The Grand Canyon, Williams, Arizona and Sedona, Arizona

The Grand Canyon

Ok, so, The Graaaaand Canyon. I totally saw it. Most amazing hole in the earth I have ever put eyeballs on. So, when you go to the Grand Canyon, it takes a bit of effort. You take this two-lane road at 70mph north out of Williams, AZ for about an hour. Getting to Williams is an effort as well, but I can’t explain everything to you people. So, on Route 64 out of Williams going towards the Graaaaand Canyon you’re thinking “damn, I’m about to see the Grand Canyon for the first time. I wondered if it will be cool but not necessarily ‘grand’.”  Then you get to the Graayaayaaraaand Canyon entrance and you’re all excited, but you have to be a little patient because other people want to get in too. THEN, you drive up to the gate and pay the nice lady and she says “just 5 miles ahead”.  JUST 5 MILE TO THE GRAAAAAND CANYON-YON-YON-YON-YON-yon-yon. Then, you have to find a place to park, which takes a bit of time and patience, but it isn’t so bad. Then, you finally get out of your car and find “the path”. At this point you don’t know how long you will be walking on this path through the woods until you hit the canyon.  You just know you will.  And when you finally get though, you will see the Grand Canyon for the first time in your life. Then, after about 5 minutes of walking you notice that the trees ahead are thinning. Then you feel your breath get pulled out of you a little because you start to see it.

So I was walking next to a guy who was also on his first visit. We chatted a bit on the walk up, but were completely silent when we finally saw it. It’s just the most unbelievable site. I think I told him it looks almost fake. He said “I don’t know what it looks like”.  This was my first view of it:

So, there you go. The Grand Canyon. You all heard it’s awesome a long time ago. Jimerica! moving on.

Williams, Arizona

Williams, AZ is a cool little old town. I stayed here because it’s directly between the Grand Canyon and Sedona and I didn’t expect much from the town except for an ideal placement for my travels here. In fact, every town around here seems to call itself “historic” and have some sort of museum to some obscure thing. So, I figured Williams would be more of that. However, it turned out to be a cool little place.  I met some good people here and spent some time at a brewery, The Grand Canyon Brewing Company. So, Williams is worth a visit.

Sedona, Arizona

As you all have no doubt already realized, Jimerica has only one speed. Ludicrous speed. So, when my scheduler, who is me, screwed up my reservation for my next destination, it cost me a day in Sedona. Which meant instead of three days in Sedona, I only had two. But, I was still determined to ride the trails I’d planned for all three days. By the end of the second day of riding in Sedona, I’d spent 9 hours on my bike. I was so exhausted driving back from Sedona that I was taking corners really slow because I was having a hard time holding my body upright in my car. I knew I was sort of over doing it, but the problem is that it’s so beautiful here, and the trails are so fun, that you’re like a little kid fighting sleep because you’re just having so much fun and you don’t want to miss anything. During the two days, I hit “The Hogs”, Chicken Point, and Cathedral Rock. The last part of the Cathedral Rock loop was Hiline Trail, which is an expert course and one I mostly hiked due to my exhausted legs and chicken soul. The trail goes to the top of one of the smaller plateaus of Cathedral Rock. It’s a big climb followed by a thin single track along a sharp drop off. 

Chicken Point

Cathedral Rock

Throughout both days, I kept finding myself just laughing at what I was seeing. You can’t believe your eyes. It’s all so big and beautiful, and the riding is a blast that goes on and on. I didn’t spend much time in the town of Sedona because I really liked Williams for relaxing purposes, but it seemed pretty cool (though crowded).  Finally, if you do visit Sedona make sure you take route 89A into town. I promise it will be one of the most beautiful drives you’ve ever taken (however, if you have a large RV, you’ll have to come in the alternate route I believe). Here are some more shots from my two days riding Sedona:

Danger is Jimerica's Middle Name

OK, so now I’m caught up on my blogging! As I write this, I’m sitting in a Laundromat in Moab, UT. I plan to spend about 5 days here. Moab is considered one of the very best mountain biking destinations on the planet. I will start my first ride in about an hour. I’ll tell you all about the place in a few days. Thanks for reading!