Finally... An Update!

I hear you out there in ReaderLand… “Where the heck ARE you?!” So much has happened, and for one reason or another (currently because of lack of internet) we have been unable to update. So this is THE BIG UPDATE. I’ll pick up where we left off.

After two wonderful days in the Gila, we were off to the Grand Canyon. The drive there was hellacious, tedious, and long. We finally got to Flagstaff after dark, and decided to stay there rather than finish the additional hour and a half drive to the Canyon. However, after calling and being told that they would charge us for the room anyway, we decided to bite the bullet and finish the trip.

Stephen had had so many questions about the elusive elk since eating a bit of one, and he was a bit excited about seeing signs indicating that there were elk in the area. About 45 minutes into the trip through the ‘forest’ of juniper, I slammed on the brakes, scaring the elk away (of course) before Stephen had a chance to see it. It was a doe, so not nearly as large as a buck, but still impressive. Saddened, we drove on, this time with Stephen peering out of the window, determined. 15 minutes later I screeched to a halt again and he got to see the back side of another doe. 10 minutes after that, HE was the first to spot one, and rather than screeching to a half I slowed and backed up. He excitedly took pic after pic in the dark of yet another doe. They were the best pictures of the dark we had the entire trip. What a shame there was nothing else in them but the dark.

After a night outside the canyon, we drove into the little town of Tusayon. Explored a bit, checked into our hotel, and hit the canyon. It was far more impressive than either of us expected. And actually, words can’t really describe the experience of standing on the rim and looking into the depths of the canyon.

However, I can unequivocally say… I LOVE SCOPAOLOMINE PATCHES! Because of the patch, I am not typing about how I stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon and puked my guts out or fell in because of the vertigo and accompanying motion sickness. Instead, I get to say that I sat on a little ledge that hung out over the cliffs and swung my feet over the canyon. I leaned over the edge and breathed in the air. I listened to the swish of the ravens sailing over the open expanses, and I loved it. I was comfortable enough to get closer than Stephen.

Day two of the Canyon involved a very turbulent airplane tour (yay scopalomine!), followed by a trip into Antelope Canyon, a very famous slot canyon. It was lovely, and I had a lot of fun tracing the layers in the walls of the canyon. Some nice pics too. Then a trip through a 2 mile tunnel, and a 4 hour boat trip along the Colorado River. It was wonderful fun, though at the end Stephen and I both wished that we had done a white water trip too. Perhaps next time. The end of our day was a 4 hour bus ride back to our hotel. We had conversation with a lady from central Texas who asked us if we were newlyweds… to which we had to say no. It was slightly amusing to listen to her try to figure out exactly WHAT we were… but she finally defeated our close-mouthedness by flat out asking if we were “In love”, to which we had to say yes. (As if THAT were a chore.)

Leaving the Canyon, we stopped at City of Rocks, and I REALLY wanted to stop at the petrified forest, but we just didn’t have time. We had a date in Albuquerque. And we made it, in 6 hours. Just because it took another hour to make it the last 5 miles because of rush hour traffic means nothing. We visited an old friend of Stephens in Old Town, got some shopping done, then met up with Paula and Aaron at Paula’s studio.

There is a funny story here. Or at least funny to you, perhaps. I had directions to the studio, which were on a quiet street. There was noone around, so I wasn’t really paying attention to the road, only to trying to figure out which of these buildings looked like a warehouse with an art studio in. (They ALL did!) Anyway, I find it, start to turn, and get a HONK!HONK! I had cut someone off! I felt terrible...

…but not as terrible as I felt when I realised that the person I had cut off was Paula! We both laughed about it in the end, but I still blush to think about it. (I’m sorry, Paula!) I hope I made up for it; Stephen and I bought a painting (Which I still haven’t been able to get online to pay for!) and dinner was lovely. When the night ended we didn’t want to leave.

Next morning, breakfast with Andre and Andrea, then a long trip home, picking up Tristan and Ashley on the way. By the time we got home, the car was so packed that there were things at everyone’s feet, crammed into as many small spaces as we could find. We, however, were glad to be home, and glad to be done with the incessant travelling.

To be continued…