Flagstaff and Grand Canyon

Waking up in Flagstaff, we felt different from all the other days of city slicking and party going. We felt relaxed, yet surprisingly fresh. I, in particular, felt instantly at home in Flagstaff. Within 20 minutes we were out the door and wandering about in search of the best meal of the day, breakfast.
Flagstaff as it turns out is a very affluent area, so the choices were plenty, but we decided on one and it turned out to be one of the best brekkies so far.

After eating mountains of eggs and good stuff, we headed off to the Flagstaff Navajo Museum, which was a short journey on the bus. As it turned out we had stubbled upon a gem. Somehow the planets had aligned and we had arrived on their annual festival of arts, which consisted of native American dance shows, talks and artists selling their works and jewellery. It really was wonderful to talk to these people and learn about their culture, we were very lucky.

The next day was our trip to the Grand Canyon, so we thought it best to not go mad and hit the bars. We had a very tasty sushi meal in town, grabbed a drink in a bar nearby and hit the hay by 11pm.

Being escorted in the the mini-bus i couldn't help but notice something, everyone on our trip (apart form the tour guide) was English. It was strange somehow to be talking to people that didn't automatically think we were Australian! Actually they were all really lovely and it was quite comforting to speak to someone from home.
The guide was called Chad Stone, what an American name! He was the best that we could possibly ever ask for to tour us around the big crack. He knew everything about it and had been studying it since he was 16.


He took us to the North rim of the Canyon, but when we got there he told us to put our hands over our eyes and walk until he told us to stop. Fortunately he was on the level, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this blog, but oh my god! When we opened our eyes, the view was breathtaking, as you can see, but it never quite does it justice on camera.



After half an hour we were off to hike our way down for a bit. It was tough work in the heat, but the views were fantastic and it was very rewarding to be hanging your legs over the side with huge condors flying above.


We wondered back up, drove to another site for some more photos and back to Flagstaff, which wouldn't be complete with more intrepid stories of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. He talked all day, but never got boring.
We learnt a lot about the geology, the history and the people of the Canyon and somehow it left a mark on us. I, for one, would certainly like to come back, and hopefully for a longer period next time.



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