4 May 2012 - Route 66 to Grand Canyon West

I didn't realize part of the route I'd be driving to Grand Canyon West, was the old Route 66. I was delighted when I saw these signs along the side of the road:

IF DAISIES ARE
YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER
KEEP PUSHIN’ UP
THOSE MILES PER HOUR.

YOU CAN DRIVE
A MILE A MINUTE
BUT THERE IS NO
FUTURE IN IT.

TRAIN APPROACHING
WHISTLE SQUEALING
PAUSE, AVOID THAT
RUNDOWN FEELING.

THE BLACKENED FOREST
SMOULDERS YET
BECAUSE I FLIPPED
A CIGARETTE.

SLOW DOWN, PA
SAKES ALIVE
MA MISSED SIGNS
FOUR AND FIVE.

I didn't see this one on the road, but, for some reason, I remember it from my childhood:

DON'T STICK YOUR ELBOW
OUT TOO FAR
IT MAY GO HOME
IN SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR.
BURMA SHAVE

Do you remember the days of Smoky the Bear, when the government was trying to convince smokers to quit throwing their cigarettes out their car windows, because they were starting forest fires? (And it seemed like everyone smoked.)

I've been wanting to walk on the Skywalk, the "glass bridge" over the Grand Canyon, ever since I heard they were building it, so I'm glad I did it. But I was disappointed. First, because the artist's rendering of the imagined bridge showed that it went out into the canyon much further than it actually does. Second, I imagined that you would be able to see down into the bottom of the canyon from the glass bridge; you can't. Third, it was expensive ($80, part for "admission to the Hualapai tribal lands" and the remainder for the skywalk itself). There is a distinct contrast between the South Rim and Grand Canyon West. Part of that is the cost. Part of that is the difficulty of reaching the west rim, including an eight-mile "primitive road" that I had to drive at about 8 mph in my rig because of the washboard and ruts. I imagine that Grand Canyon West is the way the South Rim was, a few years back. There are more fences and barricades at the South Rim. But the primary difference, aside from the the massive number of people who visit the South Rim, is the constant sound of helicopters taking off and flying in and over the canyon. It certainly detracted from the experience, for those of us not flying in the helicopters. The tour guides at Grand Canyon West also mentioned criticisms of the other location, which I felt was in bad form. Finally, the canyon is much wider, and much deeper, and more impressive, in the national park.

The best parts of the experience: The drive through the Joshua Tree forest was delightful. I did enjoy watching a couple of Hualapai dancers (though their dance is the simplest of all the native dances I've seen, mostly just rocking back and forth, and I didn't appreciate the unprofessional, insolent, attitude of the gourd rattler). And I enjoyed seeing the western part of the Grand Canyon, including especially Eagle Point [photo above], which looks like the head, shoulders, and outspread wings of an eagle (with a little imagination).