20 June: Monument Valley
Unfortunately this morning the sky was overcast and as we ate our
breakfast
rain
started
falling in
the
desert...
It wasn't
a big
handicap
for
today's
programme
as
Monument
Valley is
visited by
car
via a
17
mile
unpaved
loop road,
but it was
a shame
for our
photos...
We
took
our
time
this
morning;
Sophie
slept into
9 o'clock,
catching
up with a
bit of
sleep! We
tried
again to
access
our
mails
via
Orange,
but with
no
success;
the server
was still
down...
At
around
11am, when
the rain
had
ceased, we
drove into
Monument
Valley, a
site mad
famous by
the cinema
and famous
western
actors
such as
John Ford,
John
Wayne,
Harrison
Ford
and Clint
Eastwood.
The park is managed by the Navajos Indians and the only road open
to
tourists
in their
own cars
is unpaved
and not
well
maintained.
We had the
choice of
taking
what can
only be
described
as
a 4WD
track with
our 25
foot
camping
car,
or joining an
organised
tour.
Since the
2 hour
tours are
expensive
and don't
show much
more than
the
classic
loop, we
decided to
do some
4WD with
our RV!
After
paying the
entrance
fee
and trying
to make
sense
of the
illegible
map handed
out at
the
entrance,
we
navigated
by
instinct
along the
bumpy
track
at a
maximum
of
8 mph!!
The
scenery is
magnificent
and at
each
turn
in
the
track
we
expected
to bump
into cowboys
and I
ndians
on
horseback,
but alas
no, only a
couple of
tourists
on
a horseback
tour
looking
rather
uncomfortable
on their
mounts! On
a positive
note, at
the speed
we were
travelling
at
least
we
had
plenty
of
time to
take
in
the spectacular
views,
stopping
at the
lookouts
on the way
and eating
our picnic
surrounded
by the
spectacular
buttes
(the
beautiful
rocks
Monument
Valley is
famous
for).
At about 13:30 we left the park and continued our drive
south-west.
Intrigued
by a road
sign
advertising
"Dinosaur
tracks"
on
highway
160, we
stopped
for a
look. A
Navajo Indian
guide
showed us
around the
area and
explained
in a few
words
the
types
of
dinosaurs
which had
left their
footprints
here so
many
millions
of years
ago. There
were thousands
of
footprints,
with both
3
toes and
4 toes
and one
could even
see
traces
of
the
dinosaurs claws
in some of
the
footprints.
In
addition
there were
some
fossilised
dinosaur
bones and
even some
fossilised
dinosaur
dung!
Amazing!
It is a
really
impressive
site
and
there's
undoubtedly
thousands
more
dinosaur
tracks
still to
be
revealed
under the
gravel and
rock
layers. We
hope the
tracks
won't be
worn out
too
quickly
with all
the
passing
visitors,
as
no
precautions
are taken
to protect
the
ancient
footprints...
We arrived at an RV park at Cameron Trading Post, on the edge of
the Little
Colorado
River at
4pm. We
had a look
around the
trading
post,
finally
managed to
consult
our
e-mails
(thank you
Orange!)
 |
 |
 |
| Monument
Valley |
The majestic
buttes
at
Monument
Valley |
More
buttes
in
the
Western
decor... |
 |
 |
 |
| The campervan
along
the
Monument
Valley
loop
track |
Dinosaur
tracks |
More
tracks... |
21 June: Wupatki, Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon and Meteor
Crater
We had a full agenda for today on the drive down to Petrified
Forest.
There are
so many
things to
see in
Arizona.
Our first
stop
was
at
Wupatki
National
Monument
to visit a
couple of
old Indian
pueblos.
At Wupatki
pueblo there
are the
remains
of a
large
village
with a
nearby
community
ceremonial
room,
ball court
and
peculiar
blowhole.
Wukoki
pueblo is
a fortress
like
house,
with
several
rooms and
a
patio, built
on a
protruding
rock in
the
desert.
