The big G!

Continued journey from Sedona...

We continued our drive to Flagstaff. On the way we begun to drive up where the air got pretty chilly and we started to see pine trees, cute chalet towns and snow. We were a little worried as we did not have the right wardrobe for snow. The drive was again really pretty. 

Our motel for the next few nights was another Americas best value inn. There was piles of snow in the carpark and we got out the car in shorts. It was freeeeezziinngg. As soon as we checked-in to our room as wrapped up. We had dinner in the little chalet town. It actually felt like home so it was quite nice. 

The next morning we were going to the grand canyon national park and we put clothes in the car for all weather types as we were not sure what the temperature would be. 

Once we arrived at the national park gates we paid our $25 fee and parked the car. I had done a little research on the Grand Canyon an decided i wante to do a small train of the rim into the canyon. I thought that would be cool as we could get a better perspective of the canyon size around us.

Before the trail we decided to get the free shuttle bus to a few view points. I didnt really have any expectations of the canyon as i knew in my head what it was going to look like but oh my god, that first sighting of the canyon was actually completely unexpected. Its so hard to describe the colours, layers and detail of the canyon. No picture has ever made it look this real and magnificent, is totally different seeing it 3D. The size is incredible but its impossible to actually see the size in one go. I was actually most impressed with the different colours and beauty of the layers and rocks. I was really excited to get off the rim. 

We got back onto the shuttle bus and went to the Kaibab trail stop. This trail goes all the way down to the bottom, but this would take a few days so we only walked 3 miles down. It was a slow 3 miles as the path was really icy in the shade. We were only wearing trainers so we were trying so hard not to slip (its also down hill). Eventually the path is deep enough into the canyon that no shadow is cast and the path is dry. It's also really hot in the blazing sun but freezing cold in the shade. 

Snow on the rocks.

Walking down, below the rim.

The Kaibab trail is predominately used as a mule train. There is a camp at the bottom and the mules carry supplies from the top to the bottom. We saw two mule trains on our trek which was really cool. At 3 miles we got to the view point which signalled the end of our trail (you could go further but to get to the bottom you have to camp). The lookout was very different inside the rim. We could see the rock formations up Close around us. We were just about to leave and make our way back up to the top when a poor old man went a little light headed and fell to the ground. The terrain in the canyon is not like walking on a path and the temperatures are quite extreme. Really hot and then really cold in the shade. Another man and Cj helped him up. Once we all knew he was ok we all went about our exploring. We head back up the canyon path to the top.

The mule train. 

We spent the rest of the day hopping on and off the shuttle bus, looking at different view points. We were planning to stay for sun set but it got to about 6pm and we were feeling really tired and hungary. To see the sun set over the canyon meant jumping onto 2 shuttle buses to get to the other side of the canyon (where the Kaibab trail is).   We decided to pass on the sunset as we were too tired to make our way there and Cj had to drive about 1.5 hours to get back to Flagstaff.

We decided to stop in a town called Williams for food on the way home. We were expecting a normal American town but it wasn't. It was a cowboy town with real saloons. The men in this town dressed like cowboys. We found a cool looking diner (like you see in the films). The food was just burgers but it was good. 

We made it back to out motel and pretty much zonked out.

The wild west red rock town

Imagine Frontier land in Disneyland. This place was literally that. 

We took our recommended de-tour to Sedona whilst on our way to the Grand Canyon, and oh boy were we glad Brittany told us to do this. Sedona is a real hidden gem (its not really a hidden tourist attraction but it wasn't on our itinerary as we were so focused on researching the grand canyon). 

We set off from Phoenix at about 11am. The journey was a 2.5 hour drive to Sedona. We stopped off at the all American diner 'Denny's' for lunch. Denny's was a place i definitely wanted to visit whilst here, so i loved my scrambled egg, fruit, bacon and muffin lunch. Cj had a burger, we were sadly too stuffed for pancakes which was the reason i wanted to go, so we'll just have to come back. 

We gave our waitress a big tip as she was a very jolly and kind person.

Back in the car and we drove another hour to see Devil's bridge in Sedona. The walk to the bridge from the car park was about a 3 mile round trip. We started walking into the red rocks to find the bridge. It was about 3pm so it wasn't too hot. We were amazed by Sedona. The view was one we had never seen before. Cj was mesmorised. 

