We're on Route 66! We spent the night in Williams, Arizona at an exceptional Ramada Inn and got our usual late-morning start for our primary destination today, the Grand Canyon.
Our first stop on Route 66
The Grand Canyon is a must-see natural wonder but if you head that way, you'll want to think about what you want from your visit. Unless you feel you just HAVE to walk out on that glass bridge over the abyss, I'd give the entire Visitor's Center a pass. It's a giant commercial enterprise that puts the Canyon out of sight without considerable rigmarole. I'd strongly recommend you enter the park from the south side (Highway 64 off I-40 from Williams), stop in the Trading Post area for the National Geographic IMAX show if you're so inclined, then take the Desert View route along the rim, stopping at any or every one of the many viewpoints from which you get spectacular views for only the price you paid to enter the park -- generally $35.00 per auto. Here's what you can see along the Desert View route...
Paul on the edge
Mom was feeling playful as a fellow traveler snapped the three of us on the rim
Same view without the peeps in the way!
You can just make out a bit of the very muddy Colorado
Another look from Grandview Vista Point
Paul contemplates the Canyon
We continued our tour, exiting the Park and reconnecting with I-40/U.S.66 and heading for Meteor Crater. Once again it is, sadly, heavily commercialized by the private landowner, but it's worth a look in spite of the admission price:
A panoramic view of the 49,000-year-old crater near Flagstaff, Arizona
Our last stop today along historic Route 66 was Winslow, Arizona where we simply had to stop and take THE shot...
Admit it, you're humming the tune in your head, aren't you?
From Winslow, we hopped back on I-40 and headed for Albuquerque. On the way, we admired amazing views of the desert landscape that were enhanced by another spectacular sunset...
One of the 15+ trains we saw today making its lonely way across a lovely landscape
The sunsets on this journey have been amazing!
A final note about our time in the desert...over the past two days we've been in and out of crazy thunderstorms! In fact, after the beautiful sunset pictured above, snapped somewhere near Gallup, New Mexico, we drove into another storm that thwarted Paul's hope of seeing the Rio Grande River as we entered Albuquerque.
Tomorrow our only goal is to get safely down the road to my baby brother's home in Richardson, TX.
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