Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A Grand day (canyon and otherwise)

We drove to Sedona this morning to meet our minibus tour group at a local resort. FYI, Sedona is actually the name of the wife of the town founder, Somebody Schnebly. Sedona's mother made up the name. A true story. Straight from our guide, a likable guy just full of interesting tidbits. Such as: a Navajo elder was watching astronauts train in a meteor crater (in the ’60s). He approached them. They told him they were going to the moon. Since Navajos believe some of their ancestors stayed on the moon when others came to Earth, he asked them to deliver a message to the Navajos on the moon. The astronauts-in-training recorded the elder's voice as he spoke in Navajo. Later, when they had the recording interpreted, it said "Don't sign anything."

Early morning approach to Sedona.jpg
The SwanMobile heads towards Sedona early Tuesday morning.
The tour bus stopped in the Route 66 town of Williams so a couple of our tour group could take the train to the Grand Canyon.

Williams depot.jpg
The Williams Depot

I'll post more Grand Canyon photos Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, here are some shots from a busy day.

Robin in bus.jpg
Robin always finds time to study or work on a project. The minibus is today's office.

Pat and wine.jpg
Lunch at El Tovar, the historic log lodge at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We also celebrated Pat's birthday (Robin's mother) with a bottle of Grand Canyon wine (made in Hillsburg, CA).

Watchtower.jpg
The Watchtower, south rim. A really beautiful structure, designed by Fred Harvey's (Harvey House Hotels) female architect.

John and Robin at Watchtower.jpg
The Colorado River is barely visible in the background.

inside The Watchtower.jpg
Inside the Watchtower.

Navajo roadside shops.jpg
A Navajo roadside shop.

Navajo beader.jpg
Navajo beader at the roadside shop.

two ravens on Watchtower.jpg
"Raven, sweetheart, if you think this watchtower is nice, you should see the Tower of London."