Walled In

   "Are you looking for something special?" The lady asked.
Well, technically I was. I was looking for Jamie.

   Saying farewell to the Grand Canyon, we were also saying farewell to the planned part of our American journey. We had ticked off most of the places we had wanted to see and now found ourselves with one week remaining and some map scouring to find some places to visit on our trip back to LA.

   We made for Phoenix and found a free campsite in the Coconino Forest on the scenic route 89A. Arriving late at night we made camp, ate our dinner and settled in. In the morning we were delighted with the view and even more so the drive further South along the highway towards Sedona. We had not realised beforehand, but we were passing through what we described as a smaller version of the Grand Canyon and a busy hiking area.
   Winding our way from 6000 feet down to 4000 we made it  to Sedona for a morning cup of coffee. The temperature gradually rose, reaching a celebrated 20 degrees celsius. Then continued to climb even further as we dropped in altitude all the way down to Phoenix.

   We felt the heat and admired the catci. Laughing along the highway as we listened to our travel song for the thousandth time. Every radio station had been playing it from Washingon to Colorado and now Arizona.

"If it's meant to be, it will be, it'll be, baby, just let it be.
Ride with me, ride with me, see where this thing goes."

   It's a painfully corny song but one that we have heard so many times, it has become our Big Bird travelling song. When it comes on, we turn it up and shout it out. It's the road trip rule.

   Lunch in Phoenix at a warm lookout, we marvelled at the variety of catcus. We made our way into the city finding a carpark near the Talking Stick Arena. Chatting with the carpark 'Manager' we asked if he would mind if we camped the night, leaving early in the morning. A little unsure he said 'No Worries' as we thought he did not want to offend us.

   We wandered into town for some browsing and soon realised the city is actually more of a University. The majority of habitants and buildings were for the University of Arizona. This made it quite a pleasant town centre with some open squares and cafe lifestyle. There were many students walking between buildings, one girl praised Jamie and her colourful skirt. This was possibly the tenth time Jamie had received a compliment when wearing this skirt. Ian recommended Jamie introduce this line of skirts to the American market. He was serious.  We made our way to a Cornish Pasty venue to sink a few beers, share a pasty and catch up on some exciting events taking place back in Australia.

   As the evening came upon, we hurried back to our van to prepare for our 5th year anniversary of being together, by spoiling ourselves at a game of NBA. The LA Lakers, starring Lebron James, were taking on the Phoenix Suns at the horribly named, 'Talking Stick Arena.'
   Continuing the spoiling, we enjoyed a New York Pizza and some Bud Light while cheering on the Phoenix Suns and watching Lebron control the game.

   After the game, we felt like royalty as we walked 2 minutes to our accommodation. The back corner of a parking lot. It was a restless sleep, while warm, we were also concerned for Sister back in Australia who was going into labour. In the morning, we woke early to the thrilling news all had gone well and we had a new niece.
   Welcome to the family Augustine.

   An early visit to Starbucks and Walmart, we were on our way West out of the city and towards Quartzsite. We chose that way solely due to the cool rock name.
   When we arrived we marveled at the number of RV camping sites. They were everywhere and everyone of them was empty. The town was tiny in itself, but along the edge and through the middle were massive drive through hook up campinng places for caravans and RV's. It felt a little surreal, like we had stumbled on an   X-Files episode and all the citizens had been taken by Aliens. It wasn't until we googled Quartzsite and discovered it is the holy mecca for RV's and Caravans in January!!! Hundreds of thousands of retired Americans flock to Quartzite in their caravans and RV's to mingle! Hillarious! We felt thrilled to pass through when the place was empty.

   It was here we decided to pause and check out some of the Thrift Stores. We parked Big Bird and went exploring. Jamie went one way, Ian another. Ian got lost and went into a store. It was here we return to our conversation.
"Are you looking for something special?" The nice old lady asked Ian.
"Not really," he replied, though thought maybe he was because he was actually searching for Jamie.
"Okay then," she said, "just be careful walking into the back there. The step is quite big, I stumbled on it awhile back and broke my ankle."
"Oh dear,"  said Ian, as he observed the vibrantly spray painted small step between the rear doorway.
"We used to be in a larger store." The lady continued, "back behind the water tower, near Frank's place."
"Oh, yeah." Ian said, not knowing why he pretended he knew.
"When we came here we only had the front clock on the wall," she told Ian. "It didn't take long to fill this place. But we clear stuff out pretty good."
"That's great." Ian admired, as the front door opened and Jamie walked in. Jamie was on the hunt for some shorts and worked her way through the clothing. She eventually found a good pair and took it to the nice lady that had suffered a horrible trip on the small step at the back of the room.
The shorts had a small hand written tag stuck to them that read, '$4'. Jamie enquired if she may purchase the shorts.
"I'll trade you for your skirt." The lady offered.
Jamie was a little surprised but politely declined selling her skirt for that amount and instead just paid the $4.

