From Flagstaff to Prescott; June 21, 2018

In Prescott we stayed in the Grand Highland Hotel from 1903, nicely refurbished and right in the center of Prescott. Prescott the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864 Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, replacing the temporary capital at Fort Whipple. The Territorial Capital was moved to Tucson in 1867. Prescott again became the Territorial Capital in 1877, until Phoenix became the capital in 1889. This was the last day of our trip. The next day (June 22), we went back from Phoenix, Colorado, a very big busy town in the desert, to Colebrook, Connecticut.

Old train in Flagstaff

Planning the day at Weatherford Hotel Flagstaff.

Red Rock State Park. The banks of Oak Creek.

Red Rock State Park. On nature experience of the day was the Red Rock State Park. We had a short hike through manzanita and juniper to reach the rich banks of Oak Creek. Green meadows are framed by native vegetation and hills of red rock.

Grand Highland Hotel The legendary fire of 1900 destroyed Historic Whiskey Row and much of the rest of Downtown Prescott. The two-story Grand Saloon & Hotel building opened in 1903. One hundred ten years later, a second fire in May 2012, led to the rebirth of The Grand Highland Hotel.

Grand Highland Hotel. The hotel, includes 16 guest rooms, 3 shared bathrooms, and a manager’s apartment.

The Palace is the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona and the most well-known and historic restaurant and saloon in the state. In the late 1870s Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday were patrons of the Palace.

The Courthouse Plaza is perfect for a little relaxing after walking around Prescott’s downtown for a day of shopping, historic sightseeing, and eating local fare.

We had our dinner at the Palace Saloon. Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday were patrons of the early Palace. On July 14th, 1900, The Palace was destroyed by the Whiskey Row fire. The ornately carved 1880s Brunswick Bar, which is still in use, was carried to safety across the street to the plaza by patrons.

Today's Palace owners have done extensive remodeling to restore the Palace to its grandeur of 1901. Although still a frontier saloon, the addition of dining makes The Palace the gathering place it once was.

By 1901, The Palace Hotel and Bar, complete with Chinese restaurant and barber shop was back in business after the Palace was destroyed by the Whiskey Row fire on July 14th, 1900.

In the heart of downtown Prescott, the Courthouse Plaza is a historic jewel. It’s served as a city center for casual gatherings and celebrations for more than 140 years. With the famous Whiskey Row right next door, the area stays lively morning and night. The plaza is a testament to Prescott’s early city planning, as the city placed it as a centerpiece of the commercial district and the local businesses of Whiskey Row. This placement continues to serve residents and visitors well over a hundred years later. Though a fire in 1900 burned down most of downtown, including Whiskey Row, the area was rebuilt and still stands strong today. The granite, Neo-Classic Revival courthouse and 11 other brick buildings are even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, adding a historic ambiance to the area. We caught a special event at the courthouse, which hosts several dances, outdoor movies, concerts, and special events each year. And when you’re ready for a nightcap, you’ll have a direct route to Whiskey Row’s saloons and honkytonks that keep the fun rolling all night long.

Buckey O'Neill statue at the Courthouse in Prescott. The Bucky O'Neill Monument, also known as the Rough Rider Monument, was created by Solon Borglum and is an equestrian sculpture of Buckey O'Neill and honors a group of men who gallantly served their country during the Spanish-American War in 1898. It is located at Courthouse Plaza, Prescott, Arizona.

Get your kicks at route 66; June 20, 2018

The driving of the day was limited – only from Grand Canyon to Flagstaff. Flagstaff is named after a ponderosa pine flagpole made by a scouting party from Boston (known as the "Second Boston Party") to celebrate the United States Centennial on July 4, 1876. Flagstaff's early economy was based on the lumber, railroad, and ranching industries. During the 1880s, Flagstaff began to grow, opening its first post office and attracting the railroad industry. The early economy was based on timber, sheep, and cattle. By 1886, Flagstaff was the largest city on the railroad line between Albuquerque and the west coast of the United States. A 1900 diary entry by journalist Sharlot Hall described the houses in the city at the time as a "third rate mining camp", with unkempt air and high prices of available goods. Route 66 was completed in 1926 and ran through Flagstaff. Flagstaff was incorporated as a city in 1928, and in 1929, the city's first motel, was built at the intersection, Flagstaff went on to become a popular tourist stop along Route 66, particularly due to its proximity to the Grand Canyon.

