The world's largest drainage ditch

Day 11

We left the volcano and headed north up 89 to the Grand Canyon. We had planned two days there, but we are running behind and need to be in Salt Lake by the 14th. We were told we needed to stop at Cameron on the way. We came upon the Cameron Trading post, a little tourist souvenir place, so we began looking for Cameron, which is at the turn off for Grand Canyon. We traveled for several miles through Navajo land (the one ugly spot in Arizona was where Uncle Sam allowed the Navajo to stay) when we realized that the trading post WAS Cameron.

Now, for the Atlanta crowd, think about this. Imagine Rock City in Chattanooga, TN. It's not one of the wonders of the world, by any stretch. Now think of the Grand Canyon, 5,000 feet deep, 10 miles across and over 100 miles long to Hoover Dam. Imagine the signage to Rock City. There was NO SIGN to turn off to the Grand Canyon. Nothing. We checked as we doubled back. A small green highway sign was all we found.

Cameron Trading post is more than it appears to be from the road, but as massive tourist souvenir places go, Wall Drug in South Dakota if still the king. We picked up a few T shirts and headed on.



We reached the Grand Canyon and oohed and ahhed. Honestly, it's just too big. Sedona has picturesque monoliths on every horizon. The canyon is monoliths as far as the eye can see. It's just too much eye candy.

Foreign tourists filled the park. As I was trying to park the car at one of the overlooks, I saw one systematically taking pictures of all the license plates in the lot. I thought that was a bit odd, especially considering all the sights he could be taking pictures of. A few minutes later, another party of Europeans did the same thing. American tags must really be considered cool in other parts of the world.

We picnicked under ponderosa pines that gave off a constant snap-crackle-pop sound. This is cicada season and the trees are thick with them. We also encountered rock squirrels, ravens and elk on the drive.



Dad tells the story of training fighter pilots at Luke Field in 1946. They would fly north out of Phoenix to the canyon, line up single file, drop below the rim and race along to Hoover Dam, about 100 miles away. Dad would finish the story by saying, "I bet they don't let you do that anymore." I'm sure they don't, but I think the Canyon walls would seem much more real if you were among them.

Sean earned another Ranger badge. We headed out to find our next camping spot. We headed back north through Navajo county, which get more impressive away from the canyon. One shop we passed advertised "Friendly Indians," which seemed a little odd. The highway ran along side a huge ridge that seemed to go on forever. Navajo homes with round Hogans (ceremonial buildings) dotted the landscape between us and the rim. After a while the highway ran out of lower plateau, so we climbed the ridge and found ourselves in Paige, Arizona. There's a spot here called Antelope Canyon which features a swirling rock slot you can walk through, but we couldn't figure out how to get there from the guide books. It seems to be on Navajo land. A number of brochures in the town offered guided tours by members of the tribe. We opted for a motel room instead. This is the first extended WiFi service we've had, so I'm posting a number of these blogs tonight as we rest and eat pizza and drink beer. The drain of the trip is starting to be felt. MarKay and I need a vacation from this vacation.