Okay, there’s been a bit of stuff happening between the last post and this one, so bear with me here…

Firstly, we have finally seen an episode of “Survivor” on television, and we realised exactly how bad it is, and how gullible the American public is if they really believe they are in the Outback. We chortled as their big challenges included emailing their families on an iMac in a little wooden shed. Ooh. Difficult stuff. I bet that’s where Burke and Wills went wrong - no iMac packed in with their stuff. Come to think of it though, Burke and Wills actually had a piano or organ strapped to a camel, if I recall correctly, so perhaps this lot of survivors are not that stupidly equipped in comparison.

Secondly, we have left the USA. Well, we did for an hour or so anyway, venturing over the border into Mexico and getting fleeced like the stupid travellers we are. Ended up bargaining some reasonable deals, though we’re sure we still paid too much for some souvenirs. Oh well.

Incidentally, while we were on the bridge on the way back, we found that the level of Mexican scammers is quite inadequate. The ones in Melbourne are far more persistent. A guy came up to us with a look of utter distress, asking if we could speak English, clearly about to tell us a sob story. I just replied bluntly “Yes, but if you’re going to ask us for any money, we’re not going to give you any, so you might as well save your breath.” His jaw just dropped, and he stumbled away without any word. I mean, come on - I expect to have a better fight than that if you want to get money from me. Of course, since I never give money to anyone asking on the street, he stood no chance at all, but hey, he could have tried…

We’ve since been cruising the back roads of Arizona and New Mexico, wandering from one rock formation to another. Very beautiful country, much more interesting than many of the other states we’ve been in which were more developed.

Climbed up El Morro, which is a very tall mesa near Grants, New Mexico. We started at 2:10pm and went around the base to look at the inscriptions (interesting aside: any graffiti left long enough changes from vandalism to a national historic site) left by travellers in the 1500’s and 1600’s.

Went up the top to look at some ancient Indian ruins and were nearly blown off. The wind was so strong that we could hear it coming up the box canyon toward us, and we’d have to brace against it since we were on a very narrow ledge in a few cases, with a few hundred feet to fall on one side. When we got to the bottom, we found they’d shut it down for the rest of the day due to high winds - a mere five minutes after we’d gone out. There is something oddly satisfying about getting off a high-wind mesa alive, and reaching the bottom to find a sign stating it closed due to “SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS”.

Stopped in Gallup for the night at the Red Rock State Park and when we went to clean our teeth, it was snowing! Snowed during the night and we ended up with about 3/4 inch covering the car which was very exciting! First time we’ve ever woken to that! Built a snowman next to rocks that are the same geological formation as Ayer’s Rock (it really felt like camping at the base of Ayer’s Rock) which was a heck of a weird contrast.

Went westward to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. Very little left of the Petrified Forest since apparently despite all the warnings and fines, 1 ton of petrified wood is stolen PER MONTH from the park. Painted Desert was great and so beautiful - we expected to not see colours very clearly but it was superb and a definite must-see for anyone remotely close to the area.

In an aside, my mother emailed me to let me know I was sounding rather negative about the trip so I should be more positive. Of course, she advised me I should do with motherly advice what I always do with motherly advice. That is, mock it in a public forum, I guess. Hi Mum!…*grin*

Anyway, we went to the Grand Canyon, and I hate to be a negative, but really, it’s not that impressive. I expected it to be much bigger, and that makes me sound like a real jerk, I expect, but tough luck. I think actually it was so big that it looked small. Bear with me here, okay? What I mean is that since it was such an enormous thing to take in visually, every feature looked a small part of the overall panorama and if any of those individuals ridges or spires were isolated - people would travel miles to see them. So many of them in one place had the effect of making them all merge together and be lost.

What is more disturbing is stuff we learned during a ranger hike - of the millions who travel to the Grand Canyon each year, a mere 10% hike more than one minute below the rim. 90% of people never get off the ground level at all, preferring to do a strenuous bus ride to the gift shop to buy an icecream as a treat for their hard work. What a waste of time to drive there if you don’t hike into it a little way.

Di and I hiked down a part of the South Kaibab trail but since Di’s eye was still playing up (meaning she has to wear her glasses, not contact), we did not make fast progress since the steep gravel trail was rather difficult to navigate, even with regular vision. We still went down and back over a 1.5 mile trail though, which was extremely steep, taking 45 minutes to get down and 50 minutes to get back up (shows how much fun the downhill bit was for us).

From the Grand Canyon, we’ve headed south again, and we’re back down in Cottonwood at the moment. We called into the visitor centre today just to find the library location and got into a conversation with a couple (Roy and Terry Bird) in the car park. What began as a five minute conversation stretched longer and longer until we’d been chatting for almost FIVE HOURS in the shade of a tree, all about Australia and the US, research facilities here, and things to see around the countryside. We got to try home-made Indian bread, and had a great rambling conversation that was just fantastic. Certainly did not expect that when we came to Cottonwood, but it was a brilliant way to spend the day and really enjoyed ourselves.

We’re heading further south from here to see some cacti, since it seems like a daft idea to drive hundreds of miles to see prickly plants, and that’s right up our alley. From there, we’re heading north again (since we run into Mexico once more) and our movements start to become more defined for the first time in a long time. But they are a secret still, and it would spoil the surprise to tell you where we are about to explore.

And now, in deference to my mother, and because I was intending to do this at some point any way, here’s a list of ways the US is better than Australia :

1. Free refills of drinks in restaurants.
2. Cheap fuel (even if the locals don’t realise it).
3. Fantastic rest stops by the highway which really look after traveller’s needs.
4. Amusing billboards by the side of the roads which make us chuckle. I mean, come on, where else in the world can you find a “Got Hepatitis C?” billboard? (Florida) Or a “Need A Buddy With Bail Money?” billboard? (Kentucky)
5. People that love us and help us out with cheap prices because we’re different.
6. We’re here. Naturally, this is a point that ceases to become a good point for the US as soon as we depart, but it’s important to note that we’re here which is a good thing.
7. Fast internet access in libraries (all hail Bill and Melinda Gates for their Gates Foundation computers!)
8. Giant drinks at service stations for a pittance. For example, a 64oz cup (yes, about 2 litres!) is a mere $1.29 at Circle K.
9. One day you can be in a dust storm (El Paso, Texas) and the next you can be snowed on (Gallup, New Mexico).
10. Roads that have a 75mph limit on them. I’ve yet to see anywhere in Australia where they say it’s fine to drive on a basic road at over 120kph!

Categories: Travel, Odyssey 2001