McEwen Farming and Family Stuff

Wednesday, 26^th June

Today started with a plan, but a number of adventures later we had an enjoyable day with an unexpected end.

Well on the way down the highway, I said to Ian `I am going to make you mad, please stop I need more knitting wool so I can keep knitting!” The car pulls over, I retrieved the wool from the suitcase and noticed the sign `Skywalk – Grand Canyon West’. Let’s do something different, let’s go. May be, says Ian?  – the internet responses says it is overrated. Let’s do something adventurous, anyway!

An hour later, we pull into a large carpark, dominated by a huge white balloon shaped `tent’. We make our way through extensive souvenir paraphernalia and entered the ticket department to be greeted by two Hualapai Indian gentleman. ‘Hello, here are your tickets for the bungie jump’ One reaches for a piece of paper `reads from it’ yes, tickets for  you two with your cowboy hats’ We laugh – No our hats are akubras, we are Australians! We appreciated the warm welcome. It matched the temperature outside. 95 reaching up to 114 degrees.

Paying our way for three points of interest – should we have spent our money on a helicopter ride? Ian is still sceptical!  Off we go – `the Ranch’ found us watching a card shark – magician with cards. I leave with a souvenir – a card with my signature on it. We arrive at the Skywalk. It is a semi circle of glass. Belongings locked away, shoes covered with paper shoes and we are over the huge drop, except I couldn’t see it. I gingerly walk over the glass looking, looking down. I see the reflection of blue sky and fluffy white clouds. I work out that I need to walk backwards to look through my shadow. The rock face goes down and down. – hundreds of feet down. The view across the rim is spectacular. I am concentrating on this phenomena – looking at the layers and wondering where did Noah’s Flood come into this erosion effect. When a voice beside me said `What are doing?’ It was Ian, long since walk around the circle once – ` I am trying to make the most of the money we spent!!’  also give the experience a chance rather than say it is overrated!!!!

We both enjoyed the total scene. Moving off the skywalk we stood on the edge of the rim and took photos. The scene is to be marvelled at over and over again.

Leaving the Grand Canyon West, Ian planned that we would head to Mead view – he assumed that this town would be overlooking Lake Mede. The Hoover Wall backs up the Colorado River to form this huge lake. We drove and drove and arrived at Meadview – no water, no view and no motel beds!!!!!

Doubling back we find helpful motel proprietors who phoned around and to find us a cabin. Explaining that we are now in the depths of Arizona desert. –hot hot  – In the  Middle of Nowhere. –the locals words not ours.