Day 14 - Man its hot!

Well as expected it was basically one of the worst night sleeps we have all ever had! Not only was it just really uncomfortable lying on rocks and twigs in the dirt but it got freezing cold which i knew would happen but not that bad. We were all just tossing and turning all night, people we were walking past us a few feet from our heads and when i woke at 6am i just went and sat in the car for an hour to un-freeze my poor old toes! Soon after George and Sam got up and sat in the car for a short while before we all got ourselves ready to go do a massive hike, lovely. But really we were all excited about it. We popped to the grocery store first and bought some supplies for dinner, packets of tuna called "Chicken of the sea" for some weird reason to make sarnies and one of the best things ever, trail mix. Its just peanuts, raisins, nuts and M n M's.So good and they give you energy. 

Changing our minds last night we decided to not hike the south kaibab since we couldn't go to the bottom because i have done it loads before and went for the Bright Angel trail which unlike the south Kaibab has water stops every 1.5 miles. After a little bit of confusion trying to find the start of the trail we set off at around 9.30am. It was already 34 degrees. We set a steady pace overtaking people on the busy trail. Going down is easy its just coming back up thats tiring. We made it to the first checkpoint and plowed on straight to next one where we tucked into some sarnies and trail mix. After a quick break we set off again. We couldn't really go to far down because we couldn't camp down there sadly, and Sam said he didn't feel comfortable going down and back up in one day as he hasn't done all that much hiking which was the right decision anyways, i don't think any of us would probably have done without alot of stress and pain. However we said that we would get reservations and sort it out to come back in a few weeks. 

Making it 4.5 miles down at the "Indian Garden" we took a break in the shade for 45 minutes and ate our dry stinky sarnies. It was so much hotter down here as the lower you go the hotter it gets.

We set off back towards the rim, immediately realising the difference in difficulty. We plowed on up taking rests in the shade. It was hilarious. Every so often you could here Sam saying " Wow, i am never eating Domino's pizza again!" and George shouting at himself for smoking during his time in york " I have the lungs of a 13 year old girl!". But neither of them do much hiking so it was a bloody good effort.

 Just before the top some big american guy was walking with his 9 year old girl when he let out a huge long fart as if no one was around then starting blaming the girl. Bad man. We reached the top at around 3.20pm and gave eachother a little pat on the back. Some enthusiatic guy from Chicago agreed to take our photo so we all gave a tired smile.

After we got back into the car/sauna and on the road heading to one of, if not my favourite place, Flagstaff AZ. I lived there for 3 months when i did my volunteer work out here. Its just a picturesque place full of laid back, bohemian characters where you can find a place to do pretty much any sport you would like, surrounded by mountains and hot girls riding old fashioned bikes.If there's a heaven then that's mine. 

We pulled into town early evening and noticed a motel downtown so pulled in there. Wasn't a bad price. We  were all quite tired from the hike so got showered and went out to a place i lived in when i was here "NiMarco's pizzeria". Its so good and huge pizza slices. We all got a "13 pizza each and tucked in, it was just as amazing as i recalled. 

Our eyes were growing heavier by the minute so we drove back round to the motel. Lying down was just amazing, our legs were aching from the hike so we just laid and watched tv all night. Not exciting but we needed to get an early night after last nights terrible excuse of a sleep. 

Day 13 - Oh my god that's high!


