Observations and Recommendations
Selections from Kip's Southwest Journal
(Go back to read On the Trail: Kip's Hiking Highlights!)
March 24, 2010
We got to the airport and luckily our boarding gate didn't end up being 500 miles away from the rest of them. So when we got there, we found out that our plane was delayed due to overbooking. An hour later they asked for buying people flights for tomorrow so they'd have space for everyone else. Well, this deal included a free hotel stay and $84 worth of Delta food bucks, redeemable a any restaurant in the hotel. Coincidence? I THINK NOT ...
Anyways, thats where we are now, and even though we're five miles from home, it still feels like vacation. We ate (for free) at the hotel bar and gill and have been watching Mythbusters and swimming since.
Anyways, thats where we are now, and even though we're five miles from home, it still feels like vacation. We ate (for free) at the hotel bar and gill and have been watching Mythbusters and swimming since.
March 25, 2010
The massive Hoover Dam stores 9.2 trillion gallons of water
We boarded our plane at 9:35 a.m. and flew three hours over the rocky mountains to Las Vegas, where we arrived at about 10 a.m. There was a fair amount of jet lag and we were all pretty hungry. We decided we wanted an overpriced, cheesy las-vegasy meal. So, we went to an retro airport restaurant called "Ruby's" and spent $40 on two hamburgers, three shakes and a bowl of chili. When our meal was over, we rented a car, and are currently headed for the Hoover Dam ... (For thoughts on the Hoover Dam experience and other museums, check out Aaron's Southwest Museum Review.)
March 26, 2010
Today, I visited the Grand Canyon for the first time in my life. The first impressions were great; huge vast sheets of red, black and tan rock with coarse scrub brush on the tops of every plateau that gives them a sea green color top. After we went down some super steep hairpin switchbacks, we traversed along the side of the rim of the canyon. It was actually surprisingly warm because the sun had been heating the rock face all morning. We made it to "Ooh-ah point" which had many spectacular views, and took some great pictures.
After tragically falling off of one of the Canyon's cliffs, Kip miraculously recovered without a single scratch and
was able to finish the hike and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate that night.
March 27, 2010
We took annother trip to the grand canyon today and it wasn't quite as cool as it was the day before. Dunno, I guess the effect kinda wore off. We hiked the Rim Trail today out to Hermit's Rest. We rested at Hermit's Rest for a while (despite having no hermits in our party) and took a long series of busrides home.
At 3 p.m., we attended the condor talk, which was nice enough, but, ehh, sort of uninteresting. It could be summed up as: DONT DO STUPID THINGS TO THE CONDORS/WILDLIFE HERE AT THE GRAND CANYON.
At 3 p.m., we attended the condor talk, which was nice enough, but, ehh, sort of uninteresting. It could be summed up as: DONT DO STUPID THINGS TO THE CONDORS/WILDLIFE HERE AT THE GRAND CANYON.
March 28, 2010
Native Americans told stories through pictographs
We had breakfast at the Holiday Inn again: normal biscuits, bacon, cinnamon rolls and yogurt. Then we went over to the canyon and partook in one of those ranger talks again. This one was on fossils and it was a lot better than the last one. The guy talked a bit on how the canyon was formed, told us about some of the various fossils that could be found there and tuned us loose for about half an hour. We scavenged several fossils, ranging from ancient clams and oysters to crinoid rings and worm burrows.
We then hiked down 500 meters into the Bright Angel Trail, to see some ancient Native American pictographs painted on a cliff face. We then journeyed to the Little Colorado River Scenic Outlook, which I thought to be a fresh eyefull of rock formations. We also caught our first glimpse of sadness on the reservations. There were some sorry bazaars selling various jewelry. I felt so sorry for the Natives, the government did not give them the good land to live on ...
We continued to the city of Cameron, where we entered the famous trading post. Lots of the same old stuff there. We then went to Tuba city and ate at the Hogan Family Restaurant, where we had some "Navajo tacos" — which were basically a pile of beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes on some Navajo fry bread. Can't complain, though, I really like that bread.