   We left Quartzite, heading South and making our way into the Kofa Wildlife Sanctuary. A quick observation of Palm Canyon, a dusty drive and we settled in along Kings Road to camp for the night. The weather was warm so we stripped down and put the fly wire up on the windows to air Big Bird out. We celebrated the news of Augie with a nice dinner, some wine and music as the sun set over Chocolate Mountain. Some twilight twirling took place under the stars accompanied by a full moon. Five years together, where we have been and the possibilities for the rest of our lives made us both incredibly happy. We slept with the doors open that night, the breeze coming through and the moon shining down.

   A slow morning start, we made our way further South through the Army proving grounds, down to Yuma. We visited the Colorado river once more, dipping our feet into a small river that has had most of its water irrigated out.
   We drove West along Highway 8 and stopped off to view the wall preventing overzealous American values seeping into Mexico. We had lunch at the 'Duners Diner' which made us feel a little uncomfortable. It was a popular place for people to own or rent dune buggies and drive them through the nearby sand hills. Definitely exciting, however the Trump flags flying from their vehicles gave us an understanding for the type of passenger.

   With the desert heat upon us, we made our way further West seeking cooler temperatures. We were shocked to stumble upon a steep 4,000 foot ascent of loose rubble rock up to a small town called Jacumba. Needing some fuel we were swindled at the only petrol stations, having to pay $4.50 for regular when it is usually $2.90. Alas, we continued on our way. Dropping down again in altitude to a comfortable 3,000 feet we found a camp near Mt Laguna. There we relaxed, painted, wrote and relaxed some more.
   We expect to wind our way through these mountains over the next few days, hoping to catch some beach camping possibly a day or two before LA. Only five days remain with Big Bird. He has been more than a home and we aim to make the most of him before we bid farewell.

Humbled Specks in Time

   A number of timeless, classic films were made in 1984. The IMAX Inner Canyon Secrets was not one of them. Self acclaimed and self righteous, it attests to being the most watched IMAX film of all time. I believe I have watched it twice now, the first time back in 1991 when we may have thought 'white man dominating the environment' held no unconscious bias.
    In all seriousness, IMAX needs to stop screening that film, or maybe we need to check that Fox aren't the owners behind the scenes. Oh well.

   Our first sight of the Grand Canyon was from the North Rim at 8,800 feet. Plenty of snow about and many trails closed due to the Winter season. We observed from the lookout the Bright Angel Fault and walked the rim admiring the depth of the canyon and colour changes down the edge. We enjoyed spotting the white bushy tailed squirrels as we walked between the quiet North Rim cabins. We had planned to spend some more time hiking but at 2 degrees celsius we opted to do that on the South Rim where we could see the snow had not fallen.
  
   Back towards Jacobs Lake, we made our way alongside the Vermillion Cliffs and down a few thousand feet towards Marble Canyon. We found a camp near Lees Ferry and enjoyed walking alongside the Colorado once more, here observing fishing vessels and rafts being prepared for tour's up and down the fast flowing river.
   Marble Canyon and Lees Ferry was a delight, particularly the impressive boulders that had fallen from Mesa edge and over a few thousand years have had the loose sand swept away from underneath so they appear to balance like a mighty elephant on its toe. 
   A quick shower and  a reminder that the Americans love their Quarters. $2.00 for a shower requires 8 quarters, to be inserted, for two people that is 16 quarters needing to be placed in the coin box. Seriously, 16 coins.
   Later that day we drove slowly down towards Cameron, admiring the broad canyon all the way. We camped just outside the Grand Canyon National Park, in Kaibab again and prepared to enter the following morning.
  
    We entered the South Rim via the East Entrance, taking in the Tower Lookout and various pull outs along the road towards the Information Centre. Clearly, the Grand Canyon blows you away in terms of its width and depth. From the fault line piercing through the middle and a variety of tributaries eroding the edges even further, we could appreciate how over milllions of years this impressive canyon had been formed. Looking back towards the higher North Rim also gave good perspective of the drop further South we went. Having been up around 10,000 feet back in Colorado, it has been a thrill to see this river work its way down carving and eroding all the way.

   We made our way to the information centre by Sunday afternoon, we thoroughly enjoyed an informative geological video of how the canyon came about with the history of the Earth. Then we walked along the Rim to the geological museum and took in the detailed info on each layer and which period it belonged. Jamie passed with A's when Ian tested her knowledge of some of the rocks.
    We gathered info about our preferred hikes and then made our way out of the Grand Canyon Park, South to Tusayan to find a free camp, funnily enough, behind the town overlooking the main street. Easy enough for us to walk through some trees and down the hill in 5 minutes we were on the main street. It was here that for the Sunday afternoon we chose to visit IMAX and watch the Grand Canyon 35 minute movie.

   We should have guessed from the title, however, we both assumed, 'Inner Secrets' may have meant the geological and environmental secrets. Alas, when the film started with a booming orchestra, the words, 'Whether this great Canyon was created by the Earth or God, we now look at its Inner Secrets.' Then a violent depiction of Native Americans killing each other, we knew we had miss-understood. The film then goes on to describe the journey of the first white man to float down the river through the canyon. It ends with a pyroglyder and the line, 'Man has conquered the river and air, what next?'
   After the film we gathered our thoughts at a Saloon nearby called the 'Big E' before returning to camp.

