Day 10: From Route 66 to the Grand Canyon

Before I start today's retrospective, I have to correct an error from yesterday's entry. After opening the wardrobe for the first time this morning in the too large room, I discovered a ironing board and iron hidden behind it. So, the score as of yesterday was 4/5 (80%). But now let's move on to today.

After a very good breakfast, I set off for the 437 km journey from Lake Havasu City (where it had "cooled down" to a mild 35 degrees overnight) to Grand Canyon Village.

So, you already know where today's famous place is leading me, but you have to wait a moment until then. Because before that, there was another highlight on the agenda: a long drive along the famous Route 66. The Route 66 was one of the first highways to connect the East and West of the USA. It runs from Chicago to, as you hopefully already know, Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. The road is no longer passable today, but the section I took today is considered the most beautiful and best-preserved section. Driving along this section is much slower than driving on the interstate, so you only meet very few like-minded people, especially at 9 am. I was practically alone on the first kilometers. The feeling when you leave the car there and only see endless landscapes around you is really indescribable.

My first destination was the town of Oatman, which I should reach after a drive of just under an hour. Although I knew about it, I was still a bit surprised when the main attraction, or rather the main attractions of the town, greeted me already a mile before the city limits:

Wild donkeys.

They deliberately blocked my way and obviously demanded feed as toll. Since I didn't really have anything with me, we had an intense staring contest, which I finally won after what felt like an eternity and the donkeys finally made room for me. Then I continued to Oatman. In addition to other donkeys that could even be petted easily, the town offers 100% Wild West feeling.

The next kilometers led the road steeply and very curvy up a mountain range. It is a road that adapts to nature and was not built through it without regard for losses. From the top of the mountain, there was a beautiful view as a reward.

The next stretch was characterized by prairie-like landscapes. I have never regretted not having a cowboy hat handy as much as in that moment.

After almost 200 unforgettable kilometers, I reached the last stop on Route 66: the town of Seligman. This is considered to be the role model for the town of Radiator Springs from the movie Cars, which is still one of my favorite childhood movies. The film deals with the sad fate of Route 66: when the first interstates were completed in the 1950s and 1960s, many places along Route 66 died due to lack of traffic. This fate also happened to Seligman. The town was revived by the Delgadillo brothers, Juan and Angel, who contributed a lot to the present-day 'Myth of Route 66', which now attracts numerous tourists (including me) to the road again. Juan ran a cult restaurant until his death in 2004. Angel still cuts hair in Seligman. Or at least that's what I thought. Because when I arrived at the salon today, it turned out that he retired just two days ago at the age of 95, after 70 years as a hairdresser. What a coincidence. I try to convince myself that my upcoming arrival hadn't been the reason for this.

Now this section of Route 66 ended and I set off for the remaining 180 km to the Grand Canyon. The landscape changed again and the forest actually made a comeback after a long time.

Then I reached Grand Canyon Village, which is located directly at the Grand Canyon. This time, my hotel consists of many small bungalows. The room is good again, I even have two beds all to myself. The big problem: there is only WiFi in the main building and there is no mobile data either. But more on that later. Oh, and before I forget: even after a long and intensive search, I couldn't find an ironing board and iron this time. So, the new score is 4/6 (67%).

And then finally it was time: after a short walk, I reached the south rim of the legendary Grand Canyon. The sight is truly breathtaking, and the longer you look, the more surreal it seems. It's like a painting, except in real life and without a frame. The depth is particularly impressive, you can only see the Colorado River at a few places, which has carved its way through the layers of rock for millions of years. But I'm talking too much again, the pictures speak for themselves:

And here too, there is animal company again: many tame squirrels demand feed similar to their donkey colleagues. Yes, I am really in Arizona and not in Serengeti Park Hodenhagen.

There is an asphalt path along the canyon to the various viewpoints. Of course, I covered several kilometers again.

After these truly unique impressions, I wanted to go to the main building to write today's report. But the 'WiFi' there is slower than the one at my school back then, and uploading pictures was not even remotely possible. So, I am currently located about 7 km away from my hotel in a parking lot with LTE and I am writing these final words in my car after over 2 long hours. Therefore, I will refrain from a long farewell.

Goodbye

Leart