First Leg of AWESOME!!!

Home from one of the most spectacular trips I have taken...a Caravan bus tour of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.  Our tour director summed it up as a "Visual Extravaganza" and he was right!  Two words you will hear over and over are AWESOME!!!!!  and AMAZING!!!!!  Neither fully cover the sights we saw.

We flew into Phoenix and my son discovered the camera feature on the phone, so the shots from the plane are credited to him.  Thanks, Scott, you did an awesome (see I told you) job.  So without further ado, here is the premier showing of Photographs by Scott - Flying to Phoenix via El Paso!

 

 Well done, son!!!

Free Tidbit:  Arizona is called "The Baby State" because it was the last of the 48 contingent states to be admitted to the union.


Early the next morning we took off for the Grand Canyon with a couple of stops along the way.

Bruce, our fearless leader that kept us informed, amused (corny jokes are fun), and on time.  Super friendly guy that lives in the Phoenix area and  has done this trip many times so was knowledgeable not only about the formal history but was also able to point out interesting tidbits not written in history books.  Would love to take another tour with him. 

Besides taking care of us, he also helped Paul take care of our luggage, making sure it always got on the bus when we did...no lost baggage under his watch!

Speaking of Paul...this man could drive me around the world and I wouldn't have a worry.  After a mile or two my foot came off the brake and I had no inclination to go help him drive.  Those that know what a lousy passenger I am, understand how good Paul was!   That tie never came off, no speck of dirt ever stayed on the bus - inside or out, the windows were sparkling ready for sightseeing every time we boarded, and he always had cold water bottles dried off with his ever present yellow towel waiting for us as we got on the bus.  He is the epitome of professional.



 First though a small tour around the Phoenix area...known as the Valley of the Sun.  The heat made me think it was a valley ON the sun.  Dry heat....right!

Sitting on the bus waiting for everyone to load...saying goodbye to the Double Tree.  Beautiful rooms, great service, and good food in their restaurant.

VAROOOOOOM---------

Of course there would be a street named after Barry Goldwater, a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1953-1965 and from 1969-1987.  He was a Phoenix native, the son of Baron and Hattie Goldwater. 

There was actually an Indian school on Indian School Road.  All four surrounding Indian tribes sent their children to one school  They stayed all week and went home on the weekends.  Eventually schools were opened on the individual reservations, closing the school. 

Throughout Phoenix are canals, 110 miles of canals. Not sure where they get the water for the canals since Phoenix is in the Sonoran Desert.

I am assuming some of the canal waters keep this golf course green and the water hazard full.  This particular course is only $10 during the off season.  Others around the area are considerably more.

There is an art scene in Phoenix, as there is throughout the southwestern United States.  The first photo was just a little shop with a big presence and the Chase Bank building is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's.  As we turned the corner you could see his "mushroom" columns, but by the time I raised my camera all I got was a big blur.

When I "retire" I am going to go on a long journey just photographing highway art, like some do rail car art.  This is but one example of tons we saw, so pretty to drive by.

OK, guys, who knows what this is????  First it is a quanset hut in front of the McDowell Mts., a structure I would not have paid attention to had Bruce not pointed it out.  I have seen inside it many many times on television. In 2007 the highest price paid for an automobile, at least at a public auction, was $1,500,00.00 for the 1966 Shelby, 427 "Super Snake".  

Alex, what is the home of the Jackson-Barrett Automobile Auction?

Buildings soon gave way to agriculture.  This is Military Corn growing beside the highway.  It is so called because it is all "colonels"....boo, hiss, groan.  Our first of many of Bruce's corny punny jokes (which I love).

The agriculture gave way to desert plants and a drive by shot of a hill of Saguaro Cactus.  Native to the Sonoran Desert, it grows below 4000 ft., or the few that do grow above that grow on a south facing wall to get heat as much as possible.  There is nothing speedy about the Saguaro, the first 8 years of its life it only grows 1 to 1.5 inches.  Hiding under a "nurse tree", it is speculated that the Saguaro deprives the nurse tree of nutrients leading to its death.  The signature "arms" of the cactus do not form until the plant is 50 to 70 years old.  In locations with low precipitation it can take 100 years!  Flowers appear when the plant is 35 years old.  Like I said no rush.

These beautiful plants know three enemies - fire, freeze and humans.  They are protected by the state of Arizona and it is illegal to help yourself to a plant.

Finally we are out in "the country" and seeing some mountains and small canyons.  The excitement level is growing!!

Took this for you, my friend.  

AMAZING!!!!!!!  AWESOME!!!!!  ALERT!!!!!!

Montezuma's Castle

The Southern Sinagua were an agricultural tribe that settled along Beaver Creek to take advantage of the abundance of natural resources - water, game,  fertile land for their crops and a salt deposit - most probably salt was used for trading.  