   At the crack of dawn we were ready to head back into the Grand Canyon. The weather looked ominous with dark clouds, bolts  of lightning and heavy rumbles of thunder. Unperturbed, we were kitted up ready for our hike of the Bright Angel Trail down to the Indian Garden.
   Despite being hailed on at the beginning of the hike, the weather gave the Canyon a powerful vision as the thunder echoed between the walls and the lightning reached down to touch the North Rim. Excited, we hiked on. The rain eased and our only concern was to watch out for rain puddles and hail on the trail down. We passed a few heavy loaded campers making their way up. They appeared to have camped the night down the bottom. With large packs on their back and two thin hiking poles in each hand we imagined them to be slow moving spiders crawling out of the rain and scrambling back up the water pipe.

   It was a delight to pause and take in the scenery as we made our way down. The small blue birds fluttering after insects. The white tailed deer casually searching for the perfect grass to eat. The deep rich red colour of the  canyon walls seemd to grow bolder as the rain dripped down through the cracks. We were able to witness the canyon slowly erode as the rain quickly turned muddy as it caught the dirt through the crevices and took it down along the trail. No wonder the Colorado was so muddy here.
   Moments of sun would beam through the parting clouds and stop us in our path. With the smell of wet earth and a cool breeze we would look out across the canyon as though the sun wanted to highlight a special place for us to look.
   All together, it felt dramatic. We took our time and wound our way slowly down, reaching the green Indian Gardens and coming to rest for some more water and a snack.
   It was here we were able to chat to a Park Ranger who advised that we were quite fortunate with our timing. The mules, which normally operate every day of the year, had come down with a virus and were all quarantined to be checked. This meant the trail had no pools of mule urine or piles of poo. Instead it was fresh with rain and clean for walking. The Ranger also appreciated the trail had the opportunity to rest as the mules can put some hard work into it.

   After a relaxing moment in the Garden, we organised ourselves for the climb back up the canyon wall. The sun broke through a few more times and the rain cleared away. Our jackets came off and the sweating hard work began.  On the way up, taking twice as long, we were able to appreciate the changing layers of rock. Each new layer would be a small target for us to reach, take pause, then go again. Jamie was also able to spot the unique layer of chert squeezed inbetween a few hundred millions years of sediment. These marine microfossils told a history of the Earth that left Ian's mind spinning and Jamie greatly appreciative to admire so visibly.

   As we reached the top, we came upon the hoard of tourists, which shook us from our dream hike back into reality. Well into the afternoon now, we opted to return to our campsite beside Tusayan, tidy up with some washing then wander the town again. We stumbled across a pizza restaurant and spoiled ourrelves with the Special and two beers. Then on the walk back to camp we decided to try out the other saloon in town. This one treated us to legitimate saddle's for seats at the bar so we sat uncomfortably while watching the Spanish news and drinking our beers.

   On Monday we made our way again into the Grand Canyon, this time heading to the South Kaibab trail. The day was clear, it was a little less dramatic without the thunder and lightning. But equally as impressive in grandeur. This trail provided a greater perspective of the Canyon, looking further West down towards the Bright Angel Fault and being able to follow it all the way to the North Rim. We made our way down to Skeleton Point and from there we could see the Colorado River. This trail had a small group of mules head down earlier in the morning and left their parting gift for us to side step on the way down.
   We relaxed at Skeleton Point for awhile, meeting another hiker named Sebastian, who was heading to Phoenix for a conference but decided to take an extra few days to come up to the canyon. He was shocked when we told him how much time we were taking off for our holiday and what we had already covered. He generalised a bit and praised all Australians for being able to do the same. Then admonished the American style of working too much and not permitting more holidays. Sebastian was from Washington DC and had a young family. We never saw him again.

   The trail back up was a little harder than the day before. Possibly due to the kilometres already in the legs. Once again, we loved reading history through the layers. We worked out that roughly each step we took was approximately one million years in the making. With Ian's larger steps, he would get 250 to 300 steps per layer, while Jamie would be 400 to 500. With Jamie's trained eye we could work out the precise layers and sure enough, it was approximately 250 to 500 million years for each one. So we delighted in each step through history.
   As we made our way up, we have become accustomed to our flying observers. The healthy ravens watch every step and we liked to think they were guardians of the trail, ensuring our safe passage.

   Reaching the top and another celebration of success we decided to treat ourselves in a shower. Another $2 in quarters each and we each had our own 8 minute shower. We know now, 8 minutes is long enough to relax and let the warm water wash over you. 5 minutes is a hectic soaping annd washing before the water cut off and you were left   unfinished.
   A grocery shop and a check of any further trails we wanted to do,  but deciding we had enjoyed the Grand Canyon, we opted to say farewell.

   Emphatic in its grandeur, the Grand Canyon is not to be conquered. It is to be experienced and learnt from, we hope others feel the same, hopefully IMAX will choose a more modern depiction of history to tell.