Tucson Bound!

Monday December 15 2008
Flagstaff, AZ

Last night we stayed at the World Famous Grand Canyon Hostel. A big old place with a lot of persona and character. But, boy was it loud. They warn you about the trains, but don’t tell you about the rowdy Germans. Nonetheless, we managed to get some sleep and are now headed south. The weather service predicted 15 -30 inches of snow by 6pm. That’s almost above Mathew’s head. I guess the universe doesn’t want us to see the Grand Canyon…yet. I have put off going to southern Utah and northern Arizona for many years because when I do get there I want to spend some time, perhaps even float down the Green River. Be careful what you wish for, I guess. I was looking forward to seeing the Canyon.

Just south of Prescott (Black Canyon City) we descend below 3000’ and see Saguaro cacti for the first time on their trip. Actually, I don’t think we were going to see any given our original itinerary, so this is a great surprise. We stopped in to see the Montezuma Castle National Monument--ancient cliff dwellings--that ironically had nothing to do with Aztecs or Montezuma. They were crazy to think about living in. Makes you really appreciate a roof and heat. Now on to Tucson……

In Gilbert, AZ we eat at Joe’s Real BBQ. Interesting name that stinks of bad marketing, but the BBQ is fantastic. Not the best (the meat was a tad dry), but the baked beans, habañero sauce, dry rub chicken, rootbeer, and mac and cheese were killer. We get down to Tucson with full bellies and check in to the Roadrunner Hostel. The RR was a stark contrast to the Grand Canyon Hostel: quiet, pleasant, waffles…..and 60 degrees. Lovin southern Arizona. Today, we’ll hit the Saguaro NP and Sonora Desert Museum. Every day is an adventure from here on out.