Gaelle and
Sophie
filled out
Junior
Ranger
booklets
as we
toured
the
ruins,
learning
about the
lives of
the
Indians in
the
region
some 800
years ago.
They both
took
an
oath
with
a
ranger
to
be
good
faithful
junior
rangers
and
proudly
left with
a junior
ranger
badges!
Next stop was at Sunset Crater, a volcano that was
last active
a mere 900
years ago.
The
landscape
around the
crater is
covered
with grey
volcanic
ash and is
still
pretty
barren.
We took
a pleasant
track around
the base
of the
crater
through
the lava
flows.
Then we
continued
our visits
with
Walnut
Crater
National
Park. We
walked the
interesting
Island
Trail,
down
into
the
canyon
and
along
a
cliff
ledge
where
there are
many
remains
of
Indian
troglodytic
habitations. We
also saw a
few shell
fossils
and sponge
fossils on
the
way.
Our last stop was at the famous Meteor Crater, to see the
impressive
hole
measuring
1265m
in diameter
and 174m
deep, left
by a
meteor
that hit
earth only
50'000
years
ago.
It's hard
to
believe
that a
block of
iron and
nickel,
about 45m
in
diameter,
could
cause so
much
damage!
But then
it
did fall
from
Space
and
impact
with a
speed of
70'000
km/h ! A
few pieces
of
meteor
rock have
been found
in
the surrounding
area, but
it is
believed
that they
detached
from the
main block
prior to
impact.
The
meteor
itself
would have
vaporised
and melted
leaving
little
trace
of
its
existence,
except the
large
crater.
For that
reason it
was
believed
for a long
time that
the crater
was of
volcanic
origin.
It's the
best
preserved
of the
large
meteor
craters
existing
on earth
because of
its
relative
youth.
Sadly we left Meteor Crater in tears as Gaelle had
tragically lost
her
hippopotamus
somewhere
in the
museum. A
friend
from
Geneva,
Blanca,
had
offered
both
girls
a
small
cuddly
hippopotamus
on a
key ring
before we
left on
our
travels
and
the
girls
have
played
with them
and taken
them
everywhere
with them
for
the
last
six
months.
They had
become
their
faithful
travel
companions
during our
world
trip. It
was a real
blow that
2
days
before
our
return
home,
one
hippopotamus
had
abandoned
ship...
 |
 |
 |
| Wupatki
Pueblo |
The girls
taking
their
Junior
Ranger
vows! |
Sunset
Crater |
 |
 |
 |
| Sophie in the
lava
flows |
Indian cliff
dwellings
along
Island
Trail |
Meteor
Crater |
22 June: Petrified Forest
We left our campsite in Holbrook for the Petrified Forest.
At the
parks
visitors
centre we
watched an
interesting
short film
about the
origins of
the
petrified
wood
which is
200
million
years
old
and
the
life
in
the
area
at
that
time.
Many
fossils
and
dinosaur
bones have also
been found
in
the park.
We visited Puerco Pueblo, an old Indian village built in a
rectangular
shape
around a
large
courtyard.
Only low
walls and
the
ruins
of a
kiva
remained,
but
adjacent
were some
nice
petroglyphs
and a
summer
solstice
dial. At
9am on the
summer
solstice a
small
hook
of
light
beams
through a
long split
rock onto
a circular
petroglyph.
We were
only 1 day
late, so
we were
lucky
enough
to see
the slim
hook of
light
beaming
near to
the
petroglyph!
We also
saw the
abundance
of
petroglyphs
at
Newspaper
Rock
further
south
in
the
park.
At Blue Mesa we stopped to do the 1-mile trail through the bluish
bentonite
clay hills
of the
badlands
scattered
with
petrified
logs.
The
badlands
are a
really
inhospitable
but
beautiful
environment
and chunks
of
fossilised
tree
trucks are
strewn all
over
the
landscape.
We also
walked the
Crystal
Forest
trail,
where
hundreds
and
thousands
of
colourful petrified
logs lie.
