Day 26: Arizona

I’m running out of adjectives to describe the American West.  I got to Bryce Canyon at dawn and was not disappointed.  There is a 35-mile round trip drive up the canyon. Amazing views of the Canyon to the east. Some recent fire damage (I think 2018) but really a beautiful area.  I was there before it got crowded and enjoyed the early morning.  It was 27 degrees at one point, now I’m in Arizona at 86.

Driving south from Utah I entered Arizona through Navajo Nation.  Couple of stories come to mind. First time through we were on spring break, driving from Durango to San Diego. We got a late start, in two cars heading through the desert late at night. One of the cars broke a fan belt. My car was still in good shape, so we drove to two towns looking for an open garage, this was near Tuba City. Needless to say, nothing was open, so we bought a 12-pack and listened to my new John Prine 8 Track.  All of us slept in the cars, it was a cold night.  When the sun came up, we drove back to town and got a new fan belt and were on our way. The other story is about my poor sister, Astrid.   When she came west with me to see Colorado, I took her through here on the way to Phoenix, where she was going to fly home.  We were driving through here, and she saw the signs for the Grand Canyon. “I always wanted to go there she said” Nope, no time to stop I said.  She is still mad about that to this day.  This was after I also refused to stop at the 4 corners national monument, told her I thought it was silly.  She’s not happy about that one either.  I’ll stop there tomorrow in her honor.

I did pull off the road on the way to Winslow to see where a meteor hit the desert, but I decided not to pay the $20 bucks to see a hole in the ground.  I was more interested in getting to Winslow to stand on a corner. They actually have a corner set up, where a gift shops plays Eagles music and there are two statutes, I guess commemorating Glen Frey and Jackson Browne.  Guess it worked, made me want to come to Winslow.

Song of the Day: Take it Easy, The Eagles

Podcast: nothing today

Book on Tape:  Finished the Wright Brothers

Beer of the Day:  Tower Station IPA, Mother Road Brewing

Total Miles: 480