DAY 15

"Another day in the canyon..." The Counting Crows

After breakfast, I waited for the van to pick me up to take me to the tour bus.

I sat in the back of the bus and was soon joined by a man from Brasil named Alexandro. He'd come to Chicago for some kind of granite convention and then to Phoenix to visit with a client. He has two boys-- an eight year old and a month or so newborn. There is probably a wife to go with them but he didn't say.

The bus driver's name is Jim and he takes photos. He won an international contest recently and he showed us his pics which he was willing to sell for 10 bucks a piece. He had a habit of not talking loudly into his mike and I wondered how it is that a tour company can decide that talking into a mike and driving at the same time is safe. He drove all day too. We went over 500 miles.

First [at 10:30 a.m.] we stopped at a deli in Sedona for "lunch." To go, on the bus. We did the photostops along the way. Sedona is very pretty and there are any number of places I can hike in there. Blondie would love it. I miss her muchly. Along with husband, cats, frogs, fish.

We arrived at the Angel something or other site to view the Grand Canyon and it is spetacular!!! I took mucho pictures there and spent some money too. The cliffs are fantastic. A round tale ground squirrel was present as were some ravens playing in the air currents. The colors and the blue sky and the Devil's Monument. I wanted pretty and I sure got it.

Then a stop at another place I disremember the name. More of the same plus a little tower to climb up in. I settled for the deck rather than going all the way up. Pretty spectacular. A woman architect built it and hand-selected every stone. Made patterns in it too. On the way out of a store, a condor and I startled each other by being there. He recovered first and fled my human presence.

Then a detour off a road into the reservation where we saw the depth-- canyons, land, mountains. I also spotted a baby lizard and two little birds.

Along the road, there were numerous crudely set up "trading posts" with signs advertising
"Friendly Indians." Things like that. Navajos they were, different in looks than the Pimas in Phoenix who really are friendly. We went to a store/gallery/rooming house/restaurant set up though for shopping. I was hoping to see a reservation, not to be brought to a place that wanted us to part with our money. I was also wondering at why so many white folk want to be indians when surely the natives can't be all that enchanted with the white folks' ancestors and government. Some natives on the east coast were given trinkets for Manhattan; now present-day American Indians are selling those trinkets right back to us all over the land.

Dinner was a bring-Wendy's-on-the-bus in Flagstaff. Why do people want to eat at chain food restaurants when they travel? I don't understand that.

Then the long drive back, a beautiful sunset, and a full moon.
Back at 8 p.m. and crashing out.

sapphoq n friends