The Vacation - Day 2

Sunrise & Is that Legal?

Being on East coast time still the next morning, I was wide awake at about quarter till 4. Yes in the AM. Some folks had mentioned getting up to see the sun rise at about 5:30 so I figured I had plenty of time to see it. But here's the problem. It was pitch black. I couldn't turn on a light and read for fear of waking Andy. I couldn't turn on the TV for the same reason. I didn't want to lay back down and sleep for fear of sleeping through the whole thing. What to do....I stumbled through the room and discovered that the backlighting on my phone make a terrific flashlight. It's very BLUE. That entertained me for a little while and at about 4:45 I went outside and sat on the wall trying to see any light. As I was waiting, with my pjs and sweater on (yes, it does get cold there. Just in the mornings.) Andy's dad and brother walked by. So we all sat around waiting for it to get lighter and trying to figure out the best place to view the sunrise. They figured the best place to see it was on the point that you can only get to through the gift shop. The gift shop of course being closed at five in the morning, Dad found a place where the wall was low and the ground was high and went for it. Over the edge, through the bushes, over some rocks, and a horrifying tree branch snap later he was out. Penn took an easier and scarier looking route around the walls and windows of the gift shop. I stood up top and took pictures for a minute and then ran back and woke Andy up. "Sweetie wake up or you'll miss the sunrise. And your family is breaking the law." Waking up a little startled Andy came outside and said "Where are they?" He waved, they waved, then he proceeded to climb down pointing out that there was no sign saying you couldn't. The sun was getting close to popping, and I didn't want to miss it, so I went down the hill too. Got some lovely pictures, and it was fun. By the time we were climbing back out though it was already well on it's way to warm outside.

Spider, Snake, Ladybug, Scorpion!

After breakfast we all set out for a fun filled day, starting with an IMAX movie. Secrets of the Canyon. In which we learned that the Grand Canyon is indeed the secret to world peace. Aside from this groundbreaking news, we also learned about the different types of animals that live in the canyon. Behind us somewhere was a 3 year old girl narrating. OOH a spider. A snake. A catepillar. A this point a millipede came on screen. OOOHH what's that? A ladybug. Then what we thought would be the stumper...a scorpion. Except to our utter amazement we heard...Oh a scorpion! You're not supposed to touch those! We all but died.

Sunglasses, duh!

So after leaving the theatre we all got ready to go out to the Meteor Crater. But as I blinked in the bright sunlight I realized I had sunglasses when I came in and now didn;t have them. I tried running back to the door we came out of. Locked. Up to the front. Long line and no ushers. Ticket counter. No one's turned anything in. Hmmm. I turned around and there was Andy holding my sunglasses. They'd starting letting people into the theatre while I was checking at the ticket booth and he got them from the usher. My hero!

The Quest of a Lifetime

The Meteor Crater is a very cool place. Andy's dad has been promising to take him and his brothers since he was little so this was a long awaited event. The thing is immense. It's also in the MIDDLE of the desert and was very very hot. It was 112 degrees that day and we got there about 1:30. Time for a quick bite at the snack bar and a perusal of the gift shop. The last tour of the day started at 2:15 and off we went.

Gabby the Guide

Our guide around the meteor crater was very enthusiastic. She liked the crater. I would even venture to say that she loved the crater. And she knew her schtick and knew it well. We learned all about the crater, conjectures on how it was made. The scorpions that lived just off the edge of the clearly marked path. The movies that were filmed there. The plots of the movies that were filmed there. Did I mention there was no shade and it was about 112?

The Mall

On the way back we decided to split up. Half of us went back towards the canyon with plans to pick up supplies for our hike the next day, the rest went on to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. I was in the group that went back so you'll have to check out Andy's page for description and pictures of the rocks that used to be trees. On the way back to the canyon we stopped at THE mall in Flagstaff to pick up various sundries, including a book for me to devour on the way back home. While I was there it really struck me how much alike things are all over America. I mean sure you've got your regional chains, damned if I could find a Piggly Wiggly any where north of the Mason-Dixon line. But over all stuff is pretty much alike, except for the local weather and scenery. I still haven't figured out whether this is comforting or very very depressing.

Food for me?

When we got back I decided to finish off my first book and dig into my second and wait until Andy got back so we could eat dinner together. At about 8:30 I gave up since my stomach thought it was 11:30 PM anyway. But what to eat? I didn't want to buy the $30 snacks at the gift shop and I didn't want to go to the restaurant and sit alone. Hmmmm. The happy compromise seemed the bar since I knew they served appetizers, but could I get them to go? Would that be gauche? Especially since I didn't want anything alcoholic as well? I thought I'd give it a try and at worst I'd sit at the bar alone eating. When I got there it was pretty much empty and I checked with the bar-tender if I could get the appetizers to go. No problem! Of course the ones I wanted, garlic bread and spinach-artichoke dip involved messy liquids. Hmmmmm. The bar-tender went back into the kitchen and 5 minutes later showed up with two boxes and two large dixie cups with lids. Hurrah! I love this place!