American Southwest, Part 1

The land of the Wild West has intrigued me for years now... its massive canyons, its colours, its open skies, its desolation, its kitsch, its mystery.  Perhaps it was an article I read in a magazine, or Kerouac's writings in 'The Dharma Bums', or the imagery in 'Into the Wild' when Chris McCandless spends time in desert, or maybe it the classic film 'Easy Rider', which I saw for the first time last year.  I guess it doesn't matter what it was, but either way, this fall it was finally time to take a trip to this strange part of the world.  Nadia and I flew to Las Vegas in late October with Halloween costumes in our luggage, hit the strip for a few days, then headed out onto the open highway in a rental car.  The map below shows our route from Las Vegas counterclockwise into Arizona and then north into southern Utah, returning to Vegas.  Six nights on the road.  First night at the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs, Arizona.  Second night tenting in -5 to -10C temperatures at the Grand Canyon.  Then a night at a hotel in Page, Arizona.  Then three nights at Zion National Park in southern Utah with friends Dennis and Ashley.

  

Las Vegas was a blast.  We both enjoyed it more than we thought we would.  The timing was perfect too.  We were there October 29-31, right over Halloween!  It was lots of fun just to wander up and down the strip, stopping every now and then to take in the rather ridiculous and oversized sights.  People watching is something else there too.  A highlight for us was dressing up in costume.  I dressed up as Shaun from the British zombie comedy 'Shaun of the Dead'.  Nadia was dressed as a killer pyschopath.  Interestingly, our costumes were quite similar; the common denominator was BLOOD, and lots of it!!  There were others dressed in costume but we still seemed to stand out.  We got overwhelmed with positive comments and laughs from others.  We went out to dinner in our costumes and were the only ones in the whole restaurant in costume.

We left Vegas and floor 13 behind on October 31st and took to the highway.  After stopping at the Hoover Dam and driving long (and tiresome) straight stretches through open desert, we reached Kingman, AZ near dusk.  Then we continued east onto Route 66 and before we knew it darkness had set in, the road was growing more desolate, and the night ominous.  The passing towns were void of motels so we kept on going, hopeful but growing somewhat weary and worried.  Finally we found a lodge in the town of Peach Springs, operated by the local Hualapai Native Americans.  So we stayed the night there.  We were happy we did, because we had a gorgeous drive the next morning and saw lots of the kitchy Route 66 attractions at Canyon Taverns and in Seligman, stuff we would have otherwise missed in the darkness the night before.  Soon I will post part 2 and 3 of the trip, which will include the Grand Canyon and Zion. 

The last gasp of light at dusk before darkness took over on Route 66

Enjoying wacky roadside attractions along Route 66