The road tripping was set off with a journey north up Interstate 17 to a little town called Sedona, about 70 miles north of base camp in Anthem, on the way passing the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is situated slap bang in the middle of the red mountains.
Here amongst the red rock surroundings I learned a valuable lesson about the USA - any food can be turned into a breakfast by adding an egg to it. I know this because whilst in Sedona I had the breakfast pizza on a cafe terrace. It was topped with cheese, chorizo and egg of course.
If you don't believe me, why not try one of the outlets which sell sausage and egg breakfast burritos.
Pizzas and burritos just not stretching the stomach enough for you? Then head to Denny's and order this T-bone steak for breakfast: http://www.dennys.com/en/menu.aspx?menuid=13&parentid=40.
With full bellies from our sit-down in Sedona we continued on up I-17 to a natural water slide. I had no idea what to expect heading up to Slide Rock. I mean I had been told that it was rocky and slidey and that gallons of fun was to be had diving and sliding on the slimey, erm, rocks but with me being more Teddy Grylls than Bear Grylls I was a bit anxious.
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| Slide Rock: too much sun could make your skin look like this |
Alas, my first experience of nature since battering and barbecuing a fish in 2001 couldn't have been more fun. Like an excited lemming I plunged into the freezing water (temperatures were in the high 90s but the water comes all the way from the Rockies) from rocks 15 feet high and then led an expedition upstream, fighting the current and over-sized flip flops as my unit reached the top of the stream before drying off and heading further along the I-17 to our next destination.
Flagstaff is a city with a strong student population and as it was the traditional student night out, Thursday, we felt we should get involved. After finding a real American motel, the type of place where sex-obsessed teenagers meet their bloody doom in Hollywood, we got changed and headed to an Irish bar for some late supper.
We decided to stay when the bar staff told us that all drinks were $1 after 9pm (That's about 75p in Anglo cash readers!).
What transpired was a a messy evening of epic proportions. It was the Lionel Messi of messy nights in fact. Drinking four Vodkas at once is not to be advised. Unless you like vomiting the rainbow the next day.
Following the night in flagstaff, we got dressed for our trip to the Grand Canyon. Sensibly, rather than put the others off their breakfasts in Denny's with my lime-green complexion, I decided to grab onto the world and hold onto a grassy knoll just round the corner. This wee piece of Nirvana was disturbed when the sprinklers rained me off. Where is Cliff Richard and his brolly when I need them?
As for the Grand Canyon, well you could probably fill it with superlatives about the awesome size of it.
For me, I felt proud of our dear blue and green planet as I stood at the precipice. It's a completely natural phenomenon and the scope of it is just breathtaking. To think that something so vast and distinct exists is really something.
The journey back to Anthem was long and a chance to wring some of Flagstaff out of my system.
Next up, more hairy-chest activities and a trip to a bar in Phoenix to see some live music!
For this post though, I'm out like my backside in Flagstaff.
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