The ORIGINAL 1000+ Posts Club

[Penthesilea]

Oh my gosh Meryl, they are all so beautiful, I'm not even able to choose a favorite!

Photos extraordinaire!

And I just love, love, love that you left an Ennis and Jack memoir on the table.


Like Jack and Monika, I'll add Arizona to my "must see" list. That's something to see together with my husband, when the kids will be grown and the two of us have time and money for it.

[Monika]

I know Monika, I really don't need more places on my list of places to go. And I haven't even made it out of the United States yet. The Grand Canyon has been on the list, but it looks like there is also much more to see judging by those pictures. I also need to get those states on my map. If all goes as planned I will have Illinois on my map soon.

Iliionis? Sounds like fun. Where are you going there? Chicago?



Hey - you should take Juan with you to Grand Canyon...

[CellarDweller]

such great pics, Meryl!  Thanks for sharing them!

[sel]

Thanks for sharing Meryl! Beautiful pics!
The American West has been on my "bucket list" for some time.

[Mikaela]

More photos from our tour of the west:


We travelled to Flagstaff, AZ in a tidy little plane. En route I found out how Jack had it when the bull tried to buck him off. It was a bumpy ride. 




Our hotel at the Grand Canyon, the old and venerable El Tovar, lies right at the canyon's edge (see arrow!)




Another photo of the famous El Tovar pancake trio. Very exotic stuff for a Norwegian - we never have pancakes for breakfast!




While relaxing on the old wooden porch with an un-cowboylike glass of wine, we witnessed this exciting stand-off at the canyon. The outlaw squirrel was pretty fearless, but the cowboy dog was on a short leash...

[Mikaela]

The Grand Canyon is a wonder of the world, sure enough. Here are some further impressions:

Beautiful colours:


One lonely cloud amid the boneless blue of high noon:


Sunset at the Canyon:

[Mikaela]

Monument Valley is an equal wonder. A very harsh landscape, and extremely beautiful. Some impressions:


Sunrise over the buttes - a little after 6AM:


The flags of the USA and the Navajo Nation proudly waving amid buttes:


Another lonely Mitten Butte impression:


The day draws to an end:


Meryl's and my shadows in the red sand of Dinetah / Monument Valley


The extremely bumpy road we travelled by truck with our tourist guide. (Shadow of the open truck can be seen at the bottom of the picture.) Sand and stone, blown by wind and washed free by flash rainfalls, had made the road into something of a crazy adventure park ride. It was all the more fun to experience the landscapes that way.


Here's a traditional dish enjoyed at the hotel: Mutton Stew the Navajo way (ie. lots of spices!) and Navajo fry bread.


And if there happen to be any Tony Hillerman readers among Bettermostians, they will understand why this signpost at Monument Valley made Meryl and me so chipper:

[Meryl]

Thanks, everyone!  I'm glad you all are enjoying the pics.  We certainly enjoyed being there to take them.  

Like Jack and Monika, I'll add Arizona to my "must see" list. That's something to see together with my husband, when the kids will be grown and the two of us have time and money for it.

Arizona has such a beautiful array of sights, you could easily spend your whole vacation there.  Don't leave out Sedona, the Hopi Mesas and Canyon de Chelly, where we visited last year.  All were wonderful.  I'd still like to see Lake Powell and Tucson, but they'll have to wait for another expedition.  

Mika, thanks for those gorgeous pics!  The details you added are bringing it all back.  I've saved them all, of course.  Love the one of the "Standoff at the Canyon."  

[Mikaela]

We travelled on and experienced the wide open landscapes that are visible from Mesa Verde, Colorado. Greener and seemingly more welcoming than the red desert land further south. Note the snow-topped mountains in the distance:


On the road southwards we celebrated Norway's national day with the standard fare for Norwegians on this day: Sundaes!


We also visited the Navajo Nation's capital, Window Rock, and the rock formation that gave it its name. Surrounded by a quiet little park, this was a lovely place on a late afternoon:


Gallup was a no-nonsense Western town. Next to the main road, the longest freight trains I've ever seen clattered endlessly by, giving the place a distinct Brokeback'ish air. (There's one of the trains going by behind the Gallup sing in the picture).


We stayed at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. Here's the reception. If this doesn't have that whiff of the Old West and cattle drives and cowboys, I don't know what has!


They even had this chair-and-sofa ensemble, made entirely of bull hide and lots of bull horns!

[jstephens9]

Iliionis? Sounds like fun. Where are you going there? Chicago?



Hey - you should take Juan with you to Grand Canyon...

Yes, Chicago. That is the only one of the four largest cities in the United States that I haven't been. Everybody says I would like it, but I don't know much about it. I know it is a NYC type city in that there are lots of skyscrapers and it is a great walking city. It looks like there is a lot of water too. I'm not sure when the Grand Canyon will happen, not this year for sure and remember he thinks he already went to the Grand Canyon