Day 9 (Sun. May 21/06) Grand Canyon

Flagstaff, AZ to Williams, AZ

Flagstaff was a nice town but Williams was better. It was a beautifull day for travelling with lots of sun to keep Pat happy. Riding through the National Monuments (Parks) was a slow easy pace with some nice twisties. We bought a year pass for $50.00 that covers both of us on the bike. This is quite a savings considering The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone are $25.00 each and we will be in lots of smaller ones.

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, AZ
Sunset Crater was quite a site. The pictures don't do it justice. It erupted in 1064. Farmers were forced out of the lands they had cultivated for 400 years. A few generations later they returned to grow crops while the volcano was still active. By the late 1800's new populations settling around Flagstaff were supported by ranching and logging.



Earthquake Measurement
This was cool. They constantly measure for earthquakes. They have a pad on the floor that you can jump on to create an earthquake. I stamped my foot 3 times, each time a little harder and you can see the resultson the monitor in the centre picture.



Bonito Lava Flow
The lava flow is incredible.From a distance, it looks like waves of broken up chocolate cookies that have hardened. On closer examination you can see how porous the pieces are, somewhat like a sponge.



Sunset Crater Vulcano in Cinder Hills
The black mountains are covered in pieces of lava ranging from pieces the size or a car to a fine powder.



Sage Brush (Tumbleweed) Flowers


The Painted Desert is East of Sunset Crater
While in this park, we could look to the east to see the Painted Desert that we had visited yesterday



Wupatki National Monument


Wukoki Ruins
The ruins were enough to show the size of the buildings the made out of pieces of red rock that cover most of the land. It looked like they would build around a very large rock and use it for some of the walls. The pockets in the red rock are from softer minerals that were gradually washed away by what little rain there was.



Snow Capped Mountains


Visitor Center at the Wupatki Ruins


Wupatki Ruins


Desert Vegetation


On the Way to The Grand Canyon National Park, AZ


Grand Canyon National Park, AZ. South Rim



Navajo Point
This was the first lookout point we stopped at. Again, the view is awesome and the pictures don't do it justice. One lookout point was much the same as the others. The canyoun is about 1 mile deep and 60 miles long. All that is allowed in the canyon is some hiking where designated and white water rafting on the river. Yes, there is actually a river with water. One of the few we have seen in the desert.



Lipan Point 7,360 FT


Tusayan Ruins


Moran Point, 7,160 FT


Grandview Point, 7,399 FT


Williams, AZ


Shops across from our motel


Twisters 50's Soda Fountain


Route 66 Diner
Elvis was everywhere, as seen in the old Buick at this diner and girls with poodle skirts.



Pete's Route 66 Gas Station Museum
After settling in for the evening, I went for a walk to take some pictures. Pete's garage was excellent and brough back many memories of my high school days when I worked at Canadian Tire installing tires and batteries. I talked to Pete for quite a while about his collections and the 1950 Ford, an original family car, that he is restoring. My first car was a 1951 Ford.



Daily Stats
328 Kms Ridden
9 Hrs 45 Mins Riding Time
3 Hrs 00 Mins Stopped Time
61.7 Km/Hr Avg Riding Speed

Fuel Used: 19.31 L
Fuel Cost: $17.04 US
Avg Km/L: 15.16