Old locomotive and caboose at the Pioneer Museum. The Pioneer Museum is an old hospital converted into a Museum of Flagstaff’s rich history.

Chuckwagon at the Pioneer Museum, Flagstaff. The invention of the chuckwagon is attributed to Charles Goodnight, a Texas rancher. A chuckwagon is a type of "field kitchen" covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of perishable food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed traveling workers such as cowboys or loggers. After the American Civil War, the beef market in Texas expanded. Some cattlemen herded cattle in parts of the country that did not have railroads which would mean they needed to be fed on the road for months at a time. Goodnight modified the Studebaker wagon, a durable army-surplus wagon, to suit the needs of cowboys driving cattle from Texas to sell in New Mexico. He added a "chuck box" to the back of the wagon with drawers and shelves for storage space and a hinged lid to provide a flat cooking surface. A water barrel was also attached to the wagon and canvas was hung underneath to carry firewood. A wagon box was used to store cooking supplies and cowboys' personal items.

American Lafrance Fire Truck at the Pioneer Museum, Flagstaff . With houses build in tree fire was a major issue in Flagstaff. The first fire truck of Flagstaff – an American Lafrance Fire Truck - it was bought in 1914 and was the first combustion fire engine purchased, American LaFrance model. It was in service for 40 years.

We stayed at Weatherford Hotel. The first section made 1898 and second section made in 1899. Considered to be a downtown anchor since 1900; constructed of Moencopi sandstone.

The number of U.S. microbreweries, regional breweries, and are growing. At the end of 2013, there were 2,822 breweries in the United States, including 2,768 craft breweries subdivided into 1,237 brewpubs, 1,412 microbreweries and 119 regional craft breweries.

At the Visitor Center

Route 66

Every 5 minutes a freight train several kilometers long passed the Flagstaff Rail Station. Rail transportation in the United States consists primarily of freight shipments, while passenger service, once a large and vital part of the nation's passenger transportation network, plays a limited role as compared to transportation patterns in many other countries.

Route 66. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CgZnUXqvi8 Route 66 Well if you ever plan to motor west Just take my way that's the highway that's the best Get your kicks on Route 66 Well it winds from Chicago to L.A. More than 2000 miles all the way Get your kicks on Route 66 Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino Would you get hip to this kindly tip And go take that California trip Get your kicks on Route 66 Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino Would you get hip to this kindly tip And go take that California trip Get your kicks on Route 66

Weatherford Hotel

Grand Canyon, USA; June 19, 2018

The Grand Canyon is among the biggest tourist attractions in the USA and flocks of tourist, many of them Asians, are visiting the place.

Raven outside our hotel window. Ravens can be found throughout the Grand Canyon, but are most frequently seen on the Rims, and flying along the edge of the Canyon. Ravens are omnivores that feed on insects, rodents, lizards, carrion, garbage, and human food. Ravens are some of the most intelligent animals in the world and will work together to steal food from humans- even unzipping packs and opening sealed bags.

The Bright Angel trailhead is located in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. The Bright Angel Trail follows the head of a side canyon.

Brachiopod – a kind of ancient mussel The sedimentary rocks exposed throughout the canyon are rich with marine fossils such as crinoids, brachiopods, and sponges with several layers containing terrestrial fossils such as leaf and dragonfly wing impressions, and footprints of scorpions, centipedes, and reptiles. With marine environments creating many of the sedimentary rock layers in the canyon over the past 525 million years, marine fossils are quite common.

