Breakfast is probably the most disappointing point in Hospitality Suite Resort, Scottsdale: Scrambled Eggs may be no true egg, potato fritters with no taste and yet the inside is thawed, children´s French toast tastes as the wafer mass from yesterday and for the two croissants, which I selected I, a Frenchman would immediately alert the embassy to prohibit the attribution. But the waitress wears a 40 cm tall hat with stars and stripes - it is Independence Day.
Enough of Phoenix - we make a left north bound. First, the Highway plowes through the desert landscape of southern Arizona. Little vegetation, few meters high cactusses and occasionally you see that trailer parks or the poor living scales with wrecked cars in front of the door cannot only be seen in independent road movies.
Nearby to the road is Montezuma Castle (http://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm), which is in reality a buliding inserted in a rock wall in the construction of the Sinagua Indians. I save $ 5 admission because the building can be viewed only from the outside anyway. Pretty and interesting, but nothing special, so the summarized comments half an hour later.
The landscape is geeting green and then pine forests appear. At the gas station, we discover, however, an approximately 10-meter-high tree that is made of metal and plastic. Why you leave such a thing for a lot of money in the landscape, can only be answered by Americans.
Our Dodge consumes 11 to 12 liters per 100 km at 120 km / h average speed. The highest, which I had him ever faster, was about 140 km/h or 90 mph and then in my mind I see the sheriff already leaping from behind the bush.
After about three hours net drive, we arrive at Canyon Resort Plaza. The ticket for the Grand Canyon, we can buy at the reception; the American charge, typically enough, the prices not per person, but by car.
My nervousness rises - the big highlight is close now. The incomparable, by the mere sight human life-changing wonder of the world - in effect a reverse Medusa. Made out of stone itself, it nourishes the viewer through the mere look and changes his life with new insights and perspectives. So it is basically told at least by the movie LA Story with Steve Martin and by our DVD-Guide, I have consumed at home. No small expectation, then, as I am on my way from the parking lot and already see the first glimmer of rock layers through the trees.
And it comes, as it had to: I am more disappointed than taken when the Canyon shows up really. The colors are faded like a delicate watercolor, the air hazy and the distance to the North Rim is very far.
At least I'm not alone. Only Mia seems enthusiastic and all the Americans, Japanese and Chinese seem to see the natural wonder in any case only as a photo background. Hardly anyone I notice is lingering longer than a few seconds looking at the most famous canyon in the world. And the view is still impressive and it is even more when we take a little walk. The exposed rock layers alternate between red, green, brown and ocher, the forms are sometimes bizarre. Even two small rock windows we can discover.
The hotel concierge suggested the plan that in-between we should have dinner and then after a 30 minutes walk watch sunset at 7:50 clock. The restaurant turns out contrary to our expectations as a prestigious address with name entry in the table order and $ 140 bill for four main courses, a beer and two cola (I stick with ice water). The salmon and the duck are fine, but the Chicken Cordon Bleu is - to stay polite - not worth mentioning and the vegetable side dishes with carrots and broccoli were obviously encouraged only to dive in hot water only for a few seconds before they hopped on the plate in horror from such treatment. The hardest working one seems to be the air conditioning, so the food cools down within a minute to about 15 degrees Celsius.
Despite the minimum cooking time for the vegetables these pieces of culinary art take so long that we no longer manage the way back in time and the sunset, which takes place 15 minutes before the announced time, we try to admire in front of the restaurant. Try, because - as I already should have known by my rudimentary geometric knowledge - at the moments of sunset only a few sunrays fall into a more than 1000 meters deep gorge and so already four fifths of the canyon are in deep shadow. Thus darkens my mood parallel and simultaneously to the rock formations and we take back the shuttle bus that takes 45 minutes what is a about the tome what walking for 3 km would require.
But we make it virtually on-the-second back to the traditional Independence Day parade in the village. This is evidently rural style: Dad has adorned the pick-up with light garlands and draws his children in a decorated trailer, from which they inject water into the audience and shout "God Bless America". Strangely, the Baptist church is involved in this make-people-wet-ritual with an own car. In between you can see sheriff and fire department cars with lights flashing and siren, the ENT doctor to treat certainly occurred sudden deafness I can not see. But it also has its own charm - especially when one looks into the faces of children.
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