The Hole Is More Than The Sum Of Its Parts
"The river cuts its way through stone Not through sheer force but persistence At the end of the day the relentless always win" - 311
With our crime spree behind us, we followed the desert sun to our next destination; Arizona, the Grand Canyon State. As a kid I was always jealous of the families like the Griswolds, families that would go on long road trips to all of the national parks and monuments our country has to offer. Oh, how I wished to be in a car with bags strapped to the top, driving from state to state, staying in dozens of roadside motels. I remember asking my mother once if we could visit the Grand Canyon. Her response was, "I've been there before; it's just a big hole." That pretty much sums up her attitude toward most things in life, at least from my perspective. There was never anything worth doing or worth seeing. She had experienced all that life had to offer, and her constant message to me was that none of it was worth exploring on my own.
The very first time I visited the Grand Canyon, I was 19 years old. It was a merciless 114 degrees outside, and I was a spoiled California girl whose idea of a sweltering day was 80 with a light breeze. Our visit was brief; we parked, walked to the first lookout, spent about five minutes there, and then returned to the car to head home. I didn't have enough time to wrap my head around what I saw. I didn't have enough time to let my body adjust to the heat. I left feeling like maybe my mom was right; it was just a big hole. During our drive, I shared this experience with George. I let him know how excited I was to experience it with him, and perhaps this time, see more than just a hole. After nightfall, we arrived in Williams, a small tourist town just south of the Grand Canyon. The faint outline of pine trees lined the dark sky surrounding the Rodeway Inn on the historic Route 66. With taxes, the room was just $61! If you've never stayed at a Rodeway Inn, they're part of the Choice Hotels family, and with very minimal amenities, usually the least expensive. That said, the rooms' quality and style can vary wildly from one Rodeway Inn to the next. Sometimes you'll get a room with comforters that look like they've been there since the 1960s, bathrooms with large caulk-filled gaps in the shower walls, and carpets covered with a solid layer of stickiness. Other times you get lucky, like we did, and have an adorable room with wood floors, modern furniture and lighting, crisp white sheets, and a sparkling, brand-new-looking bathroom. Best of all, there was a parking space right outside our door. The cold mountain winds had picked up, so the warm room, which hadn't had the air conditioning on, felt good. As usual, we settled into the room, sprawling out on the bed and scanning our phones for nearby food. It turns out that if you're hungry in Williams, Arizona after 9 pm, your only option is Carl's Jr., so we took our stale fries and soggy burgers back to our room and watched Impractical Jokers while we ate (something we always like to do while we eat). The following day, with plenty of sunscreen and water, we were ready to spend the day at Grand Canyon National Park. We wanted to have a real breakfast before heading out, so we decided on Goldies Route 66 Diner, a cute, old-fashioned diner with metal walls, red vinyl stools, and lots of crazy crap on the walls. When we walked in, we quickly noticed that the place was packed, and none of the workers were wearing masks, so we immediately walked out. We are obviously risk-takers, but that was too much of a risk. We settled instead for drive-through McDonalds, and I guess they knew I was planning to document this trip on the interweb because everything tasted fresh. We ate our food in the car with cascading mountains in view and watched as birds scoured the parking lot for McScraps. The drive to the canyon was beautiful. Pine trees and mountains lined the road, and the sky was bright blue. The main parking area was crowded with visitors from all over the country. Every car had a license plate from a different state. We gathered our water bottles, put on our face masks, and headed out. The sun immediately beat down upon us as if we owed it money—a drastic difference from the casual 75 degrees in Williams. The area was swarming with tourists taking selfies and Instagram aficionados desperately trying to get that perfect, effortless-looking shot. We, of course, took our pictures as well. Let's get one thing straight; everyone should see The Grand Canyon in person. None of the pictures I took come close to its reality. It's been said that there will never be a picture of The Grand Canyon that truly captures its beauty, and it's because it's not beautiful, it's breathtaking. It is so awe-inspiring that it literally takes your breath away, along with the ability to come up with words worthy of describing it. We walked hand-in-hand along the rim trail until the noise of the crowds faded. We sat for a while, and George told me there was nowhere else in the world he would rather be. Something he would continue to repeat throughout our journey. After walking a bit more, filling our water bottles with Roaring Springs water, and a quick stop at the souvenir shop, we were headed back to the car. We had spent just over four hours exploring the canyon, and it was time to continue our adventure. Initially, we planned to return to Williams to rest before heading to Los Angeles, but since it was just a little past 4 pm, we decided to spontaneously break up the long drive with a pit stop in Las Vegas. As we headed further west, a canopy of clouds gathered in the sky, and the warm sunny day turned into a cool misty evening.
