Our Vacation Ends

We said goodbye to Lake Havasu and the London Bridge.  We made the 2 hour and 33 minute drive from Lake Havasu to Las Vegas in a record 2 hours and 33 minutes.  This means we didn't stop to take pictures.  We already had pictures of dirt.  We already had pictures of cactus.  We already had pictures of rocks.  As the road from Havasu to Vegas had nothing but dirt, cactus and rocks, we made the decision to just drive.

London Bridge at Lake Havasu

We arrived at the Hampton Inn around 1 p.m. and were able to get into our room.  We then turned in our rental car at the nearby car center and called for a Hampton Inn shuttle to take us back to the hotel.  The desk clerk recommended a place for lunch/dinner which we refer to as "linner".  It was a pub/casino.  Luckily it was a small place and not a big casino.  It seems they passed a no smoking law that applies to small operations with just video poker and the like but not, of course, big casinos.

Our waitress lamented the loss of so many jobs with the passage of that law as it forced this establishment to build a glass wall between the bar-casino operation and the pub-food part of their business.  She said that many businesses couldn't afford to comply and were forced to close.  Since our waitress talked to us in a rough raspy voice tone so typical of heavy smokers, I decided to not advance my preference for smoke free restaurants.

They had a nice Guiness-like stout on draught and Sue managed a chardonnay.  We finished our meal and walked back to our final resting place.  Final for this trip anyway.  For dinner we polished off crackers, chips, apples, water, wine and chocolates that were the final remnants of our "on-the-go" food for the car.

We watched television in the room and fell asleep around 8 p.m. or 11 p.m. Miami time.  At 4:20 a.m. the phone rang, a rooster crowed, a buzzer sounded and a chime bonged.  This was our wake-up call from the hotel, my smartphone crowing, Sue's smartphone bonging and the nightstand alarm clock all encouraging us to get our buts moving and back to Miami.

At 5:30 we boarded the Hampton shuttle to the airport along with 4 other early departure guests.  Since we would not be down for the free Hampton Inn breakfast we managed to pick up two "on-the-go" bags at the front desk.

In ten minutes we were in the fast lane for our security check in as two TSA Pre-checked passengers.  We really like this TSA special certification as we whisked through security with shoes, belts and watches on.  My small carry-on and camera bag didn't even raise an eyebrow.  In pre-TSA pre-check days, both of my carry-ons would have had me pulled aside.  These bags are filled with x-ray suspicious wires, electronics and chargers.  Now, nothing.  We were at the gate about an hour before boarding.  I ate my breakfast bag from the hotel which consisted of an apple, a muffin and a breakfast bar.  I'll call it a breakfast bar because that's what Kellogg's called it.  A more apt description would have been strawberry flavored cardboard.  It was a thin cookie-like substance that sandwiched a sweet strawberry paste.

We were about to leave Las Vegas without having gambled on anything more risky than breathing casino air.  On a trip to the men's room I passed a row of slot machines, some of which were marked $0.25.  On my way back to our waiting area I remembered I had two quarters still in my pocket.  I said, why not?  I walked over to a likely winning machine only to discover that they needed at least a single dollar bill.  I had already used all my singles with shuttle driver tips and sky cap tips.  I'm still even with Vegas.

We boarded a brand new American Airlines (Airbus) A321S.  Our pilot had just flown it in to Las Vegas for its maiden voyage.  I like "new" but, in airplanes, I would have preferred a few burn-in miles before I am a passenger.  The seats were new and the seat backs had the latest electronics package.  In addition to the now customary LCD screen, I found a 3-prong 110 volt AC outlet, a USB charging port and an array of touch-screen buttons.

Airbus 321

110 volt Outlet at Seat Back

This latter feature was going to test our flight attendants' patience as two tiny symbols were actually the attendant call-buttons.  In the picture below they are the two left dots under the screen picture.  Everyone was playing with all the "new stuff" and the flight attendants were responding to non-existant requests for assistance.

A321 Entertainment Screen

I will say that our "main cabin extra" seats were not "as extra" as they were on the older planes we flew on our way out.  I guess all of this extra entertainment took up space on the plane.  I will also guess that American decided to cram in a few extra rows of seats to help pay the freight on these new planes.

We landed in Miami and our neighbor, Art, picked us up for our ride home.  Sue's first act upon arriving home was to put up her little 2' Christmas tree complete with lights and tiny ornaments.  We had missed out on Thanksgiving but she needed her Christmas fix.  Our kitchen remodeling will preclude an extensive holiday decoration project but the little tree will have to do.

Prescott, Arizona and Lake Havasu

We arrived in Prescott, as our next to last official stop before returning home.  We are here to visit Sue's brother and sister-in-law, Don and Karen.  Before I go much further I must correct your obvious mispronunciation of Prescott.  If you are a reporter at the White House and you go to a big meeting, you will probably be issued a press kit.  This item has the same pronunciation as Prescott.  The locals use the mispronunciation to identify suspicious out-of-towners.

