18 April – Williams –Tuba City

Up early to watch the gunfight at the railway station. It was all a bit of fun, very hammed up and all the cowboys were shot by the sheriff at the end.

 

We walked into town for coffee at the local diner (and a piece of apple, peach and blueberry pie for Steve). After the coffees we did a bit of touristy sightseeing, including stopping at a Western outfitters to check out all the cowboy /cowgirl bling. Everything from saddles to boots has to have lots of diamantes and studs.

We stopped in at Safeway for some groceries, then hit the road for the Grand Canyon South Rim. On the way we passed Bedrock City so we stopped for a photo with the Flintstones.

The Grand Canyon was spectacular. We walked along the rim for a while, looking at the amazing views. Every corner revealed a new and wonderful vista to look at (and photo). We all agreed that the South Rim is the pick of the Grand Canyon. 

Quite a few little squirrels around for Eddie and Fee to see and we saw an Elk on the side of the road.

Leaving the Canyon, we drove out on a road that follows the rim. We stopped regularly at vista points for more photos and to soak up the amazing views. We stopped for a look at a tower called the Watch Tower, built in 1932 to a traditional design. The tower is made of freestone and is 4 stories high. Inside is decorated with Native American paintings and the views from the top were superb.

As we turned away from the Grand Canyon, we followed the Little Colorado River. It also had amazing views and as we descended to the valleys the views were very “Traditional Western Cowboy Movie”, we were expecting John Wayne to come galloping over a rise followed by Indians!

The soils are amazing colours. Rose pink, mauve, pale greens, greys, reds and all contrasted with bright yellow grasses. The hillsides look like Neapolitan ice-cream.

We arrived at a Navajo Nation town called Tuba City for the night. We tried out the local restaurant for some Fajitas. Yummy.