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| Arizona |
A few years ago, Phil's dad (Douglas) met an American lady, Lois, on a cruise up the Norwegian coast. They have kept contact and Lois has visted Douglas in Bath 3 times and been to visit us in Oslo. Dad had always wanted to visit Lois in Mesa (a suburb of Phoenix) but was worried about the heat. Douglas timed his visit for late October and November so that it would be cooler than it is in the summer. Since this coincided with our trip we decided to visit Lois and dad. We flew from LA to Phoenix where Lois met us and drove us to her home. Even though it was late autumn, it was still around 35C in the back yard. Lois had put together a full programme for us and had prepared several dinners in advance to take with us. She had even redecorated the rooms before we came! She made us really feel welcome. Lois's friend, Jim, had very kindly lent her his SUV and his Time Share appartment in a resort in Sedona. The day after our arrival we loaded up the SUV and drove north for about 2-3 hours to Sedona.
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| Lunch in a Diner on the way to Sedona |
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| Loading up the SUV |
Sedona is a popular holiday resort in Arizona for visiting the desert and it's amazing scenery of tall irregular sandstone red rock formations. The Los Abrigados resort was an excellent base for 4 nights to explore the area. Our first excursion was an outback jeep safari to get further into the desert.
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| Sedona Jeep Safari |
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| Setting sun bringing out the colours |
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| Iren and a Prickly Pear |
It was strictly 4 wheel drive only and our driver, a former jet fighter pilot, certainly knew how to manouver the jeep. We didn't take off but I can honestly say that it was the bumpiest drive I've ever been on. I would never have tried to drive down some of those slopes!
As the sun sets the reds on the rocks slowly change their colour becoming a deeper hue as the sun gets lower.
The Time Share had a small kitchen that we used to warm up the dinners that Lois had prepared in advance. After an excellent meal we were ready for bed and the drive to the Grand Canyon in the morning.
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| It really was that big! |
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| Posing at the Grand Canyon |
This is somewhere we've always wanted to visit and we were not dissappointed. When you first walk to the edge of the canyon and see its sheer size it really does make your jaw drop and gaze in wonder. There are many places to view the Grand Canyon since it is 277 miles long.
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| Lois and Douglas |
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| Sun set bringing out the colours |
When the sun is close to going down, the colours and shadows highlight the layers of the canyon that the Colorado River has exposed during the past 17 million years. The canyon is so wide and deep that it is difficult to get a good picture of it.
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| Posing in front of typical Sedon scenary |
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| View from Red Rock Crossing |
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| The Chapel of the Holy Cross |
The next day we explored the Sedona area. It had rained during the night so that the river had turned a spectaculare orange/brown colour. The picturesque Red Rock Crossing is a popular photo opportunity with the formation being reflected in the clear river. Since the river was swollen from the rain this was not possible today.
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| View from outside the Chapel |
In 1956 the Chapel of the Holy Cross was completed. It was built high up on a natural rock formation. It was an unexpected place to find a church but it seemed a fitting place to have one.
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| The Los Abrigados pool |
We were able to make the most of the resort by swiming in the pool, relaxing in the jacuzzi and using the gym each morning before breakfast.
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| The long drive to Monument Valley |
The next day we packed up the SUV again and headed north and started the long drive to Monument Valley.This drive illustrated how large the USA is. The journey took about 8 hours and for the most part it was just desert with small Native American settlements in their Reservations. Although the scenery was mainly desert there were lots of stone formations to see like in the picture to the left.
Lois had booked us into the only hotel in the actual valley. This had an amazing view from all the rooms to the two famous 'mitten' structures standing tall in the dessert. These have also featured in several films, most famously in some old John Wayne films.
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| Morning view from the room |
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| Evening view from the room |
The structures are called "buttes" with the tallest reaching about 300 meters. They were formed by rivers and freeze-thaw action over many million years.
We took another jeep trip, this time much less bumpy, that took us into areas of the desert that you would not reach without a guide. There were several small Native American settlements in the valley. They have lived in this area for several thousand years. It's a hot, dry and harsh climate and you have to respect them for managing to cope with their surroundings. It was a fantastic trip that was particularly enjoyed by Douglas.
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| Between the Mittens |
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| More Buttes |
All too soon our time in Arizona was over. It was great to meet up with dad in the US. We are very greatful for Lois's wonderful hospitality and the effort she put in to ensure that we had a memorable trip. Thank you Lois! A big thank you is also due to Jim for generously letting us use his car and Time Share!
After an afternoon looking around Mesa it was time to go to the airport and take a short flight back to LA and then a ten hour flight to Nadi and a week in Fiji.