Don and Karen were having their house remodeled so we felt right at home.  Their house painter pressure washed the outside the day of our arrival and created a mystery.  The guest bathroom plugs stopped working.  We searched high and low for a circuit breaker or the more likely, a popped GFCI outlet.  Their house is an electronics junkie's paradise in that there are electrical outlets in every conceivable location.  We searched everywhere only to find that one other bathroom and several outside outlets were also suffering a lack of energy.  I knew the feeling.

Prescott (presskit) is a beautiful small town of about 40,000 people.  Coming from a city with over 2.5 million people, 40,000 is small.  It was a delightful change of perspective.  Our hosts were more than hospitable and Karen is an excellent cook.  We watched Arizona's Wildcats get clobbered by Oregon ducks, 13 to 51.  It was like watching some Aesop fable where the duck beats up on the big wildcat.  Ouch!

The next day we were able to watch the Patriots beat the Chargers 23 to 14.  So this heavily influenced Bostonian crowd was happy again.  As a Dolphan, I was silently rooting for the Chargers.

Sue's Shetland Pony Parade Shot

We went downtown to watch the Christmas parade and saw small town USA in action.  They had war veterans, dog walkers, retirement home buses, local bands, kids, old cars, motorcycles, Shriners, Shetland ponies, cowboys, an entire section of just Scottish Terriers, police cars, and fire trucks.  In fact, half of the 40,000 population of Prescott (presskit--do you have the pronunciation yet?) was in the parade and the other half was lining the street to watch.  As my vantage point was on a street that was a loop around the courthouse, I think they just kept circling by.  I swear I saw the same people several times.

Sue Shot of the Scottie Parade Group

Star Parade Float

We moved our lawn-chairs to a place in front of the courthouse for the tree lighting ceremony later this day.  I had prepared for everything.  I had my camera, my GoPro and my tripod along with years of experience.  What I didn't prepare for was the fact that it would be several hours later when the lights went on, and it would be much colder and the nearest bathroom was at least two light years away through the amassed crowd.  By the time the carolers finished and they lit the trees, I was a Popsicle in a lawn chair with a full bladder.

Somehow I managed to get a few shots and a little video.  I had to use a high ISO to allow for a fast shutter speed.  Reason...., my hands were shaking.

Courthouse Tree Lighting Ceremony (109 TREES)

 We ate at a restaurant downtown and had a few cocktails to thaw out.

The next day we went to a gingerbread house display and a museum of old log buildings surrounding the original governor's mansion.

Governor's Mansion (Sue Shot)

Gingerbread Houses (Sue Shot)

The second night in Prescott, we saw Esteban, a guitar virtuoso along with his daughter on violin and a percussionist.  He studied under Andres Segovia and was mentored by Carlos Montoya.  He put on a great show with a mix of flamenco, classical, pop and holiday music.  The latter inclusion was given with a twist of uniqueness with, on one occasion, a middle eastern flair.  After the concert he stayed on in the lobby of the small theater to sign CD's, pictures and one guitar.

Sue With Esteban

We crossed the street to a restaurant after the concert to eat dinner.  Half way through our meal, Esteban, his daughter and two members of his road crew came in and sat at a nearby table.

Using the tried and true rule that both fish and house-guests begin to smell after three days, we packed for our planned departure.  On our final room check I decided to again look for the errant GFCI outlet.  Karen had departed for work and Don was out in front of the house with his kitchen granite and tile guy.  I eventually found, in the master bathroom across the house, a wall plug with a giant night light...., that wasn't working.  A quick removal of the night light found our hidden popped breaker.  Voila, Don could give up on his search for his electrician's phone number.

Just before we left our gracious hosts, Sue's phone rang.  It was our neighbor Patty who told us the window installers had showed up at our house to deliver our new windows.  This was all fine except for the fact that we were in Arizona and it would be difficult to let them in.  They were not supposed to make this delivery until December 16th.  Patty let me talk to the delivery guy and I told him to speak to Chris and to take the windows back to their office warehouse.

Our next scheduled stop was Lake Havasu City.  I wasn't sure why we were going to a place called Havasu as everyone knows, I already "have-a-Sue".  I only need the one and couldn't handle another.  It seems that this town is around the halfway point between Prescott and Las Vegas.  It also has a singular premiere attraction, the 1831 London Bridge.  Yes, leave it to a rich Missourian to buy a patch of desert to test his Evenrude outboard motors on the shores of a lake created by damming the Colorado river.  Mr. McCulloch, of the chainsaws which bear his name, purchased the city acreage for $75 an acre.  He originally made his fortune the old fashioned way, he inherited it.  Then he married a woman named Briggs, of Briggs and Stratton small engine fame.  To promote his newly purchased city, he built his Evenrude plant here and then bought the London Bridge from the City of London.

Original London Bridge

New London Bridge at Sunset

The bridge was built over dry desert land.  It is of reinforced concrete but they used the facade of the original London Bridge in its construction.  The stones of the failing London Bridge were shipped to this location and added to the new desert bridge over, well, dirt.  After the bridge was built, they dredged a canal under the bridge which diverted water from the reservoir Lake Havasu.  This also created an island on one end of the bridge.  Now the bridge had a purpose.  That purpose is to convince travelers from Miami that they had better stay here.  At least for two days.  We complied.