It was an ideal life of hunting, weaving, pottery making and farming but for some unknown reason the Sinagua left the region in the early 1400's dispersing northward to pueblo villages and many may have stayed in the Verde Valley region.  Where ever they went they left this beauty behind for us to enjoy.  Unfortunately, looters and vandals have ruined it for everyone and we can only look from below now.

This high rise condo was accessible by ladders and by ropes.  I swear I will never again gripe about carrying a basket of laundry upstairs again!!  Can you imagine hauling a buffalo, deer, or even a bushel of corn up to the living area - some 100 feet above the ground? 

Why is it called Montezuma's Castle?  Because early European settlers thought it had been built by the Aztecs and named it after Moctezuma II who interestingly enough was not born until after the Sinagua had abandoned the dwelling.

Some of the plant life they used in their daily life is still abundant along Beaver Creek.

Catclaw Acacia

Apache name is "ch'il gohigise" translated to "bush that scratches you".  As with most natural resources whether it be flora or fauna, the Native Americans made use of all parts.  In this case the seed pods could be eaten fresh or dried, ground into flour to make mush, cakes or bread.  The branches make good drumsticks or furniture.  Bees, feeding on the blossoms make a distinctive tasting honey.

 Neatleaf Hackberry

Called the Imperial Feast, it is the host plant to the caterpillar of the Hackberry Imperial Butterfly.  In autumn, the berries are eaten raw or in jellies and are rich in calcium.  The leaves have medicinal qualities treating indigestion, the bark was used to make sturdy sandals, and the leaves and bark mixed make red and brown dyes.

 Arizona Sycamore Tree

This one didn't have a placard, so I had to do some Googling when I got home.  I couldn't find much about how the Native Americans used the tree other than that the beams of Montezuma's Castle were made from the wood. 

 Creosote Bush

"Old Timer"  This is among the oldest plants on earth with some stands of the bush thousands of years old.  Mother Nature in all her glory provided for this plant by having it coat its leaves with a resin type substance which made the leaves retain moisture.  The roots are very aggressive in soaking up any moisture.  This plant is your local Walgreens!!  It can treat everything from a sprain to dandruff. 

Four Winged Saltbush

The plant was a food source as well as for ceremonial purposes.  Leaves, young shoots, buds and seeds are all edible.  The ashes from the leaves make a baking soda and enhance the blue color of the Hopi piki bread as well as fortifying the baked goods with calcium and minerals.  When chewed and applied to insect stings it will relieve the pain.

Made a believer out of me!!

I don't think it was here when the Sinagua were, but it is flying high today.


AMAZING!!!!

On up the road a bit Bruce drew our attention to yet another sight I would have driven past.  It probably wouldn't have affected my life had I missed it, but it was interesting to see.

OK, on the surface not that spectacular, however that little tan ribbon cutting across the middle of the photo is an old stagecoach trail, the Black Canyon Stagecoach Road.  It is still in use today, not for stagecoaches, but as a hiking trail.

Sorry about the black blob...as with many of the photos, I had to shoot across the aisle and shoot quickly hoping I could crop out most of the clutter (I did crop the sleeping tour mates - who only woke when we arrived at a destination).


Heading up to Sedona with a few sights along the way. 

 The Pima Air Museum is home to the "Connie" Constellation, once an airliner in the 1950s

Home sweet home...

Looked for Fred and Wilma but didn't see them or Barney and Betty at Bedrock.

 Just a plain ole neon green school bus.

19147 Chevrolet Stylemaster 4 Door Sedan

We stopped for a short potty stop in Valle which is on 
Route 66.  The potty stop was more pressing than using the ten minutes allotted running around getting pictures of the cool cars.  I had to wait until we were on the road again to snap a couple of pictures.  (Incidentally, more than 50% of the tour were women and well you know)

Some of the red rock formations around Sedona.  All the formations had names but I only remember a couple.
Above is Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.

The larger picture below is of Chicken Point

the one on the right is Camel Mountain/Butte, not to be confused with Camel Back Mountain in Phoenix.

This is closer to the color of the rocks than the other photos taken through the bus window.








Scott bought a chocolate covered Twinkie - made my teeth hurt to even see him eat it, and it seemed to affect his brain functions too...this little girl did not return his flirtations.

After a good lunch of a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich and a bit of shopping it was time to get on the bus and head for the Grand Canyon. 

The scenery began to change a bit...out of the desert and on to the Colorado Plateau. 

The road we traveled.....everyone yelling to "lean left!!!!"

Next post gets really AWESOME when we arrive at the Grand Canyon safely and on time thanks to Paul and Bruce.  See you there!

Lots of whispers - listen for them.