What a way to wake up, apart from a slight hangover. The sun was shining bright at 6.30 when we woke. It was a good way to come round listening to the waves. It was to bright to go back to sleep so we got up and packed our stuff away and headed up the hill to the car. The car by now is an absolute tip! so we chucked our stuff in and got going, all a little nervous about this jump which we all HAD! to do.
Crossing a bridge you could see the jump we were going to do and it looked even higher then we had remembered. Changing into our swim shorts we made our way up to the top of the cliff and looked down. I knew going first was the best as ive done it before. Once someone has gone before you can see how high it is as the person in the water looks so small, however if you go first its just water, if that makes sense. So i scrambled to the top, took one look and launched off it. It was ridiculous! I landed after what seemed an age in the air and realized i had a nose bleed from the pressure of the water shooting up my nose. The adrenaline was amazing. Corny but really felt alive! I sat in the water looking up at the petrified faces of them two when suddenly Sam came leaping off with a face full of fear screaming bad words. He smashed down and came up laughing which was a relief. Now George remained peering down at us trying to settle his nerves. He vanished from sight for a few seconds then appeared, leaping off and letting out the most feminine scream before hitting the water. It was hilarious. We swam round and climbed back up the rocks which was scary itself and decided to do it again and video it which made it even worse as the pressure was on. We had to do it as the camera was rolling. George let out another fantastic yelp on his way down which cracked us up again, Sam some more bad language and i did the same which my mam wont be happy about, sorry mam. I have tried and tried to upload the videos onto here but its not letting me but they are on my Facebook so hopefully this link will work if your bothered.
https://www.facebook.com/sam.barron2/photos

Having the hangover absolutely smashed out of us we headed to McDonald's to get a coffee and sat in the carpark with some sarnies we bought from Walmart the day before.
After filling ourselves up we hit the road heading for the Grand Canyon! No big deal! By far the best morning so far. It was a lovely drive there through the pine trees and little traffic. We were heading for a place called "Desert view" inside the park which cost us $25 to get into which was annoying but well worth it. I worked in the the canyon 2 years ago and completely fell in love with it. I couldn't wait to see Sam and Georges face when they saw it because i remember what i was like. They loved it obviously! It was amazing. There is a tower you can go to the top of which gives you an amazing panoramic view. The river looked beautifully pristine way down in the distance.

We spent a good hour taking it in and set off to try get ourselves into the village campsite. We were unsuccessful. It was so busy and completely full. He showed us a campsite just outside the park. He also informed us you need to reserve a camp spot at the bottom of the canyon to camp there which we hadn't done, so the plan to hike to the bottom tomorrow and camp had gone out the window. Feeling a little cheesed off its got to be said we headed to this campsite which luckily wasn't far at all. They had space but were charging $26 a tent which is ridiculous, so we decided to just put the one tent up. This didn't take long and we went to go get some dinner in a Mexican restaurant round the corner.
We chilled out for a short while but soon got bored so headed back into the park and looked from some of the observation points and then headed over to the South Kaibab trail which i worked on when i was here. We didnt want to do much so we hiked a 1.5 miles down just for a little taster for tomorrow. It really is an amazing place and would say to anyone you have to see it before you die! It just looks fake. We walked back up to the top which is really steep and left us having to stop in the shade for a quick rest.

It was now getting late in the evening so we headed to the overpriced shop to buy some food and then headed over to Yavappi point, a great place to watch the sunset. It was rather busy but we found a little space to sit and watch a truly spectacular sight. The colour's in the sky on the horizon are just crazy. My camera really does not do it justice. Everyone cheered and clapped as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon, we are in USA after all. Everyone soon cleared off while we sat for a while. It was brilliant.
It was now about 9pm so we headed back as we

needed a good night sleep for our hike tomorrow. Setting up our camps, Sam with his paper thin roll mat and no pillow, George using his towel to lie on and no pillow and me with a flat roll mat and paper thin sleeping bag, it didn't seem like it was going to be the most relaxing night we have ever endured.

Day 12 - 3 states 


Well i havent been able to carry on the blog lately due to us camping and doing more outdoor activities so i am writing this trying my best to remember what happened a few days ago, so i will do my best.

