Today was a rush. We spent last night in Vegas...well technically not IN Vegas, in the next town over - Henderson, NV. Holiday Inn Express is a great hotel chain with free breakfast, free wi-fi, super friendly staff, and very nice accommodations. HIE in Nevada was nice. HIE in Albuquerque, NM is like the ritz in comparison. It's very nice here, and it smells tremendously better. That's not to say that Nevada is dirty, this hotel is just nicer. And the elevator works.
We covered a LOT of ground today - just shy of 700 miles. From Vegas we went to the Hoover Dam. It's a marvel of human engineering, truly immense, and looking over the edge is ridiculously vertigo-inducing. I never really could imagine what 6 million tons of concrete looked like. Now I don't have to imagine it anymore. We took a picture on the Nevada - Arizona border. Technically, my testicles were each in a different state at the same time.
From the dam we made a mad dash to Grand Canyon National Park, with a stop along the way in Williams, AZ and historic Route 66. We wanted meat for lunch, and driving down main street Williams (which looks like it hasn't changed since the 50's) we saw Cruiser's 66 Bar & Grill. There was a heavy smell of woodsmoke in the air, and we decided to stop there for lunch. I am glad we did. The brisket was fantastic, even if they did smother it in BBQ sauce after cooking, and Jim's NY Strip was phenomenal. The best thing though was the beer. They brew their own, and I started talking brewing and beer with our young waiter. After a bit, he brought us free samples of most of their brews, including a special one that they don't even have anymore. It was a mixture - a cuvee for all you winos out there - of a raspberry wheat and an oatmeal stout. Raspberry beers usually are cloyingly sweet, and I can only drink a small bit before my pallet is ruined. Oatmeal stouts are generally nutty and malty. Individually, each brew has its high points. Together, they are wonder twin powers activate! The sweet is cut down by the malty smoothness of the stout. They call it their "desert" beer. They should market that sh*t.
Anyway, after a fantastic lunch we trucked it to the Grand Canyon. Everybody's seen pictures of it, and has an idea of how big it is. I'm here to tell you, though, that you don't know nothin'. Big isn't a good identifier. Massive doesn't begin to define it. It exists on a scale all of its own; if there's anything on earth that will make a person feel small it's standing at ground level, looking down a mile into the earth at rocks that are 1,800 million years old and have been carved out by a river for the past 6 million years, and realizing that the tiny green dots at the bottom are full-sized mature trees. The Colorado river runs for 248 (if I remember correctly) river-miles. For 6 million years its carved out the rock in the Arizona desert and created a literally breath-taking sight. Where the Hoover Dam is one of the more impressive things I've ever seen in my life, the Canyon is spectacular and awe-inspiring. I've never seen anything like it, and I doubt I ever will.
Arizona is "the Grand Canyon State," and is named for good reason. In the upper corner of their state is a big (albeit old) hole in the ground and, at least in the northern part of the state, not much else. In fact, it's pretty much NOTHING else. We decided to stretch the trip today and we made it all the way to Albuquerque. From the canyon it was about 400-something miles. On one road. A straight road. When there's nothing on your right and nothing on your left and an endless expanse of pavement in front of you, a person tends to space out and start thinking about life. I did for a short time, but having to dodge tractor trailers for 400 miles takes a lot of mental power. I don't know how I'm conscious and typing now - it's been a long day. Tomorrow doesn't look any better.
Tomorrow is our hell day. We are planning on being on the road by 8:30. We are going 11ish hours from Albuquerque, NM to Dallas, TX to meet up with Nik. 651 miles, most of it on the same damn road. It's a good thing that Friday is an off-day. Jim and I are going to relax and recharge while Nik works, then we'll party and head out on Saturday morning. It will feel good to not be on a death march Friday.
More posts, pictures, and crazy people of the country tomorrow night and Friday. Right now, sleep!
Today's Map:
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