We then hiked down 500 meters into the Bright Angel Trail, to see some ancient Native American pictographs painted on a cliff face. We then journeyed to the Little Colorado River Scenic Outlook, which I thought to be a fresh eyefull of rock formations. We also caught our first glimpse of sadness on the reservations. There were some sorry bazaars selling various jewelry. I felt so sorry for the Natives, the government did not give them the good land to live on ...
We continued to the city of Cameron, where we entered the famous trading post. Lots of the same old stuff there. We then went to Tuba city and ate at the Hogan Family Restaurant, where we had some "Navajo tacos" — which were basically a pile of beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes on some Navajo fry bread. Can't complain, though, I really like that bread.
March 29, 2010
Meteor Crater is the best preserved crater in the USA
After our stay at the impressive, martian-themed Quality Inn, we left for Meteor Crater (not before we had our picture taken and added to the wall of guests, though!) We arrived there in about an hour, and boy was it ever spectacular. Four thousand feet wide and 500 feet deep, they say it's the best preserved crater in the U.S. I would highly recommend it. After that, we went to the small museum there, which was quite good and very informative.
We then hopped in our car again and headed for Walnut Canyon. We hiked down 270 steps to the cliffside to where the houses were cleverly built into the overhanging rock. We then clambered our way back up the 270 stairs to where the visitor center was. They had some cleverly placed drink machines (climbing up is not easy) there, which promptly ate all of the money I fed them.
We then hopped in our car again and headed for Walnut Canyon. We hiked down 270 steps to the cliffside to where the houses were cleverly built into the overhanging rock. We then clambered our way back up the 270 stairs to where the visitor center was. They had some cleverly placed drink machines (climbing up is not easy) there, which promptly ate all of the money I fed them.
March 30, 2010
Sedona's reddish arches reflect traditional Southwestern architecture
The first portion of today's journeys consisted of a mosey around the main shopping district of Sedona. The premier shopping place was through this very neat little arts-and-crafts-only section called Tlaquepaque. It was sort of Mexican missionary themed (I thought), and had very pleasant ambient music provided by local artists playing throughout the entire complex. I couldn't help but think it would be a great setting for some video game where lots of running and jumping is involved. Also, as Aaron remarked: "It would be very hard to enter this place stressed, and leave stressed." They have many neat artsy shops ranging from shells, to beads, to metal sculptures, to kites, to bronze sculptures, and many other things as well. You should definitely check it out.
We went hiking on a trail that I thoroughly enjoyed called the Vista Trail, at Boyten Canyon. People had been building a bunch of these rock structures called Cairns, which are simple little stacks of flat rocks, each smaller than the one below it. Sort of like Arizona snowmen. People had placed them all over so we all chipped in. I made two, Mom made one big one, Chico rebuilt five or six that had fallen over and made a little one for himself and Aaron made a dozen in all different places.
It was getting dark, so we headed over to the Red Planet diner for some malts. That place is very, very well decorated. It has UFOs and martians adorning the ceiling, pictures of aliens under glass in the tables, photos and newspaper clippings of UFO sightings around the world, red neon and bronze faces of famous aliens decorating the walls. Oh, and the shakes were good, too.
We went hiking on a trail that I thoroughly enjoyed called the Vista Trail, at Boyten Canyon. People had been building a bunch of these rock structures called Cairns, which are simple little stacks of flat rocks, each smaller than the one below it. Sort of like Arizona snowmen. People had placed them all over so we all chipped in. I made two, Mom made one big one, Chico rebuilt five or six that had fallen over and made a little one for himself and Aaron made a dozen in all different places.
It was getting dark, so we headed over to the Red Planet diner for some malts. That place is very, very well decorated. It has UFOs and martians adorning the ceiling, pictures of aliens under glass in the tables, photos and newspaper clippings of UFO sightings around the world, red neon and bronze faces of famous aliens decorating the walls. Oh, and the shakes were good, too.
An array of intriguing metal sculptures animated the charming city of Sedona, delighting visitors with their whimsical shapes and soothing fountains.
