Above you can see a picture of me by our car. It’s an old 2008 Ford, Hybrid Escape family car my partner transformed into a Beast. That’s what we affectionately call it. We spray painted it black. My girl tricked it out with bigger tires, big head lights, an aggressive bumper and a tire rack. Because momz can be bad ass too lol. Anyway, the first place we stopped was Bristol Dry Lake. It is a dry lake near Amboy. It consists of halite mud and gypsum. The halite and gypsum form interesting crystals on the dry lake. There is speculation that this mineral activity is the result of a magma chamber somewhere beneath the surface. The Amboy crater nearby also supports this theory and there have been reports of lava flow in the area.
The next interesting stop was the infamous Roy’s Motel, Cafe and gas station. Just about the most interesting thing in Amboy with it’s population of 4. It’s one of the few stops on the historic Route 66 and is the hometown of Charles Manson. If you don’t know who that is please ask google not really someone I want to write about for more than a few sentences.
Roy’s now the main attraction in Amboy was a popular pit stop in 1938 on what was once Route 66. It has also been in a number of movies and music videos. I saw it in Beneath the Dark directed by Chad Feehan a 2010 film that has a couple stay in it only to experience a strange purgatory where you can’t leave without dealing with your past regrets. I personally was happy to get a bottle of water, take a picture and move on.
When arrived at our main destination the Grand Canyon I felt tears form and my heart pound as I saw the shale, sandstone and granite temples in the distance. We stopped took some pictures and marveled at the wonder of the Grand Canyon before getting on the red line bus that would take us to Hermit’s Rest.
The site of one of Mary Colter’s 4 buildings that she designed at the Grand Canyon while she was the chief architect and interior designer for the Fred Harvey Company between 1902 and 1948. Hermits Rest is a rustic building built from stones and timber from the area. It was originally a rest stop for travelers on the Santa Fe Railroad on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
After a little exploring we stopped hoping to eat at the El Tovar Hotel a hotel built in 1905 and designed by architect Charles Whittlesey. This rustic yet elegant hotel was once considered one of the most luxurious hotels west of the Mississippi. However we arrived in the late afternoon when it is busy from the numerous tour buses. We opted for a handful of trail mix and pizza later when we leave the park.
The following day we explored the Bright Angel Trail. It is a narrow trail that takes you down the Canyon. We did not go all the way down but did follow it enough to go through an archway and to get a view of the Canyon looking up. We also kicked a few poos as it is the same Trail that people ride mules on.
When we made it back from Bright Angel Trail we went to lunch at the El Tovar Hotel. Our table was advantageously located near one of the windows with prominent views of the canyon.
We enjoyed a delicious harvest salad that included squash, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. They had a sensible children’s menu and my drink had a cherry with two stems. I suppose that’s lucky.
Our modish last adventure was a trip to Bedrock.
A theme park fashioned after the early 1960’s animated show the Flintstones. It is about $8 to get it has a giant dinosaur slide and a stucco town made to look like the retro prehistoric town in the cartoon. It is in disrepair and has graffiti on some of the attractions but worth checking out because who knows if it will be around much longer.
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