We woke quite early and headed down for a quick swim in the indoor pool. Then once the 40st women left we got into the Jacuzzi to simmer in her leftover juices. With some time to spare we went headed over to get some breakfast in the dining room which was really busy. It wasn't bad but yet more plastic egg and bacon. Coffee's always good though. The storm from last night had clearly passed as we headed back onto the road  in the bright sunshine. The road was now taking us north west on lonely open roads through the orange wasteland. We began to enter the Native Navajo territory passing what basically looked like slums. It really is quite depressing around there. We stopped at McDonalds where George sampled his first beef in two years! We were definitely the minority around here and you could sense it. The locals didnt seem to fond of us but it didnt come as a surprise as last time i was here i was always told that alot of the Navajo natives havent forgiven the white man for taking over there America. 
We got back on the open, very open road again and crossed over the border into Arizona en-route to Monument Valley which is on the border with Utah. The journey there was absolutely spectacular. Horizons as far as the eye could see then sudden massive red rocks  touching the sky in the distance, it was amazing. We drove past a random group of donkeys just stood in the middle of the road, and lots and lots of roadkill.
Arriving at around 1pm we payed $5 each to get into the park and short drive later to the visitor centre we were awarded with an epic view. Wide open orange landscapes with nothing but a few enormous rocks. You cant really appreciate it until you are there, the photos dont really do it justice but we took a few good ones.

All in great moods after seeing such an amazing natural wonder we set off towards lake Powell which i hold memories of the last time i was over here. It didnt take to long and we stopped off at Walmart to buy some food to take to the beach. I was only going off memory to get us to the awesome spot i liked to visit so it was a little confusing, however after leaving walmart it soon became clear and i showed the guys a 40ft jump we have to do in the morning. We all felt a little nervous looking down off the cliff. 

Back in the car we drove a little further round looking down on the lake until we came to the entrance where yet again we paid $5 each to get in and drove on in. It all came back to me quickly and we pulled up in a parking space and grabbed our food and sleeping bags, aswell as a lovely crate of Bud, the main thing!

The beach was free apart from a lovely girl working out in a bikini which we didn't mind, its got to be said. It was around 40 degrees so we went for a dip. It was awesome. It was one of the best nights so far. The hot chick left after about an hour, we ate pasta and drank beers until the stars came out. Thats the one thing i got George and Sam excited about when we were England, the stars. They didnt dissapoint. We saw 10 shooting stars darting across the sky. Billions shone above us as the waves lapped against the shore a few feet from our feet. Perfection. We sipped beers until god knows when and slept like babies. 

Day 11 - $10 for mush! 


Not to much to report today. Sam and George slept in till about 10 so i watched yet more tripe about why we should repent and why we need Jesus in our lives on what seems like every channel over here! It cracks me up. You see so many signs everywhere warning non believers and what not. But enough of that jibberish.
We went down for breakfast which consisted of the worst watery scrambled egg and bacon, yogurts then about 4 cups of coffee, but at least its free. After that we went for a dip in the pool outside. The sun was beating down already.
After showers we set off heading for a place i had found on the internet called "Gecko's bar and grill" to watch England vs Sweden. 20 minutes later we made through the traffic of downtown Albuquerque and luckily found a single space to park up. We payed $2 dollars for 2 hours of parking and headed off round the corner. On the way round i was stopped by a guy who asked me " do you support gay rights?" which i answered "yes". He then went on to give me more and more info about what hes doing and why i should support the cause even though i said i had to get going, but as some people know i literally cannot just walk off, i feel to bad. So 10 minutes later he finally came to it. "So since you support gay rights will you sign up for a donation from your bank of $30 a month to help us get equal rights?" Once i told him 3 times that i would think about it but i had to get going he didn't seem quite the friendly chap that he once did when after my money.
We got round the corner to the bar and sat down where the end of the other match was on the tv. The woman behind the bar immediately asked for our ID's. I said i was having lemonade but that wasnt good enough so we had to leave. We tried next door which had a bigger screen and better seats and they sat us straight down so was for the best anyways.
The game kicked off and after 20 minutes we scored and ii managed to contain my scream. We had some food at half time and prepared for the second half. Just at the start they scored which wiped my smile away, and then again which made me actually want to cry. But with 20 minutes to go walcott scored a corker. I couldn't contain myself this time and jumped screaming by myself which echoed round the bar, met by shocked looks from the yanks in the bar. I apologized to everyone and sat back down, only to do the exact same thing 10 minutes later when Welbeck scored. It finished with an England win which made me very very happy.
We were 20 minutes over our parking meter so payed our bill and ran to the car. On the move again we were heading to Gallup. Once there we were going to heading directly north to the top left corner of New Mexico where we would enter Arizona and visit monument valley. However once we arrived at Gallup it was half past 5, thunder storm over head and big towns north for a good 100 miles so we decided to call it a day. It wasnt really a town but more of a strip of commercial fast food restaurants and big hotels. We checked a few hotels which were really pricey until we found the cheapest one "The sleep inn". I went in to check and think we just ended up here because i instantly turned into a little school boy when the amazing receptionist tried to sell the place to me. She was amazing. We settled a price and took our bags upstairs to our huge big room. From that point until we went out for food at about 8pm i sat there thinking of things to go ask her or things i needed downstairs to just walk past her. It was pathetic! But i couldn't help myself!
Driving down the road looking for food we found one place that was a restaurant and not a fast food place in about 2 miles so decided to give it a try. It looked really grubby from the start when we entered. The lady sat us down. 2 minutes later there we native american people coming past every 2 seconds trying to sell bracelets and earrings which i thought was weird. Never seen that over here before.
I argued with myself over chicken enchiladas or fish and chips, going for the first one in the end. Worst decision of the trip so far. When she put it down it looked absolutely awful. Im not a picky eater at all but wow. You could tell it had just been bunged in the microwave for 2 minutes. Half the plate was filled with some sort of brown sauce, still with skin on the top. And the wraps were soggy. God it made my stomach turn eating it but i ate most of it just not to be rude. George and Sam were loving the fish and chips which they offered me which was nice of them.
We made a quick escape and headed back to the hotel. The pool and Jacuzzi was open till 11 so we sat in there for an hour which was good as i nailed my back at the lake the other day so it felt good. We took one last look at the receptionist and headed off to bed.
P.S, sorry for no pictures. None taken!

