Route 66, the Grand Canyon, and disgusting Las Vegas
This is the last of the vacation reports. As this is being typed I’m in Bethel, Alaska, on my way to the Goodnews River Lodge. I hope to catch a fish, either a salmon or a trout, on a fly today. But I get ahead of myself.
In our last installment Susan and I were in Prescott, Arizona. When we left we headed north and picked up US Route 66 and headed west. The first town we came to was Seligman. We had been told to stop at the Sno-Cap. We did.
If you searched for the world’s capital of kitsch you would have to consider Seligman. The Sno-Cap may be the kitschiest place there. We partook of some sweets, then spent an hour looking around town and taking pictures. As tourist traps go it was actually pretty cool.
Delgadillo’s Sno-Cap, a Route 66 institution.
Susan at the counter of the Sno-Cap.
There was an Elvis sighting in Seligman.
We continued west on 66 to Kingman. There were a couple of museums there, but not enough to spend two nights there. So we drove to Oldman.
At a museum in Kingman.
Along Rt. 66, in God’s country, Arizona.
Oldman was a gold mining town that almost died after the US government went off the gold standard. It turned into a crass tourist trap. There are feral burros walking around town. You can buy burro food and feed them (which we did not). That was the best thing there. One shop had some fairly nice art but a lot of the other shops were selling inferior goods. We didn’t stay long, didn’t buy anything.
This is what Oldman thinks of itself. Is it accurate? Visit and see.
The next day we drove to Las Vegas, stopping at Hoover Dam on the way. Woo-hoo! I’m not a fan of dams and actually I think it was a mistake to build this one. The powers that be may be figuring that out. I suppose it is an “engineering marvel.” Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Anyway…
We got to Las Vegas. I never wanted to go there and now that I’ve actually been there I cannot understand why anyone would want to. I was blessed to be born in the United States, but LV epitomises everything I don’t like about the country. It’s a monument to capitalism, greed, excess, glitz without substance, bad behavior. Dirty, trashy, litter everywhere. People sitting in casinos at 8 AM on a Sunday morning, playing poker, smoking cigars, drinking. Stupid. I saw some missionaries flying into Bethel today. I almost told them they should go to LV, where their services are desperately needed.
With 26 other souls we flew to the Bar 10 Ranch. It’s a 250,000 acre cattle spread on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We went horseback riding, and Sue and I went on a nature hike. The temperature was 105. After dinner the staff put on a very cute show for us.
We slept outside on the deck. The stars were outrageous! The Milky Way, Sagitarius and Scorpius, satellites and falling stars. I didn’t sleep that much but didn’t care.
After breakfast we boarded helicopters and swirled down to the Colorado River.
The helicopter delivered us to the Colorado River.
We spent the next three days on a raft, running rapids and just being awestruck by the canyon. The company we booked with was Western River Expeditions. I cannot see how anyone could have done a better job. The guides were superb, the equipment was great. It was freaking HOT (temperatures during the day hit 123 degrees), but that’s to be expected in the desert in July, isn’t it?
One of our Coloriado River campsites.
We slept outside the two nights we were down there. The stars were outrageous! I didn’t sleep much but didn’t care. I don’t get to see the night sky very often and hardly ever get to see it lit up like it was. Who can sleep when the cosmos is unfolding before you?
One of our exploratory stops was a walk up to this cave. It had pretty nice solar lighting.
Some of our crew take a shower.
Waiting to cast off on our last morning.
After finishing I spent two more days in LV. Fortunately for her Susan got to go home. I went to the ICAST fishing show, which was very cool except that it was in LV. I hope I never have to go there again.
And now I am at the Goodnews River Lodge. I cleaned nine sockeye salmon for another guide this afternoon, and will fire out a fishing report next week.
Life is great and I love my work!
Life is short. Get out and live!
John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.
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