We woke early to have breakfast with Ricky and Jo Ann before they started their busy days. Loved catching up with them and the opportunity to thank them personally for looking after Cameron and Alistair during their trip here in 2010 – my how time flies!
By 8.30 we were in our car and on the road to the Grand Canyon. Most of the early part of the drive going up the Rockies was in the rain. Once over the hill we saw the sign for route 66 and couldn’t resist a short side trip. We stopped to buy the t-shirt at an old truckers’ stop that played heavy rock and was decorated in ‘early Elvis’ decor. Truly unique experienced being served by live hillbillies whose sign at the checkout read “don’t complain or we’ll get you”!
The long drive (8hrs) to thee Canyon was made worthwhile by the unexpected snowfall as we drew towards the end of our journey. We nearly hit three deer as we drove into the National Park itself and from there the temperature dropped steadily as we climbed up to 7000ft and finally it hit 32 degrees Fahrenheit (freezing point) as we pulled up outside our cabin at Maswik Lodge on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
We had a magical dinner at the 107 year old and very famous El Tovar (The Mule) Hotel. I had pumpkin soup served in a tortilla pastry shell and then buffalo with a soft polenta and winter veges – sensational with the Napa cabernet sauvignon. Peter had the french onion soup and NY cut fillet and was equally impressed. The service was attentive yet discreet and the silverware and antique hotel crockery was impressive. It was easy to see how this place was the favourite of Teddy Roosevelt who used to bring his friends up on a hunting trip. The entire hotel is constructed from split logs in the style of an old German hunting lodge and internally is decorated with fireplaces with wild boar, moose and deer head hunting trophies looking down upon you.
Snow continued to fall during the night and we woke the next morning to a sunny day with 8 inches of fresh snow to play in.
Sounds like you having a ball! Enjoying the "blog". Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering when Pete would do his trip down and back? Well it is going to be 40 on Xmas day and 39 on Boxing day so, we could do with a teeny bit of snow.
ReplyDeleteNice reading your Blogs and stuff, Hawaii sounded awesome - funny thing is that it has never been on my Bucket list.
Anyway, to keep you up with local politics, 16 tiger sharks closed Trigg beach yesterday and we have double demerits from tonight... Not sure what has happened in the rest of the world. Tomorrow it all ends according to the Mayans. funny thing, they're not here to witness it. I bet it's all a marketing ploy so they can sell their new calendar.
see you soon
Soonans