery changed so gradually that it managed to look so similar while being so different. Nevertheless we found ourselves in the land of red rock. The highway ran straight and true and we only passed a few cars. The highway itself was two-lanes and I showed some true Hyundai power as I was forced to pass a number of slower moving trucks. The elevation constantly fluctuated between 5,000 and 6,000 feet with numerous dips and hills. We were surprised at the number of bicyclists that we passed.
Zion National Park sits about a hundred miles into Utah. While I don't exactly know much about it, I do know that it is place that Ashlee has wanted to go to for years. While we are actually staying in the small town of Springdale just outside the west entrance of the park, we actually got to enter the park from the east and drive through it to get to our hotel.
It was friggen amazing -- by far one of the most spectacular drives ever. It was like going back in time. I felt like I could have seen Fred Flintstone come screeching around any switchback. You'll have to see pictures to understand. Other than the gorgeous scenery, the other highlight of the drive was passing through a mile-long tunnel bored through one of the larger mountains. Awesome!
Like I said, we are staying in the small quaint town of Springdale for the next two nights. While our hotel is a bit dated (Brady Bunch floral wall paper) it is clean, affordable, and only a 5-minute free shuttle ride from the park entrance.After a delicious pizza dinner, we walked through a few shops before calling it a day and returning to our room. We caught the results show of American Idol (Adam's safe, phew!) and, to my delight, I discovered our hotel has WIFI.
I checked my email, and to my even greater delight, I saw a message from the Peace Corps detailing our departure information. Apparently we are meeting with all other Mongolia-bound volunteers in Los Angeles on Thursday 6/11 and then leaving for Mongolia on Friday 6/12. We'll be flying out of LAX -- a 13 hour flight to Seoul and then another 3 hour flight to Ulaanbaatar.
Things just got real.
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