Grand Time

GREAT WIDE OPEN: So, last week we had a great trip the the American Southwest, including spending several hours at the Grand Canyon. 

It was the first time Christian, CJ, Annabelle and I had ever seen it.

I was expecting it to be big, and, well, grand, but wow ... you just have to see it to believe it.

Have I mentioned it's really big? Oh, and do you see the wildfire across the canyon there? That made our photos not so clear and my sinuses not so happy.

I have *so* many pictures. 

In retrospect, I wish I had cataloged all my photos somehow by viewpoint, day, time ... anything, but I didn't. We just went, and marveled and I snapped some shots.  Living in the moment.

For the record, we were there on  the afternoon of September 12, 2018, through sunset, and then on the morning of September 13.

So, I'll park a bunch of photos here now. At some point I hope to double back and explain which viewpoints we were at. 

I do love this photo (below). Kind of puts things in perspective. Literally.

 I suppose I should mention we were on the south rim. 

 The rock formations below were so interesting. What caused the craters in them?

 In the photo below, note the smokes from wildfires on the north side of the canyon.

 The Grand Canyon offers so many faces!

Up, down, and every place in between, life finds a way !

 There were many points and places to stop and contemplate. 

 The canyon has so many faces. 

 Now that I've seen just a portion of it on high, I really want to be on the floor and gazing upward.

 In the photo below, check out the people off trail (to the left) for a photo opp.

Scenes from the Road

LV to GC: On September 12, we left Las Vegas and started making our way toward the Grand Canyon, where we'd spend the next couple of days. It's about a five hour drive.

Honestly, most of the drive is desolate stretches of desert, but we did make a few stops along the way.

For instance, we took a few minutes to make it a point to stop at an overlook of Lake Mead.

Turns out we were at the Robert L. Mendenhall Scenic Overlook. Mendenhall was a standout in the paving business. In 1974, Mendenhall’s Las Vegas Paving Corp. made history by renovating a one-mile stretch of interstate highway with recycled asphalt. Mendenhall devised the process by experimenting with hot pavement recycling. It was a game changer in the industry, and Mendenhall was a celebrity in the paving world. He passed away just this June, at the age of 90. At the time he held more than 50 U.S. patents, and was an inductee into the Nevada Inventors Hall of Fame.

 Another highlight of the trip - a stop at Gus' "Really Good" Jerky store.

We'd seen a couple of billboards along the way. It struck us that Gus was advertising just "really good" jerky. Not great, not the best, but just 'really good.' We had to try it for ourselves. 

And so we stopped. In our opinion, it was just fair jerky. 

We drove on and found ourselves in Ash Fork, Arizona, at one point. CJ can tell you a bit more about that stop.

In the midst of our visit to the Southwestern US, while on our way to the Grand Canyon, my family and I passed through the city of Ash Fork, with an approximate population of 457 people. According many of the city's residents, it is the "Flagstone Capital of the World," due to the five large stoneyards (and, by extension, stones) present in the city. The only real address we stopped at in Ash Fork was the local "Family Dollar," probably Ash Fork's most significant grocery store. We bought a pack of straws, and that was about it. Before heading out of Ash Fork, we had to get a picture by one of the umpteen Route 66 signs.

I'm guessing Ash Fork, like a lot of other little towns, had their fortunes fade when Route 66 no longer brought a steady stream through their city.

We were on Route 66 for small stretches multiple times on our trip. Annabelle has a bit to share about the historic highway.

Route 66, officially “Historic Route 66,” is a highway stretching from Santa Monica, California, to Chicago, Illinois. It passes through many towns and cities, one of which being Flagstaff (where we stayed during our vacation to the Grand Canyon). It was established November 11, 1926, and signs were put up the following year. The route is well known for being the main highway across America for a large time, though it has since been overshadowed by others.

Nowadays, Route 66 is usually used by those looking to take a relaxing, slow-paced road trip instead of having a specific destination in mind. Since the route doesn’t even show up on most modern maps, if you want to drive it you’ll have to look for one specifically made for doing so. I haven’t seen the whole route myself, but I’d be very willing to drive it and see what’s in store!

Another thing we saw along the way were multiple political signs, including ones where someone was running for Justice of the Peace. 

We don't have that in Seattle, so I Googled just what that job is. Per the ,"In Arizona there are 87 Justice of the Peace precincts. JP courts are considered the “People's Court.” Per the Arizona Justice of the Peace Association, "JP's see everyone arrested and charged with a felony within 24 hours - 7 days a week. They read the charges and set release conditions."

Hot Dam and Cool Treat

UPDATE FROM THE ROAD: MPA is still off campus. After a couple of days in the Grand Canyon, it was off to Flagstaff, Arizona for a night, and then back to Vegas. On the way back to Vegas, we felt it would be remiss if we didn't stop by a world-renowned engineering marvel, the Hoover Dam.

Annabelle will give you a brief overview of our visit. More facts and photos to come when we're back on 'campus.'

When we arrived at the Hoover Dam, the temperature was over 105 degrees

Fahrenheit in the air alone, meaning the dam itself was over 110. When we stepped out of the car, we immediately began walking to the nearest drinking fountain, hoping to get some relief from the intense heat. We splashed ourselves with water and filled our bottle to the brim, enjoying the shade when we could. On one side of the dam, there was a "cooling station" with a large swamp fan provided to the public.

The architecture of the dam itself was beautiful, with multiple concrete arches and an Art Deco look. There were two towers along the edge with large clocks reading "Arizona time" and "Nevada time" respectively. There were multiple memorials scattered along the edge dedicated to the workers and volunteers that helped create the dam, including one featuring two angels surrounding the American Flag. The dam is hard to describe in words, but it's completely free to drive across, and if you'd like to walk, parking is just $10.

We've been working on a few projects around the house, and having fun in Vegas - including seeing Queen on Saturday night (more on that later). We've also had some fun with food experiences. CJ will tell you about a trip to the custard shop today. ...

On the way back to Vegas for the weekend. On 17 September 2018, a warm, sunny day in Las Vegas, I went with my father, my brother, and my sister to CJ's Italian Ice & Custard, located at 3555 South Durango Drive. According to the creamery's About Us page, CJ (the founder of the establishment) founded the restaurant because he felt the Las Vegas area was lacking in custard and Italian ice, which is a dessert staple in the Eastern United States (where he grew up.)

While at the restaurant, I ordered a regular-size Italian Ice + Custard treat. From bottom to top, it was:

• Chocolate custard

• Mountain Dew Baja Blast Italian Ice

• Salted caramel custard

It tasted better than one might expect. In addition, I also got an "I  ❤️  CJ's" t-shirt (which, according to my mother, appeared as though it was designed by a nine-year-old girl.)