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T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 1 to the bottom. We now realised why the satnav had told us to take the long route! After some debate, and realising that to backtrack would take hours, we determined to tackle this dirt track. We carefully read the notice at the start of the descent — no more than 5 mph and no heavy or long vehicles. The descent was in second gear, on the wrong side of the road, hugging the cliff face and with ample use of the horn! It took nearly an hour to get down — a distance of some 3 miles! We passed only two vehicles on the way down, one of which we were astonished to see dragging a boat up the precipice! Obviously he was a local!. At the bottom we uttered a sigh of relief and headed for Monument Valley, some 40-50 miles away. We were now in Arizona. Monument Valley is within a Navajo Indian Reservation and is an astonishing collection of sandstone buttes, mesas and stacks, some of which reach over 1000 feet above the plateau floor — which itself is some 6,000 ft above sea level. The valley is far from any significant habitation and was made famous by those John Ford westerns made in the mid 20th century. There is even a viewing point named after John Ford. The Navajo have made the Valley a money spinner and charge for access to the 17 miles of track within the valley. The track is not for the faint hearted or saloon cars, being extremely rough. Ideal, of course, for rented 4x4s! Some of the most spectacular formations include the ‘Mittens’ and the ‘Three sisters’ (see photos). After Monument Valley we overnighted in Kayenta, a small nondescript town of shacks, trailers and flatpack houses. Route 66 and Flagstaff From Kayenta we drove south west towards Flagstaff, skirting the Painted Desert. We stopped briefly at Sunset Crater The Grand Canyon. Sedona and the Petrified Forest volcano National Monument to see an extinct (?) volcano and acres of lava fields from an eruption some 1000 years ago. Arriving at Flagstaff we found our vacation home, which we had rented for 6 days, as a base, as we had felt, correctly, that by now we would be ‘canyoned out’ It turned out to be a welcome stop, with a well kitted house — which included — of course — four televisions! The Grand Canyon. Sedona and the Petrified Forest After a day of rest/shopping we visited the Grand Canyon, which is some sixty or so miles north of Flagstaff It is over 6,000 ft deep, and 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide. The North Rim is higher than the south rim. On the day of our visit it was too windy for fixed wing flights over the Canyon and we didn’t fancy a helicopter ride, so we took the tour bus. The problem with the Grand Canyon is that is too big and one’s eyes cannot really adjust to the vastness of it. Still it is impressive. I gather from another Old Stationer, Roger Engledow, that to really appreciate it one has to trek down to the valley floor on a two day jaunt. After a golf day we next went to Sedona, a typical cowboy town set in splendid red rock canyons. It is very much a tourist trap and now one of the most visited places in the USA. However, the drive to it, down Highway 89A, is beautiful and the town has immense charm. There is a sign you can see on entering the town that states “God created the Grand Canyon but he lives in Sedona” (See photo of ‘Bell Rock’). The following day we tracked east on Route 66 in the direction of Gallup, New Mexico — what a dump! — to the Petrified Forest. This is an area of a former primeval forest that has seen the trees petrified. Large chunks of petrified logs are scattered across several square miles. (see photo). Whilst it 26
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 1 is illegal to pick up any fragment in the park, once outside there are many shops selling fragments should you care to buy them. On the way back to Flagstaff we passed the Meteor Crater. This is now run as a commercial enterprise and the charges to see only a huge hole in the ground are truly exhorbitant. We did not stop! Lake Havasu City and London Bridge Las Vegas and Home Finally we left Lake Havasu and travelled the short distance back to Las Vegas and home. An enjoyable but exhausting trip of some 2,500 miles and six national parks. After Flagstaff we headed for Lake Havasu City along I 40 (formally Route 66). Lake Havasu was formed from the Colorado River once the Parker Dam was built. It is on Navajo land but was bought by an entrepreneur, Robert P MeCulloch, in 1963 where he established a city on the east side of the lake. In order to promote his new city he decided to offer free homes to the Apollo Astronauts and extraordinarily purchased the old London Bridge — no he did not think he was buying Tower Bridge, which is an urban myth. He spent $7.5 million disassembling the bridge, shipping it and re-assembling it. In order to make best use of the bridge, he arranged for the Colorado River to be diverted, creating an island which is now connected to the east bank of the lake by the bridge! All this has proved successful as the city from nothing in 1963 has developed to a population of over 50,000 today. The city is a haven for watersports and even has artificial beaches — catering for weekenders, since the nearest coast, California, is several hundred miles away. California, in fact, starts on the other side of the lake and a small fee will allow you to take the ferry across. On the other side is an Indian reservation, and being federal land the Indians have built a casino there (no gambling casinos are allowed on state land in California). The Indians are clearly getting their own back on the palefaces! Lake Havasu City and London Bridge 27
Page 1 and 2: No 81 /July 2015 The Old Stationer
Page 3 and 4: T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o
Page 11 and 12: OSA CHRISTMAS LUNCH 2015 at STATION
Page 19 and 20: Hi Geraint perring32@btinternet.com
Page 25: T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o
Page 29 and 30: up from where he’d thrown them an
Page 39 and 40: got them both into trouble. Who wer
Page 47: Old Stationers Fantasy Football - S

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