Day 10 - Gina you Slut!


So had a great night sleep last night in our 50's motel, so comfortable. We all got showered and packed up at around 7.30 and headed over to the motel owners espresso shop to get some coffee that she said would be amazing. And she wasn't lying! It was the best coffee we all agreed we have ever had, not sure how but was awesome. We waved goodbye to her and took some tips of places to visit which we appreciated.
We headed straight to this place we had heard about which was called Blue Hole. It was about an hours drive and the temperature was on the rise constantly which was good. Once we got there we were told the disappointing news that the it wasnt going to be accessible to the public for a few hours as it was getting some work done on it. This was so frustrating as it was now 38 degrees and we melting. It looked absolutely amazing. It was basically just a huge 80ft deep whole that was filled with the most pristine clear water, surrounded by small cliffs to jump off. Paradise!

Someone mentioned a lake nearby we quickly found so we played there for a while instead. That was still really fun. It had a diving board and slides. I couldn't help but think about the people who just live near here and think how lucky they are. 40 degree heat and lakes everywhere to go in, and then i think of Newton Aycliffe in England. There is just no comparison! It soon became very crowded when about 20 school buses pulled up and lots of kids came screaming out. I was about anyways as i nearly broke my finger catching an american football. Its really bruised now and hurts but its not broken which is good. 

We decided to go get some food to pass some of the time. The place we choose was another little route 66 gem. It was actually called route 66 restaurant. Every inch of the walls inside were covered with route 66 memorabilia and the it the furniture hadn't been changed since the 1970's. Had so much character. It was thursday which was apparently burger special day so it would be rude not to. George carried on smashing the meat and Sam stuck to his veggie. I don't know how he does it when there is so much choice. For a tasty huge meal it was really cheap. We took a few pictures outside and went back to try our look at the Blue Hole.

Arriving at the Blue Hole again we were told that the hole wasnt going to be open for a good few hours again so we just decided to knock it on the head, as hard as it was! 

We got back on the mother road and began a 2 drive to Albuquerque. Driving through the town we were looking for a motel but everyone we seemed to go past looked like a drugs den. It was strange driving along, there was a strange atmosphere around that none of us could explain. We decided to check one motel that looked the best of a bad bunch. We were stood at the little booth waiting for the guy to tell us how much for 2 beds who could speak no english when suddenly some guy in a football top, baseball cap and swaggering about carrying some sort of drink appeared from his room shouting " Gina you SLUT!!" as he unloaded things from his pickup truck. George and i looked at eachother and decided to get the hell outta there. 