March 31, 2010
The first thing today was Montezuma's well. The well was a vitally important tool in Native American agriculture. It was a warm limestone sinkhole that continuously fills with water and has a small Swallet that leads to a nearby stream. Scientists estimate that the Native Americans in this area managed to dig a channel and divert the water for irrigating their farms. We then toured Montezuma Castle, which is a large Hopi structure that was built into a sheer rock face.
Our next destination was the old mining town of Jerome. It was located on Cleopatra Hill, a part of Mindy Mountain. It was a very interesting town, very windy. The streets are switchbacks that go above each other. There are lots of little shops and artsy places to go. One place I'd especially reccommend is a toy store called Mr. B's Magic Attic, or something like that. I would definitely check it out if you like toys/magic tricks/Mr. B. We then toured the Jerome mine museum. It is a well-done, small and very informative little place that gives an overview of the area around Jerome, information on the effects of the world wars on Jerome, the mining industry and prostitution of Jerome. We then walked to the top of the hill to a restaurant/hotel called The Asylum, that was made from an old hospital. They had very good chocolate cake.
Then we went to Tuzigoot. It closed in 10 minutes, so we took a lightning tour of the place. Most of it was fallen over/missing its roof/eroded away, but the main tower of the building was partially restored, so you could go inside of it. After running back down to meet curfew of the park, we went driving along red rock trail. It was very pretty, and Aaron and I built a bunch of rock sculptures in the trees there. Then we went home.
Our next destination was the old mining town of Jerome. It was located on Cleopatra Hill, a part of Mindy Mountain. It was a very interesting town, very windy. The streets are switchbacks that go above each other. There are lots of little shops and artsy places to go. One place I'd especially reccommend is a toy store called Mr. B's Magic Attic, or something like that. I would definitely check it out if you like toys/magic tricks/Mr. B. We then toured the Jerome mine museum. It is a well-done, small and very informative little place that gives an overview of the area around Jerome, information on the effects of the world wars on Jerome, the mining industry and prostitution of Jerome. We then walked to the top of the hill to a restaurant/hotel called The Asylum, that was made from an old hospital. They had very good chocolate cake.
Then we went to Tuzigoot. It closed in 10 minutes, so we took a lightning tour of the place. Most of it was fallen over/missing its roof/eroded away, but the main tower of the building was partially restored, so you could go inside of it. After running back down to meet curfew of the park, we went driving along red rock trail. It was very pretty, and Aaron and I built a bunch of rock sculptures in the trees there. Then we went home.
April 1, 2010
The first and only stop for today was at the Museum of Northern Arizona. It was a very artsy place that had very nice exhibits on the geology of the Colorado Plateau, and a fine collection of Native American arts and crafts, both old and new. We had to get going pretty quick, so we didn't really get an in depth look at the place, but it was still a very good museum. Then we took on the five hour drive to Las Vegas, which really didn't seem very long. The only snag was that they were doing a lot of blasting around the hoover dam area, so we were delayed there for about and hour. After we made it over the dam it didn't take us long to get to Las Vegas. We arrived, and after wandering through miracle mile for a bit, we finally found our super crowded hotel lobby. Then Aaron, Chico and I walked around the strip for a little while to get our first taste of Vegas. Here are my observations:
a.) Food here is way overpriced. A St. Paul Chipotle burrito and a soda cost 4 bucks less than a Las Vegas hotel plate of pancakes.
b.) Everyone smokes. The smell of cigarettes permeates all over the entire city, you can't escape it.
c.) Everything is so FAKE. Everything here seems surreal and worthless, even with all of the glamour, nothing seems like it has meaning associated with it.
With these things in mind, be sure to pack a ton of outside food, a gas mask, and a good dose of reality when visiting Vegas.
a.) Food here is way overpriced. A St. Paul Chipotle burrito and a soda cost 4 bucks less than a Las Vegas hotel plate of pancakes.
b.) Everyone smokes. The smell of cigarettes permeates all over the entire city, you can't escape it.
c.) Everything is so FAKE. Everything here seems surreal and worthless, even with all of the glamour, nothing seems like it has meaning associated with it.
With these things in mind, be sure to pack a ton of outside food, a gas mask, and a good dose of reality when visiting Vegas.