Travel
Arizona
By
Bob Willis
If you think that Arizona is all desert, cacti, and 110-degree temperatures,
think again. Northern Arizona's high country offers just about the same weather
you'd find in any New England state. In summer it attracts those seeking cool
climates, and in winter it offers an opportunity to see, and play in, snow.
By
car, Flagstaff is a 2.5-hour uphill climb from Phoenix
to the loftier elevation that is the Mogollon Rim.
It's cool, even in summertime.
Just
east of Flagstaff, along old Route 66 (Interstate 40),
paths etched into the walls of Walnut
Canyon National Monument promise a
view of cliffside dwellings that, though now ruins,
were called home by Pueblo ancestors more than 900
years ago.
Turning
around toward the setting sun, head west to a point
some 25 miles beyond Flagstaff, and you'll run smack-dab
into Williams,
named after Bill Williams, mountain man extraordinaire.
Williams straddles old Route 66, and most of the towns'
merchants won't let you forget the fact. It's a mixture
of the old cowboy West and the jumpin', jivin', jukebox
lovin', soda sippin' style that was the reality of
the Main Street of America-pure unadulterated nostalgia.
While
in Williams, take the Grand
Canyon Railway, a vintage train that
traverses 50 or so miles to the original Grand Canyon
train station. Enjoy excellent onboard musical entertainment,
and you can make arrangements either to stay at the Grand
Canyon El Tovar Lodge or in cabins
or other park accommodations or else return to Williams
by train later in the afternoon.
If
you stay at the Grand Canyon, I'd suggest you dine
in the El Tovar dining room. The food surpasses that
of just about any other Park Service fare. If you're
really lucky, you may get a glimpse of the native ring-tailed
cats that occasionally sneak inside and watch diners
from the rafters.
If
you choose to drive to the canyon, you'll find a view
from a helicopter one of the most breathtaking. Chances
are you'll not be coming this way often, so blow the
extra bucks, and take this "over the edge" of
your seat flight and get a once-in-a-lifetime perspective
of the world's greatest gorge.
Way
up north, at the Utah border, lies Page. The town was
built to accommodate the thousands of folks who built
the Glen Canyon Dam. Lake
Powell, created by the dam, is a vast
and beautiful water wonderland. From Wahweap Marina,
you can take a short tour cruise, rent a houseboat
for yourself and a dozen or so of your closest friends,
fish, camp, kayak, or just lie back at night and try
to count the stars.
Canyon
X, just outside of Page on the
Navajo Reservation, is a hiker's and photographer's
delight, but exploring here requires a Native American
guide. After a pretty bumpy four-wheel jaunt from
town, you'll enter this narrow water-carved corkscrew
canyon. Only a few rays of sunlight squeeze through
a few hundred feet of twisted walls, but it's a
photographic paradise for photographers with tripods.
It
starts getting cold and snowy up here by late October,
and the Grand Canyon North Rim is closed until late
spring. But come November, it's time to "snowbird" your
way south to the Valley of the Sun. |