Sunset Lake Havasu (Sue Shot)

Last Day in Grand Canyon

As mentioned in our previous post, we awoke to cold rainy drizzle.  The canyon had disappeared behind a wall of white clouds..

There is a canyon out there somewhere

 It looked like a day by the fireplace at the El Tovar.  There are certainly worse places to be.  I made several ventures out to the rim only to be met by white clouds and disappointed strangers.

One in particular frightened me.  She stood out from the other rim walkers in her pink Duck Dynasty flannel pants.  In tow, she had a little boy about six or seven in his Superman outfit.  The little boy kept wanting to try out his super powers by running past the rim trail borders toward the clouded rim.  She would yell at him to get back to which he would stop for two seconds and then proceed as if nothing had happened.

We spoke briefly.  I should say I spoke briefly.  She on the other hand related her story that she was on her way back to Kentucky after swapping her new truck with an older one owned by her uncle in San Diego.  She couldn't keep up with the payments so the uncle would take them over.  The problem was that the tire needed fixing and she was down to $300.  She didn't have a spare but hoped she could find a Walmart where she could pick up a cheap replacement.  We parted ways just as her little boy disappeared into a cloud bank in the distance.  This exchange lasted at least a minute and a half.

I headed back inside the El Tovar to await the sounds of sirens that would signal the Superboy had flow his last.  I met Sue in the lounge for a large glass of stout.  Sue had a chardonnay.  The waitress brought out two identical orders, the second destined for another couple across the room.  I had to introduce myself to the two strangers with such good taste in alcoholic refreshment.

We met Tim and Sharon from Wisconsin.  Tim was a retired cop who had taken up woodworking and cabinet making as a second career.  They had wisely left northern Wisconsin for warmer weather.  That would be warmer by Wisconsin standards, certainly not by Miami temps.

At some point in our conversation I looked out the window to see that the sun had just broken through in a sliver of light across the canyon and you could actually see distant shapes.  I ran upstairs to our room and grabbed my camera and left Sue to entertain our new acquaintances.

After The Fog

I blasted away at what would probably be my last images of the Grand Canyon.  I moved up and down the rim for different vantages knowing that this light sliver certainly wouldn't last.  After shooting with my DSLR, GoPro and cellphone, I decided that I could use another cold beer.

Tomorrow, on to Prescott, AZ.

Trees, Finally Some Trees

We just saw our first tree in a week and a half.  You never know how much you might miss trees until you visit Nevada and eastern California.  They both have very small struggling shrubs, but no trees.  You can literally see over the top of every growing thing.  Lots of dirt, rocks and small shrubs.  We crossed the state line into Arizona and saw our first green things taller than 3 feet.  The only green thing of any stature or prominence up to this point was me after my questionable dinner choice.

Grand Canyon

Sue drove most of the way.  Don't tell Thrifty Car Rental as she is not a "designated driver".  It was a long, mostly straight roadway.  Her only hazards were tumbleweeds that appeared out of nowhere and ignored all traffic laws.  The small ones weren't a problem.  It was the 4 foot balls of brown brush crossing the roadway at 30 mph that caused Sue to issue her, "*#b#%w2r#**g>*6%#**" outburst.  I don't know what she said either.

By desert standards, Arizona is lush with vegetation.  Green trees, brown hay-like grass and green shrubs. We hit Williams, AZ, about an hour before sunset.  Sue drove for the first 4 hours so it was time for some relief.  Jack to the rescue to "bring it on home" for the last hour.

The GPS got us to the front door of the Grand Canyon's El Tovar hotel.  I got lucky and found one of the rare parking spots nearby.  A quick check in and we dropped our bags in our room and headed for the lounge.  We had the beef tenderloin chili and crab cake sliders.  Yum.  Washed down with a bit of alcoholic refreshment and dinner was served.

El Tovar Hotel

Internet access is weak and TV channels are limited.  All of this is blamed on the remoteness of the park. 

It was dark when we arrived so, imagine our surprise when we woke up the next morning and stepped outside to be greeted by 20 degree air and to find a very large hole next to our hotel.  I now know where all of the sand and rock came from that we saw in Death Valley and Valley of Fire.  It came from this hole in Arizona that they call the Grand Canyon.  It must have taken a team of backhoes weeks to dig this thing.

Major Excavation Site

Since we left Death Valley at minus 287 feet and now are staying at a positive 7,000+ feet, it is lucky we came up slowly so as not to get the bends.

An Indian Pointed Here Once

We are regulars now at the El Tovar dining room.  The food is good by National Park standards and most meals we have had have been good to very good.  One night I had the boneless duck.  I never feel guilty eating boneless duck as I think that, any duck without bones, couldn't have had much of a life anyway.

Our weather has been heading south lately with rain scheduled for our last day.  It was sunny the first day and overcast the second.  We woke up our third day to fog and wet pavement.  We'll have to wait to see how the weather progresses.

El Tovar Lobby Decorated for the Holiday

We may end up spending our last day in or near our 109 year old hotel.  The picture above shows that even the buffalo head in the foreground has gotten into the spirit of the holiday.