We kept driving around looking for somewhere to stay but couldnt find anywhere. It was a really rough part of town and everyone just seemed to looked like a gangster or drug dealer. We all thought it would be best to pay a little more for a hotel so we could sleep a little easier. This ended up taking us downtown anyways which was really handy. As we made our way towards the hotel things seemed to get a little nicer. We checked into the Hotel Blue for $30 each which wasnt a bad price at all. The hotel room is really nice and overlooks downtown. It has a pool which we shall be hitting in the morning before our complementary breakfast. 

We headed out at about 8pm all fancying pizza and found a place not to far from the hotel. It was a proper Italian restaurant and you could tell that in the pizza's we got, best in USA so far in my opinion. We decided that we would have a quick walk downtown to see if there was anywhere to get a beer. We didn't get that far really as it really just felt dodgy and like there was a bad atmosphere. Cars were cruising past slowly with music blaring, windows down and rough looking Mexican guys just staring at us. It was just all a little bit weird. Strange as it was probably fine but we just didn't feel comfortable. Family Guy was on the t.v which will do us nicely tonight anyways after a long day of swimming and what not, but a beer fueled night is certainly got to be on the cards soon, but my age seems to proving quite a problem at the moment. Roll on the 1st of July. England play tomorrow again so i better go as i have energy to scream at the TV for 90 minutes! Come on !!!

Day 9 - Welcome to the West

Well we survived the storm. I have never seen rain come down like that and so fast. You wouldn't have even known there had been a storm in the morning though, blue skies and the sun shining. We packed up and went out for some breakfast. We found a Denny's which have been meaning to go to since the start of the trip so we could nail some pancakes. We all got pancakes and eggs, hash brown. George who has postponed his vegetarianism while we are here even smashed down some sausages, cant stop him now. Sam is sticking to his guns and had pancakes and eggs. Our entertainment was guessing the gender of the waiter/waitress. We are still none the wiser.
 It was amazing stuff.
Feeling absolutely stuffed we headed off to a place we had read about called "Palo Duro Canyon" directly south of Amarillo. Didnt take long to get there and we quickly got changed as we saw you do a small 1.5 mile hike down into the canyon. We set off enjoying the scenery and the sheer heat, was around 35 degrees now and not a cloud in the sky. The canyon was really good. A much smaller version of the grand canyon but still good practice for when we get there in a few days. It was immediately feeling more like the scarce wild west which we had set out to see. Walking down the trail past cactus and dry shrubs we started to see lots of lizards scuttling around the rocks. We were about half a mile down when i noticed the most amazing little lizard i have ever seen. It was bright turquoise and a little bigger than the other ones and stood out on the rocks. I chased it through some rocks until i could sneak up on it and got a great picture of the little fella. It was fantastic. Sat still and posed for me.
We got to the bottom, refilled water and then started the journey back up. It was quite steep and still very hot so when we reached the top we were quite sweaty.

After a quick rest we popped back past Amarillo where Sam bought some books and then headed west again to try find a place i've been looking forward too since the beginning, Cadillac Ranch. Its basically a bunch of Cadillac's put upside down into the ground and put in a row in the middle of a empty field. Might not sounds good but it was really really cool. There was cans of paint left around so you can leave your own mark on them, which we did.

After cleaning layers of mud off our feet from the field we got back on the road and heading for a town we read about called Tucarmari, over the border into New Mexico. There was a motel called the Blue Swallow with an amazing sign thats mentioned in our route 66 book. We tried there but it was all booked up sadly, it looked amazing but they recommended another motel down the road. Turns out it was just a huge strip with lots of motels and restaurants. The one we ended up in was called the "Historic route 66". It was amazing. Best motel so far.It was only $49 for all 3 of us and it had so much character and charm. It was like walking into the 1950's when you entered the room. I suppose best of all it was just so clean as well. Outside under the motel sign there was a huge plane just sitting there. So random, only on route 66.

