Ten minutes from the green apple orchards of Julian we emerged into the blinding glare of the desert.
The eight hour drive from Julian
to the Grand Canyon was through a vast nothingness. Much of it was along Route 78. It wasn’t boring as the desert landscape was
ever changing. Just when you thought
nothing could possibly survive in such a harsh environment you would arrive at
a small town. Weirdly there were lots of
areas set up for camping cars parks or RV vehicles as they call them here –
perhaps they are used in the winter months? The temperature soared to 105oF! A huge inland lake, the Salton Sea, twinkled
in the distance like a mirage. We could
see an area of green in the distance. It stood out for miles against the otherwise parched terrain, which stretched towards the distant horizon. It turned out to be fields
of grass being cultivated for hay. There
were hay bales everywhere. Then we saw
the reason – an industrial cow farm. I have never seen so many cows crammed
into such a limited space. We were stopped at a police checkpoint –
Richard asked the reason for the check and was told that it was because highway
78 ran close to the Mexican border.
Finally, we climbed up out of the desolate plains. As the we gained height, the
temperature dropped to a more manageable 90oF. The desert was soon forgotten as the road
twisted through coniferous woods arriving at Prescott, a large town with
manicured parks and a sense of purpose. On the outskirts we passed ranches
where the cattle roamed free. Then, surprisingly, after this brief interlude, we were back out in the
desert once again. We drove through the town of
Williams, on the original Route 66 and a popular stopping off point for the Grand
Canyon as it’s only an hour away. The
town was overflowing with cheap motels, restaurants and tourists.
We were approaching the Grand Canyon from the south. There
were no clues as to what lay ahead. I
liked this surprise element. It was $25 for a seven day pass to the National Park. I sensed the Canyon long before I saw it, a breezy open abyss. Then I
saw the pink hue of the rocks in the distance before the vista opened up. Apparently most
visitors only spend three to four hours visiting the Grand Canyon, so we were
lucky as we were staying for three nights.
We stayed in the Yavapai Lodge complex.
It’s a mile away from Grand Canyon village and hence quieter. A pleasant 15 minute walk through pine trees was
all it took to get to the visitor centre and the rim (a shuttle bus also takes
you there).
We embarked on the Southern Rim
Trail and were pleased to have the path to ourselves for a lot of the
time. We were admiring the view (we did
that a lot) when a condor soared through the air just in front of us – it was
so close we could see its vivid red head.
Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera ready! We had planned to do the walk in one day. However, although its an easy walk the heat got the better of us (they were having a heatwave) so we did the walk over two
days. Jet lag meant we were up in time
to see the sunrise, although sunset was better.
On our last evening we walked to Shoshone Point – a quiet spot where we
were able to watch the sun going down in solitary contemplation. The Grand Canyon is a magical unforgettable place.
I'm so glad you enjoyed your visit. The immigration stops are not recent events. I remember us being stopped when I was a small child every time we drove from San Diego to Los Angeles. Those big empty RV parks will be full of folks come winter. They're called 'snowbirds' all those retired people who flee the cold and snow and stay the winter in the much warmer desert. My dad (age 93!) plans to do just that this winter. He'll pull his 5th wheel trailer from northern Nevada to AZ for the winter months.
ReplyDeleteThat's fascinating thanks Evelyn. The RV parks were massive -it's hard to imagine so many people staying in the desert. I love the term snowbirds.
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