UTAH AGAVE blooming For many years (15 to 25) prior to blooming, the leaf rosette is all you see. The plant dies after sending up the stalk and producing seed. An agave uses its last ounce of stored energy to reproduce gloriously, martyring itself for the progeny.

UTAH AGAVE blooming For many years (15 to 25) prior to blooming, the leaf rosette is all you see. The plant dies after sending up the stalk and producing seed. An agave uses its last ounce of stored energy to reproduce gloriously, martyring itself for the progeny.

Viewing Point The Grand Canyon is 446 km) long, up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of over a mile (1,857 meters).

The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.

Colorado River. Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. Several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.

The sedimentary rocks exposed throughout the canyon are rich with marine fossils such as crinoids, brachiopods, and sponges with several layers containing terrestrial fossils such as leaf and dragonfly wing impressions, and footprints of scorpions, centipedes, and reptiles. What about dinosaur fossils? Not at Grand Canyon! The rocks of the canyon are older than the oldest known dinosaurs.

The elk are huge animals related to the deer family but much larger in size than most deer species. In the Grand Canyon habitat, the elk are often spotted grazing in the South Rim near Grandview Point’s forested areas.

From Monument Valley to Grand Canyon; June 18, 2018

We took a little detour on our drive from Monument Valley to Grand Canyon to visit Canyons de Chelley and look at the landscape and the villages in the great Navajo Nation stretching over 3 states and the size of Connecticut. And to visit the Hopi Reservation which is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation. The detour ended up in being more than 600 km, so we were rather tired when we eventually arrived to our Grand Canyon hotel. The Navajo Nation (Naabeehó Bináhásdzo) is a Native American territory covering about 71,000 km2; occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico in the United States. This is the largest land area retained by a Native American tribe, with a population of roughly 350,000 as of 2016. The Hopi Reservation in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 6,557 km² and as of the 2000 census had a population of 6,946. The system of villages in the Hopi Reservation unites three mesas (First, Second and Third Mesa) in the pueblo style traditionally used by the Hopi. Walpi is the oldest village on First Mesa, having been established in 1690 after the villages at the foot of mesa Koechaptevela were abandoned for fear of Spanish reprisal post 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The Tewa people live on First Mesa. Hopi also occupy the Second Mesa and Third Mesa. The Hopi consider their life on the reservation (in particular the traditional clan residence, the spiritual life of the kivas on the mesa, and their dependence on corn) an integral and critically sustaining part of the "fourth world". This is the current cultural epoch in which all people of the world now live.

Navajo Village

Navajo Village

The USA, Arizona and Navajo Nation flags

The hogan is a sacred home for the Diné (Navajo) people who practice traditional religion. Every family even if they live most of the time in a newer home -- must have the traditional hogan for ceremonies, and to keep themselves in balance. The Navajos used to make their hogans, of wooden poles, tree bark and mud. The doorway of each hogan opened to the east so they could get the morning sun as well as good blessings. Today, many Navajo families still live in hogans, although trailers or more modern houses are tending to replace them.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly. Canyon de Chelly preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly known as Anasazi) to the Navajo. The monument covers 339.3 km2 and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly. About 40 Navajo families live in the Canyon de Chelly. Access to the canyon floor is restricted, and visitors are allowed to travel in the canyons only when accompanied by a park ranger or an authorized Navajo guide. The only exception to this rule is the White House Ruin Trail on which I hiked to the White House Ruin.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly.

Hogan at the end of the White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly.

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly.

On the road to the Hopi Reservation. The Hopi Reservation in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 6,557 km² and as of the 2000 census had a population of 6,946. The system of villages in the Hopi Reservation unites three mesas (First, Second and Third Mesa) in the pueblo style traditionally used by the Hopi.

Fist view of Grand Canyon.

The ravens of Grand Canyon are not afraid of humans.