We had a walk down the street to a nearby restaurant "Del's" which turned out to be the best meal of the trip so far. I had steak covered in jalapeno sauce and cheese with jacket potato, with soup and salad to start. Was fantastic. George had chicken fajitas which he loved and Sam veggie quessadillas which he equally loved so turned out to be a good choice. We bought some beers and went back and sat outside the motel. It was still really warm. The woman who owned the motel with her husband came past and we ended up chatting for a good hour about everything from politics in the UK and USA to her getting punched in the face by guests. She was a really nice lady, but we never did get her name. Probably see her in the morning for breakfast as she runs and espresso shop also. Gotta get to bed as we getting up early to go find some Blue lagoon place.

Day 8 - Steers and Queers

Another night survived in a run down motel. Relatively quiet really apart from the guy above us. It was another really humid night. I woke at around 7.30am and stayed awake because i was so uncomfortable in bed due to the fact my bed sheets were literally wet from me sweating in the night. George and Sam slept in today untill 9.30am so i laid in my own sweat reading my Bear Grylls book.

After packing up we set off at around 11am for some brekfast/dinner. We drove past a old fashioned diner in downtown Oklahoma so parked up and headed in. We got yet more sandwichs, pretty much all we have had other than burgers. It kinda annoyed us that the girl on the till when we ordered printed off our receipts and gave us a pen to fill how much we would like to tip. Our arses hadnt even touched a chair and they were wanting tips! Crazy.

We didnt have a massive drive today. We were heading to Amarillo, Texas today. We checked out some of the attractions on the way and decided to check out a Route 66 museum in Clinton, Oklahoma. It was really awesome. It really did feel like we had stepped in to 1950's which i think is the coolest period of time. Everything from the corner dining booth next to the jukebox surrounded by route 66 memorabillia to the vintage cars with Elvis standing next to them. All the while top hits like Elvis himself and Buddy Holly playing in the background. It was also interesting learning about how the people of Oklahoma and surrounding states had to up and leave during the dust bowl due to lack of farming and headed on route 66 to California.
Just outside across the road there was a motel where Elvis would stay regulary in the same room. All in all a good $5 spent. I ended up buying a really cool cup/flask from the gift shop that i love but George and Sam arnt enthusiastic as i am about it.

After stopping for gas and a refill on my favourite drink, Arizona Ice tea, we pressed into Texas. The change in landscape and scenary seemed almost immediate. Everything was suddenly so open, distant plains on the with distant horizons. The sun was back out again. We pulled into to Amarillo at around 5.30pm and quickly found a motel in centre of town. It was $52 for two queen beds and the guy seemed really nice and helpful so we payed up. It is 50 times better than last night. Wi-fi is a big bonus to. The room actually smells nice and clean. It finally time to do some laundry also so we sorted that out, without detergent mind but better than nothing.

After showering we headed into town and ended up in a italian bistro "Eddies". We supped on a few cold Buds which was good. Sam was ready to break his veggie run of 8 months tonight and had a pasta/prawn dish which he didnt really enjoy. They are both trying to break themselves in slowly as it seems the veggie options on the menu's are becoming more and more scarce. I was loving watching them eat meat though for some weird reason. Im gonna get them on the steaks soon. Speaking of steaks we drove past a place today that has the challenge of eating a 72oz steak with chips and salad. If you eat it all in under 60 minutes you get it free, if you dont you pay the bill. I would love to have a go but really dont fancy paying for it. 72oz of cow would be pricey.

After a couple of beers we headed around town looking for somewhere to get a few more but it was literally like a ghost town ! We decided to call it a night at around 10.30pm and maybe just in time. After 10 minutes back in the room cracks of thunder and huge bright flashes every few seconds light up the sky. It was a proper storm. Makes english thunder storms look pathetic. As i write this its still going on now actually. Storm warning keep flashing on the t.v. The rain is absolutely bucketing down. Hopefully our car will still be there in the morning. George is now asleep but Sam and i are watching the news. Warning that flash floods and thunderstorms are going to be ongoing until 4 am. Possibility of tornado's too. I dont know wether to be excited or scared. Either way we shall find out in the morning.