We go back to TI for breakfast and boy is it good! The cook whips me up a scrumptious bacon, egg and cheese omelet and their yogurt parfait is to die for!
Our first stop today is the Hoover dam.
It was built to control the Colorado River and generate energy in the process. The view of the water before the dam:
You can tell how high the water has been by color of the rock.
A view from the other side as well. It's not really pretty, but it was really interesting. We went to the visitor’s center and they had exhibits that explained how and why the dam was built, and how it helps supply power.
Next we stop at one of the Lake Mead overviews. It was created by the rise in the Colorado River when they Hoover dam was completed.
I've been really looking forward to our next stop, but we don't have clear directions and the GPS can't find it either. We decide to head in the general direction and see if we can find it. We pass through a small town called Searchlight on the way, where I saw this nice mural
Suddenly, I spot a sign for Christmas Tree Pass and even though it's a lot closer than I thought it'd be and it's off the wrong road (I didn't realize that at the time), we decide to give it a try. After two miles of bouncing around a washed out dirt road we realize that we're going the wrong way. Ugh! We can only go 10 miles an hour, plus we're a bit afraid of JC getting stuck in the sand in the middle of nowhere. But we make it back to the road in 1 piece!
Some time later Sandy sees another sign for Christmas Tree Pass and after turning down the road there's a sign that says Grapevine Canyon 2 miles. Yes! Turns out we must have turned down the wrong end of the road. This side is unpaved also, but the sand is packed tighter. The mountains here a very different from the ones we have seen so far
You're probably wondering what's so exciting that anyone would want to drive for 2 miles down a dirt road? Well, this is why
The petroglyphs are believed have been created in 1100-1900AD by the Mojave Indians. The whole canyon is filled with them. I have no idea how they did some of them, because a lot of them are very high on the rocks. The "sheep" are my favorite
Picture taken near the mouth of the canyon, facing the other direction
There were several large openings in the rock too. I love climbing things so I made my way up there and had Sandy take a picture as proof.
Another amazing view at Grapevine Canyon. Definitely one of the highlights for the trip for me. The view was amazing no matter which way you looked, and of course the petroglyphs were fantastic.
A teddy bear chollo.
I'm a bit disappointed that we have not seen any animals yet on this trip. There are signs everywhere; watch out for cattle, sheep, rattle snakes, donkeys, even turtles! I've been on the lookout every single day, but so far no luck.
Oatman, Arizona is a living ghost town, famous for its semi-wild burros. Burros are descendants of wild donkeys that were left behind/got away from early settlers.
Before we even reach the Oatman city limit we spot our first donkey. A little grey mare is lying down in a gulley behind some bushes.
She gets up when I approach her and I immediately notice that she has a bad limp. I grab an apple from my backpack and start feeding her pieces of apple while I check out her leg. There are no outward signs of trauma and she allows me to bend her leg and check her hoof, but I can't find anything wrong with it.
Sandy feeds her some apple too.
We head down to the visitor center and tell the woman at the desk that one of the burros is hurt, but unfortunately they can't do anything for her. The burros are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and they don't provide veterinary care for them; they just manage the size of the herd and let nature take its course. Hopefully she will be OK.
Entering Oatman
All of the shops on Main Street are closed because today is Super bowl Sunday (the most important game in football). We wander around the deserted town for a few minutes anyway.
Another cute little store
When I reach the end of the street one of the dogs starts barking furiously. I'm about to turn around when out of the corner of my eye I see something bolt through the bushes. A second later I see him running across the road
I watch as he runs up the hill then disappears from view. I feel so lucky that I got to see a real coyote!
Walking back to the car I find this mural protesting the closing of the mines. Really neat!
We leave Oatman and after a few minutes another coyote runs across the road. Sandy slams on the breaks and I ran in the direction he disappeared him. He's running up a hill when I round the corner so I try to stop as quickly as I can so I don't startle him, but the gravel is loose and my feet keep sliding. It makes quite a racket, but instead of running away he stops and turns to look at me.
He seemed more curious than afraid.
We run into these three little burros a little while later. The baby is so cute! Total burros for today: 5.
The sunset was pretty nice!
As it turns out there's a Sonic close to our hotel and even though we'd planned not to eat at chain restaurants while on vacation, I'm hopeless when it comes to Sonic. We spend the rest of the night eating our Sonic in front of the TV. Have to at least watch part of the Super bowl right ;-)
Total mileage for today: 197 miles.
Posts
1 comments:
Lake Mead is my favourite with Grapevine Valley as second best.
Allthough the picture of the sunset is beautiful.
It looks as if the pink cloud is standing on an invisibel barrier. Breath taking.
kiss, kiss,
Joeve
Post a Comment