12 days and 2500 miles in the US

You all know about my travels upto Flagstaff, the base point for several interesting places in Arizona state of US. This is one of the desert states and there are national parks, canyons, American-Indian reservations, ruins of old (10,000 years plus) habitations. Large numbers of the original inhabitants the red-Indians aka American-Indians very virtually massacred and killed by the whites as they started settling in this continent.

But today American establishment and society is slowly, reluctantly and grudgingly recognising the fact that there were original residents and societies in the continent which were destroyed by the invasion of whites. In a bid to make up for their old mistakes the government is doing quite a bit in the form of perservation of old ruins, establishing reservations and offering special privileges to American-Indians.

Anyway let us come back to where we went and what we saw. We stayed three days in Flagstaff going in and out and north and south of the city visiting various places of interest. Our first stop was the Grand Canyo, one of the natural wonders of the world. The drive to Grand Canyon was through vast expanses of pine forests, we saw several signs warning us to drive slow and not to hit wild life such as deer, elks etc but didn't see any wildlife at all. The drive was highly soothing, it was the first time in America that I had passed through such long distances of desolate, uninhabited and quiet regions. It is quite unlike India where finding a 5 km stretch of road without any human intervention is rare.

We passed about 80 miles of forest and reached the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, sited at the Grand Canyon village. Entry fee per vehicle is $25, the pass is valid for one week (7 days) and the fee remains the same irrespective of the number of passengers inside. It is amazing how much value the National Parks Service, wing of US government has created for visitors inside the park. Every cent of the $25 is worth it when we consider the facilities and features of the park. Once we pay the entry fee there is no further fee, yes expenses will be there like if you wish to buy stuff, there are several souvenir shops which sell Chinese made Grand Canyon souvenirs such as pictures, fridge magnets, key chains, crystal desk pieces, and what not, the array is simply amazing. One can easily blow up $500 on these trinkets and souvenirs. There are shops selling food, cafetarias for food and water, swank hotels and restaurants and virtually everything a tourist could ask for.

One major difference I noticed between Indian tourist attractions say Jog Falls and Grand Canyon is the cleanliness and the courtesy of the staff. In India the noise and clutter and ubiquitous trash gets to our heads. On other hand the ultra polite NPS staff; squeaky clean trails, paths, roads; quiet ambiance enables us to spend a quite moment amidst nature.

We went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and walked the Rim Trail which took us along the rim for about 3 miles. The views of the canyon is simply fantastic. The Yavapai Museum is sited bang on the trail and it contains some interesting information about how the canyon was formed. Telescopes placed in the museum help visitors to view within and across the canyon, which is about 477 miles long and average width is about 10 miles. I was surprised to know the width was 10 miles, when we stand and look from south rim, the north rim appears as if one can just reach out and touch it. Definitely not 10 miles wide, but the fact is that it is.

Grand Canyon is best enjoyed hiking the numerous trails, we were not prepared and time was not on our side, hence we decided to just look around and return another day to hike the canyon. Camp at the Phantom ranch in the heart of the canyon, visit the Yavapai falls, walk on the 442 ft hanging rope bridge builit across the river Colorado, take a boat ride down the river etc... so many things to do and so little time...

The Grand Canyon
The Canyon Beckons with open arms
I want to go there and roam and explore its charms
Walk on trails,
Explore the thrills
examine the unique formations
marvel at the intricate undulations.

Oh the grand canyon's grandeur,
Is a wonder to every wanderer
who seeks adventure
and is willing to risk going yonder
Take your bags and come hither
to escape the mundane office theatre

For here is something
which makes life worth living
and career worth making
for without money
nothing is possible honey!

I sign off with this for now... will talk about other things I saw around Grand Canyon before we returned to Flagstaff in my next post.

For now help me get better by leaving your comments here!

Grand Canyon Picture Gallery