The Grand Circle Part Three

Hi from Flagstaff Arizona. We're staying at a very comfortable inn that does hot breakfasts, extra comfy pillows and the service was outstanding - the clerk got us a room even though we checked in well before time. This for a third of the price of the hotels in some other locations which had much less going for them because in those locations they were the only hotels. C'est la vie.

Unfortunately the pool here is heavily monopolised (see I'm still using 's' not 'z) by families of loud trolls. I did manage a quick isolated swim for two minutes before one of these families descended on the pool and after vainly attempting to swim in circles around them I surrendered and returned squelching to our room.

This was OK because the room has a 37 inch LCD TV. I started watching one of the many old movies that cable TV promotes as new because they haven't shown it yet. In this case it was Terminator Salvation. We started discussing the number of movies in some big franchises - eg Alien, Terminator and Predator.

Given that there's been cross overs between franchises eg. Aliens vs Predators, why not Terminators vs Predators and Aliens vs Terminators? You read it here first people. Terminator Salvation features a terminator disguised as a human. If memory serves me correctly, Alien Resurrection ends with a cross between Aliens and humans. Terminators vs Predators might feature Terminators returning to the past to capture Predators to clone them with terminator-humans thus capturing the essential predator skills combined with machine like efficiency and the human capacity for sentiment.

Of course this is highly unlikely but so is Sarah Palin being the next president. Or is it?
Anyway off to see the Grand Canyon tomorrow - that should be fun.

The Grand Circle Part Two

A few days ago we visited Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef may not be as popular or as spectacular say Bryce Canyon or Arches but perhaps that's why I liked it.

We went on one of the less popular walks in Capitol Reef, starting at orchards where we picked apricots from trees - the original orchards were planted by Mormon settlers many decades ago and along a small river ending on a rocky outcrop with spectacular views.

This walk had everything I could want in a walk - there were no other people, there was no litter on the trail, and striking scenery including a couple of deer or maybe the same deer on separate occasions. When we got to the top, we sat under a ledge and ate an orange - bliss.

Deer are the kangaroo of America - they are everywhere, and although they have cute big eyed heads, they often end up as roadkill and the redneck community spends time shooting them.

In Arches National Park, there were a lot more people - it is an extremely popular park. Walking the trails we encountered the underprepared - many people doing long hot walks without suitable footwear, hats, water or even shirts; and the unappreciative - a man complained to me that as his wife was mobility impaired he couldn't understand why there wasn't a road leading directly to one of the rock arches (perhaps so that the arch could be viewed in drive-by fashion like so much else here - fast food, banks and shootings).

Caesar Salad

In Las Vegas we were staying in El Cortez Hotel/Casino in Downtown. It was great value for money as we only paid around $30 a night. Besides, we received a voucher book, which included a $5-off voucher for the hotel’s café. Why not use it we thought… Ha, ha, ha… Big mistake.

The next day we went there for lunch. I ordered a caesar salad with grilled chicken. Peter decided to go with the day’s special, which was chicken fried steak and fries. It was an unpleasant surprise when my salad arrived. Now, when I go out to eat I expect my food to be if not delicious at least edible. Is this too much to ask? As far as I can remember, a classic caesar salad includes iceberg lettuce, crispy fried bacon, croutons, hardboiled egg, parmesan cheese and a smooth creamy dressing. In my salad there was no bacon or egg, it was liberally dressed but the dressing was so salty – it was impossible to eat! I thought I might have imagined the saltiness – Peter tried it and also agreed it was very salty. If this was happening to me in the good old Soviet Union I would have probably eaten this salad, swallowing my tears and scared to mention this to the waiter in fear of being verbally abused. But this was happening in a western country so Peter advised me to send the food back. The manager arrived and agreed that the dressing was indeed very salty and that she always has it on the side. She offered to replace my salad with another one and dressing separately. Ok….

Being brought up in the Soviet Union, where customer service practically did not exist, I felt bad about the whole thing like it was me making troubles and bothering the busy people with my silly requests. Anyway, second Caesar Salad arrived in 45min after arriving at the café and after asking the waiter twice. Iceberg lettuce and chicken on the plate and the dressing (same one), croutons and parmesan in individual plastic containers. By that time, Peter had already finished his meal (not fantastic as well, as it turned out but at least edible) and had paid the bill. Good thing is that we had our $5 off voucher and didn’t have to pay the full price. No tips, sorry…

After the worst food experience in America it wouldn’t be fair to not to mention the best one too. Mine, I think, was Brazilian style grilled salmon cooked by my friend’s husband. First, a salmon fillet gets marinated for 20 min in lime juice and sea salt. Then it is grilled on the BBQ on flat cedar wood boards. The heat and the smoke cook the fish. The result is this incredible combination of sweet, salty, citrusy flavours of the fish, which is irresistibly moist and tender… Yum! Peter’s best food experience in America was –surprise! – cook at home $5 pizza from the supermarket. I guess it is really a surprise, when you buy something and expect it to be ordinary turns out to be quite nice and tasty, in fact, better than Domino’s or Pizza Hut.

The end…

The Grand Circle Part One

There is a road trip in Nevada, Utah and Arizona called The Grand Circle. It's one the most scenic road trips in the world. So far we have completed about a third of this journey but have experienced some of the most amazing landscapes, and surprising diversity in topology and plant life (I was expecting desert everywhere).

We left Las Vegas in 40 degree heat with fires occurring around town in the weeks we were there.

Since then we've stayed at Zion National Park, the second most popular site for rock climbers in the US after Yosemite. We visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. For those who thought the Grand Canyon lies in the middle of a desert like I did - wrong! The approach to the north rim is through beautiful mixed pine forest containing deer, bears and even bison.

The Grand Canyon itself is a sight that has to be seen to be believed - words and photos do not do it justice.

Whilst the Grand Canyon is on an unimaginable scale the other National Parks on this trip also have equally distinctive and impressive geological formations.

Take Bryce Canyon. Before this trip I had never heard of it and thought that the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains were quite impressive. After seeing Bryce Canyon I hope that I remember never to try to impress an American with the Blue Mountains.

The End

That's right - it's the end. There's no money left and I have to return to mediocrity and lethargy in some mind numbing office routine. Or worse I will be stuck in a tiny room in some sweaty, noisy slum in the Brisbane 'burbs contemplating a bleak unemployed future.

Now you can think to yourself, "I knew it couldn't last" and relax in the knowledge that my aimless wandering existence while alien and incomprehensible to yours was ultimately unsustainable.

Although I spend a lot of time worrying about my employment prospects and dwindling fortune, I feel fitter than ever - I swim, go to the gym, I'm five kilos lighter than the sitting in an office chair looking at a screen version of myself. I'm traveling the world, albeit slowly and poorly, but isn't that the best way.

Anyway we've bought the tickets so we'll be in Brisbane at the beginning of August.