Lyn's Log, 6th November 2008
Grand Canyon and Death Valley

Santa Monica, California
N33º59', W118º27'
19,734 miles.

We rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon, 450 miles away. The journey wasn't entirely without incident. We spotted a minor road on the map which looked as if it would be a real short cut for the last hundred miles. After 50 miles we reached an Indian Reservation, and the 'road' petered out into a rough dirt track without any signs to confirm where it went. It was about to get dark so Jan insisted that we retrace our way back. We ended up on Route 66, once famous in legend and song as the highway from Chicago to California, but long since bypassed and now degenerated to a country road along which are forgotten and partly abandoned villages, lost in time. It was getting too late to make the whole distance, so we stopped at one of these, Seligman, and checked into "The Historic Route 66 Motel", where fading photographs implied famous Hollywood Stars had stayed back in the 1930's. It seemed rather unlikely unless they were as lost as us.

We reached Tusayan, the new holiday village at the edge of the Grand Canyon National Park where we were to stay, next morning just in time for the helicopter flight we had booked, only to be told the wind was too strong and the flight was cancelled. For the remainder of the afternoon we went on a jeep tour off road through the forest part of the Park, ending at the South Rim of the canyon to see the sunset. The tour bumped us along the dirt tracks and we were introduced to various points of interest in the forest. It was overcast when we reached the canyon and we thought we would be disappointed, but then the setting sun shone under the clouds turning the upper peaks within the canyon to a fiery red. The layers of different coloured rocks and their craggy shapes were breathtaking. But there is no point in trying to describe the Grand Canyon, either you have seen it, or if you haven't, no superlatives would do it justice.

The next day we took a whole day trip in a more comfortable air-conditioned van, along the rim of the canyon. The tour advertised "Canyon Dave and Dora the Explorer" but our guide was actually Tanya, an engaging young geology student who certainly knew her stuff. Every so often we stopped for a geology lesson as we sat around her on camping chairs inspecting the various features of the canyon through binoculars. We went through the forest to the east of the canyon out to where the Navaho Indians have their reservation, then along dirt tracks into the desolate Painted Desert to see petrified trees that once must have been washed there by a river, though it was so hot and arid it was hard to imagine. On the way back through the forest Andrew spotted a herd of elk, another species to tick off our checklist!

We finally got our helicopter flight early next morning, in a little six-seater out across the canyon from the south to north rim and back. The views were just amazing and the camera kept on clicking. I was so glad we had not missed it. (The pic is Jan imagining himself as our pilot. The real pilot was called Dora - I resisted asking if she had parted company with Canyon Dave.

Our plan was to return via Las Vegas, and this took us over the Hoover Dam, built across a narrow gorge at the end of the Grand Canyon. It is not the biggest dam, but looks a magnificent structure in the spectacular surroundings, specially with a new suspension bridge currently being slung over the gorge high above it. I was fascinated by the story of its

construction during the Depression, specially the process of diverting the Colorado River before the actual dam could be built. Four huge tunnels were dug through the rock to channel the water away from the building site. The resulting Lake Mead, behind the dam, is the largest man-made lake in North America and took several years to fill.

We spent the night in Las Vegas after driving along the "Strip" seeing the colourful casinos, with plenty of time during the many traffic hold-ups. We had a drink in the Hard Rock Café, ate in the Planet Hollywood complex under an artificial sky and were treated to an artificial thunderstorm, and explored the New York New York complex where I lost a few dollars playing a Chuck-a-Luck table for a while. What amazing buildings these were. Not only did the outsides replicate the architectural highlights of New York, Paris, ancient Egypt or Rome, inside were themed streets, shops and restaurants in similar styles, although gaming tables and slot machines always dominated.

Las Vegas is a desert town and not far away lies Death Valley wedged between two mountain ranges, though to find it is not easy. The picture below shows our first view from the mountains 5,000 feet above. Death Valley is notoriously hot - a temperature of 57ºC has been recorded. Even so it is not entirely dry. Artesian wells have brought salty water which over the years has crystallised leaving a rough, spiky white crust over much of the valley floor. At the lowest point, 280 feet below sea level, the water table comes to the surface creating a shallow, very salty lake. The mountains take extraordinary shapes, looking in places like thick batter poured down and coloured by the salts to many bright colours. One place is so colourful it is known as Artist's Palette. As we drove out I was amused by a sign directing the way to the 'Death Valley Health Center'. Late that evening when we returned to the yacht in Marina Del Rey I felt I had had an overload of awesome sights.