Of mountains and deserts
Let's see if I can remember all the things that have happened in the last few days.
We spent Sunday night in Salida, Colorado. It was a smallish town in the mountains, probably around 9000 ft. We managed to find a Fiesta Mexicana which I have since realized is some kind of local or maybe midwestern Mexican chain restaurant, since we've seen quite a few of them since. It turned out to be really good. I scored some vegetable fajitas with rice and beans and joy enjoyed her food as well. Also the guy who served us was Mexican and kept speaking Spanish to us so I spoke Spanish back, but he was unfazed. The evening was uneventful.
Waking up relatively early we continued through the Rockies. We drove all day, eventually making it to Page, Arizona. The scenery varied wildly from incredible views of snow-capped peaks from a distance and at times up close, small and twisting roads through giant rolling hills, and then only a short distance later, the open desert with tumbleweeds and brush. That day we traveled only on smaller roads, all very scenic, the route being co-50 to Montrose, co-550 to ridgway, co-60 to co-145 which took us right past Telluride, a ski resort I once went to a million years ago and then all the way past Cortez, CO to the Four Corners national monument which I last visited in 2001 on my first roadtrip. It's kind of a novelty but the scenery in all directions is absolutely amazing. From there we shot down through the Arizona desert and nearby Indian reservations on az-160 eventually turning up az-98 into Page, AZ. We just made it there by sundown and in time to try a "Chinese/American" restaurant with both vegetable fried rice and burgers on the menu. They had some tofu, so I was happy and Joy reported her food to be really good, leaving us both pleasantly surprised. The Chinese woman who served us seemed enthused to have an Asian customer, though a few others walked in while we ate.
The next day was my favorite so far I think. As beautiful as the Rockies were, there's something about the desert that has always affected me differently. Maybe it is because I've seen mountains and forests fairly often in my life, but desert is something I've generally only seen on these roadtrips. There is a surreal quality to the Southwest, almost like an alien landscape. The road out of Page towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon may have been one of the most beautiful on which I've ever driven. It was az-89 to az-89A through something called the Vermilion Cliffs. The road itself rides through a relatively flat area of desert, but miles off the side of the road giant red cliffs rise up out of the desert and follow you for hours. On occasion you pass through a canyon and find yourself looking out over a similar stretch that might as well be infinite. The pictures will never do it justice and if there's anything I still need to see more of in this country after driving in this area already so many times, it would be this. The Grand Canyon was impressive of course. I'd never been to the North Rim before, but in order to get to the Canyon itself, a bit more driving is necessary than the South Rim. There's quite a bit of forest on the way as well, so you drive through treescapes and winding mountain roads as you get up to elevation, then emerge to the impossibly huge views of the Canyon that descend deep to the Colorado River which you can barely make out depending on where you are standing and how willing you are to go closer to the edge. Also, visiting the North Rim, it is necessary ultimately to backtrack and go back on the same road you came in. It's a beautiful road, but not as beautiful as the desert was to get there, so once was probably enough. This is just the access road mind you, one could probably a spend weeks exploring the Canyon itself and not get bored.
Our visit to the Grand Canyon and the drive to get there took out most of our day. We ended up doing some night driving to get to St George, UT where we currently reside. We're just about motivating and our plan for today is unclear. Bryce doesn't look like it will happen, so now I'm kind of thinking about something in the direction of Death Valley as we progress towards San Francisco.
We spent Sunday night in Salida, Colorado. It was a smallish town in the mountains, probably around 9000 ft. We managed to find a Fiesta Mexicana which I have since realized is some kind of local or maybe midwestern Mexican chain restaurant, since we've seen quite a few of them since. It turned out to be really good. I scored some vegetable fajitas with rice and beans and joy enjoyed her food as well. Also the guy who served us was Mexican and kept speaking Spanish to us so I spoke Spanish back, but he was unfazed. The evening was uneventful.
Waking up relatively early we continued through the Rockies. We drove all day, eventually making it to Page, Arizona. The scenery varied wildly from incredible views of snow-capped peaks from a distance and at times up close, small and twisting roads through giant rolling hills, and then only a short distance later, the open desert with tumbleweeds and brush. That day we traveled only on smaller roads, all very scenic, the route being co-50 to Montrose, co-550 to ridgway, co-60 to co-145 which took us right past Telluride, a ski resort I once went to a million years ago and then all the way past Cortez, CO to the Four Corners national monument which I last visited in 2001 on my first roadtrip. It's kind of a novelty but the scenery in all directions is absolutely amazing. From there we shot down through the Arizona desert and nearby Indian reservations on az-160 eventually turning up az-98 into Page, AZ. We just made it there by sundown and in time to try a "Chinese/American" restaurant with both vegetable fried rice and burgers on the menu. They had some tofu, so I was happy and Joy reported her food to be really good, leaving us both pleasantly surprised. The Chinese woman who served us seemed enthused to have an Asian customer, though a few others walked in while we ate.
The next day was my favorite so far I think. As beautiful as the Rockies were, there's something about the desert that has always affected me differently. Maybe it is because I've seen mountains and forests fairly often in my life, but desert is something I've generally only seen on these roadtrips. There is a surreal quality to the Southwest, almost like an alien landscape. The road out of Page towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon may have been one of the most beautiful on which I've ever driven. It was az-89 to az-89A through something called the Vermilion Cliffs. The road itself rides through a relatively flat area of desert, but miles off the side of the road giant red cliffs rise up out of the desert and follow you for hours. On occasion you pass through a canyon and find yourself looking out over a similar stretch that might as well be infinite. The pictures will never do it justice and if there's anything I still need to see more of in this country after driving in this area already so many times, it would be this. The Grand Canyon was impressive of course. I'd never been to the North Rim before, but in order to get to the Canyon itself, a bit more driving is necessary than the South Rim. There's quite a bit of forest on the way as well, so you drive through treescapes and winding mountain roads as you get up to elevation, then emerge to the impossibly huge views of the Canyon that descend deep to the Colorado River which you can barely make out depending on where you are standing and how willing you are to go closer to the edge. Also, visiting the North Rim, it is necessary ultimately to backtrack and go back on the same road you came in. It's a beautiful road, but not as beautiful as the desert was to get there, so once was probably enough. This is just the access road mind you, one could probably a spend weeks exploring the Canyon itself and not get bored.
Our visit to the Grand Canyon and the drive to get there took out most of our day. We ended up doing some night driving to get to St George, UT where we currently reside. We're just about motivating and our plan for today is unclear. Bryce doesn't look like it will happen, so now I'm kind of thinking about something in the direction of Death Valley as we progress towards San Francisco.
posted by Dan at 7:39 AM
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