Devil's bridge was a bit riskaayy. Its a 2 metre wide rock bridge that goes from one side of the small canyon to another. Not many people can bundle on to the bridge so there is a bit of a queue system. Cj jumped on it first with his pose then i went on after a class of school of kids. I decided to step off the safety Bridge and onto a lower platform closer to the edge, i was tempted to go further towards the edge as i had seen a pic on google of someone sitting right on the edge and thought it looked cool, but as soon as i stepped off the main bridge everyone standing on the other side was saying 'ooohhh nooo' so thought maybe it wasn't a good idea and sat on the closest rock. It was pretty scary looking down. 

Pictures of us on Devil's bridge.

We got our cool pics and walked back to the car. It started to get quite cold and it felt like it was about to rain so we wanted to get back to the car as soon as possible. Its not very well sign posted and we got a bit lost. Luckily Sedona is quite popular so we could hear people walking and managed to get back on the right path. 

Camelback mountain climb

It was a pretty long drive from San Diego to Phoenix so we arrived at our American best value in motel quite late. The drive was through green hills, desert and then mountains. The scenery was majestic and a real surprise. It was a very interesting drive, especially through the desert as neither of us had seen that kind of landscape before. Half way through the drive i decided to stop us in a town where there was a Walmart. I wanted to do a bit of shopping whilst Cj got a McDonalds. 

We were surprised to be welcomed to a posh motel room in Phoenix as it was quite cheap. I think we ordered take away as Cj didn't really want to drive anymore as he had driven all day. 

I decided to get us up the next morning at 5am to climb a mountain. It was one of the top things to do in Phoenix so why not. Phoenix is in the desert so it is pretty hot here, which is why i thought it would be best to do the trek in the early hours of the morning. 

That's the mountain.

We got up at 5am when it was still dark outside and really cold. We trekked the Cholla trail up Camelback mountain. It is a 3 mile trek to the top.

I absolutely loved it, i actually really enjoy a bit of adventurous bouldering. Cj came around to it once he saw the view at half way point. The terrain on the mountain was rocky and at times we were walking on a narrow path on the cliff edge. It was pretty thrilling. I liked that it wasn't a man-made path up to the top. We had to climb over boulders and work out the best way to climb up. 

It is quite a popular morning trek for the locals. They like to do it before work, we are so jealous they have this cool work-out in their back gardens. At the bottom of Camelback is Phoenix and Scottsdale and some very posh golf course resorts. The view is pretty cool, its not necessary green and pretty but its mysterious with a red desert setting. 

We were about half way up when the sun began to rise, so we made it an excuse to have a long rest stop and watch the sun rise and the city literally light up as the orange glow of the desert sand wakens. 

The last third up was quite tricky. It was just up over big rocks right to the top. It felt so good making it to the top. The chill in the wind was so fresh and felt refreshing on our sweaty skin. We stayed at the top for about 15 minutes. Going down was actually harder. Trying to slowly climb down rocks (if we jumped down we would have been off the edge of the mountain) was hard on our knees (i think we're just getting old). We finished the climb at about 9:30am and once we were back at our motel we went back to bed and watched a film. This travelling is an easy life with a bit of adventure, we don't want it to end! 

(We made it to the top) 

Cj has some friends that actually live in Scottsdale which is up the road from Phoenix. He first met Kristin, Brittany and Chelsea in Thailand when he holidayed there a few years ago with Owen. The girls got in touch when they saw Cj was in Phoenix and they invited us to dinner that evening. 

We got our best clothes out of our backpacks and Cj actually ironed his shirt ready for an evening in the very nice and posh city of Scottsdale. We were meeting the girls at a place called top golf. It is a bar/restaurant where you actually play golf. A bit like bowling, you get given a bay and you swing your club and try and aim for the targets. It was really fun.

We arrived and the girls plus Kristin's boyfriend Joel were already there. We had to wait 2 hours for a free bay so we ate dinner in the bar before attempting to play golf.

It was a really nice evening and the girls are lovely. Joel was a bit of an expert so he pretty much scored triple all of our scores. Of course Cj came second, the males get way more into it then us girls. I think i did ok, i don't think i came last but i think all the girls scored around the same. 

Hopefully the girls will come to England some time in the future and we can host an evening, which will probably just be in a village country pub so it wont be as active. 

The next day we were leaving Phoenix for Flagstaff to see the famous Grand Canyon. 

The mountain from a far.