I have a theory: when living in one place for a long period of time, people are less likely to explore the environment around them; comfort sets in. I lived in California for 14 years, on and off, and visited the beach very seldom. I lived in Las Vegas for 10 years, and didn't take advantage of some serious near-by treasures, such as Grand Canyon National Park--a mere five-hour drive. Don't get me started. I have taken our cross-country trip back to California as a major, and very lucky, "re-do."
Day Nine is, hands down, was--and still is--my favorite day of the cross-country road trip.
We awoke in the Rio Grande National Forest. As noted in Day Eight, sleep was hard to come by the night prior, due to the gradual deflation of our air mattress and a minor claustrophobia-related meltdown. Don't get me wrong. I
love camping. But, this particular morning, I was noting a bad combination of zero coffee and serious raccoon eyes. I slowly rolled over, grabbed a jacket, and unzipped the tent.
I felt like I was on set of the Disney fairytale "Enchanted" or something (Please. Don't judge me for having seen this movie. Patrick Dempsey is in it. Enough said.). Running stream, chirping birds, playing squirrels. My mood shifted. This was the ideal start to what would be the perfect day. On the agenda: the Great Continental Divide, Four Corners, and Grand Canyon National Park.
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| Rio Grand National Forest |
We hit the road and first headed for the Great Continental Divide--the stretch of land that parts the waters that flow into the Pacific Ocean from those running into the Atlantic.
Upon first sight, Aunt Beth's words captured what I imagined: "It isn't necessary to fly overseas to see something wonderful; the Great Divide is a drive away." What I would give to one day hike and camp the trail.
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To the north of the Lower 48, there's a trail that tickles the spine of the Rockies and is possibly the most spectacular long-distance hiking route in North America. This trail weaves back and forth some 745 breathtaking miles between the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, traversing country far grander and wilder than any contiguous mountain wilderness in the United States. If tacked onto the northern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT)-as some believe it should be-the combined routes would create, without a doubt, the most eye-popping, jaw-dropping, challenging wilderness trail on Earth." --Backpacker
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The Great Continental Divide, between the Rio Grande and
San Juan National Forests |
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| The Great Divide Trail |
We said goodbye to the Divide, headed toward our next adventure at the Four Corners...
... and saw some truly amazing sights along the way. Especially in Pagosa Springs, CO. The bluffs and buttes proved some of the most amazing land I've ever seen.
It's strange how I had believed the Grand Canyon to be the most incredible thing I would ever see, without realizing how many other non-publicized sights would be such a close second or third.
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| Durango to Mesa Verde National Park |
The wide range of colors was spectacular.
When we were just outside of Four Corners, the rain fell. Heavily. And we quickly learned that the driver's windshield wiper wasn't working. After a mild panic and several minutes on the side of the road, we made it to Four Corners--the meeting point of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
My good friend, Brandy, and I created a bucket list 10 years ago, in high school. A goal of mine was to be in two places at the same time. I hadn't realized I'd one day be in four places at once.
Four Corners really took T.C. and me by surprise, as we originally imagined the area to include just the monument. The region is home to Navajo, Hopi, Ute, and Zuni reservations. Tribe members occupy stands along the perimeter of the point to sell memorabilia, jewelry and other handmade trinkets. There, we bought a small dreamcatcher, to capture our negative thoughts, and placed it where we are (seemingly) most often--the car.
We hung our dreamcatcher and got back on the road toward the Grand Canyon.
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| This depicts a good portion of our cross-country trip. |
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| Route 160 - between Four Corners and Grand Canyon |
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| Right: Tipi |
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| The calm after the storm. |
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| Left: clay house |
After nearly 2,500 miles, and late into the afternoon, we made it to Grand Canyon National Park.
And it was just as remarkable as I had imagined. I was able to check off another item on my bucket list. The feeling of being here, at this very place, was unsurmountable. I'd never felt so large and so small at the same time.
If you were to look as far to the right as possible and scan all the way to the left, you would see just how beautifully the colors change. The hues saturate with the lowering of the sun.
It was sad to read that, over the decades, smog has accumulated in the Canyon and will never fully go away:
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While the waters of the Colorado are now usually clearer than before, the same cannot be said for the air in the canyon. Yes, you'll find smog here, smog that has been blamed on both Las Vegas and Los Angeles to the west and a coal-fired power plant to the east, near Page. Scrubbers have been installed on the power plant's smokestacks, but there isn't much to be done about smog drifting from the west." -- Frommers (A direct quote from the Grand Canyon information guide)
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| A short hike along the cliffs. |
The sun started to set, so we decided to see what the colors would look like in the process. I'm really glad we stayed.
One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen, spent with an incredible person.
After a few hours and a couple hundred pictures later, we got back on the road toward Historic Route 66. We aimed for Las Vegas and drove until hunger kicked in. We visited a restaurant in Williams, AZ called Pancho McGillicuddy's. Yes, that's right. Pancho. McGillicuddy's. We couldn't resist a peek. We're not usually a picky people, but T.C. and I agreed this was the worst dining experience of the trip. The service was slow; the orders were placed incorrectly; and, most unfortunately, the beer arrived warm. This wasn't enough to be considered a set-back. I don't think anything could have ruined the day we had.
We started our drive on Route 66. It was incredibly dark, and the only things we were able to make out were cliffs and old train tracks. I've heard that the Route is incredibly beautiful. T.C. and I will just have to travel it again on another trip. We reached Kingman, AZ and couldn't drive any longer. We went to bed exhausted, but also thankful for the day we had, and excited for the next--home, sweet home. We could practically taste it.