The
area
was
called
the
Crystal
Forest as
certain
petrified
trunks
have
amethyst
and quartz
crystals,
but
unfortunately
most of
the
crystals
have
been
taken
over
the
last
100
years
or
so by
collectors...
The
quantity
of
petrified
wood
exposed in
the park
is
unbelievable,
almost
everywhere
you look
you can
see some
and
certain
trunks
exceed
20
metres
in
length!
We had a look in a couple of rock shops upon leaving the park.
The idea
of having
a
petrified
wood table
is very
appealing,
but the
polished
table tops
are
expensive
(ranging
from $4000
to
$24'000)
and
transporting
one home
would not
be easy...
We settled
for a
polished
slice of
petrified
wood to
be used
as a
coaster at
home and a
souvenir
piece of
petrified
wood for
the
girls!
As we were driving past Meteor Crater on our drive towards
Pheonix,
we phoned
to enquire
if
Gaelle's
hippo had
been
found. And
what a
surprise,
yes it had
been
found!
Gaelle was
over the
moon!!
After
a
short
detour to
reunite
Gaelle and
hippo, we
continued
our
drive
via
Sedona
to
Black
Canyon.
The
scenery on
the way
was lovely
buit
unfortunately
we didn't
have
time
to
stop
off
and
take
advantage
of the
nice
swimming
holes in
the
river
near
Sedona.
 |
 |
 |
| Petroglyphs at
Puerco
Pueblo |
Badlands at
Blue
Mesa |
Gaelle and a
petrified
log |
 |
 |
 |
| Petrified wood
at
Blue
Mesa
badlands |
A fractured
petrified
tree
trunk |
Gaelle
reunited
with
hippo
!!! |
23 June: The nightmare trip home...
We had been dreading this day for a quite some time, even before
our
departure...
The
atmosphere
in the
campervan
this
morning
was
difficult
to
describe.
We packed
our bags
and cleaned
out the
campervan
ready to
return it
an hours
drive
south of
the
campsite.
The night
before we
had
planned
our
strategy
for today:
we would
first
go
to the
airport to
check in
our
luggage
and
then
pick
up a
rental
car
at the
airport
reserved
on the
Internet
the
previous
evening before
driving
with the
campervan
and rental
car to
Camp
America to
return the
RV. We
would then
have the
rest of
the
day to
visit
Phoenix
before our
19:20
flight.
But unfortunately there are certain days when nothing goes
according
to plan.
After
finally
managing
to park
our RV at
the
airport
(not easy
when all
underground
car parks
are
inaccessible),
we arrived
at the
British
Airway
check-in
counters
with our
bags in
tow only
to
find
them
deserted... British
Airways
don't open
until
14h30 and
nobody
else would
check us
in...
Bother!
We
therefore
took the
shuttle
bus to the
other side
of the
huge
airport to
collect
our rental
car. But
they had
no
reservation
in
our name
for that
day...
it'd been
booked for
the 23rd
July
and
not
June...!
Double
bother!!
OK, we'd
messed up
and
we'd
lost
an
hour
and a
half
running
around
Phoenix
airport
which
put
in
jeopardy
our timely
return of
the
campervan.
We had to
return
by
11am or
start
paying
penalties
and we
still had
to fill up
with
petrol and
gas... We
managed to
arrive at
10:59 with
a full
tank
of
petrol,
but we
didn't
manage to
find any
gas...
Back at the airport we ate lunch and after finally being able to
check-in
our
luggage we
took a
taxi to a
nearby
outlet
centre for
a
spot of
last
minute
shopping
before our
return
flight.
We boarded the plane on time and pushed back. After some
time remaining
immobilised
next to
the bay we
were
informed
by
the
pilot
that motor
number three
wouldn't
start and
that
we'd
have
to
return
to
the
docking
bay for an
engineer
to come
and
have a
look...
Whilst he
was doing
so we
waited
patiently
in the
plane
which got
hotter and
hotter by
the minute
until
it was
like
a sauna
in there!
Everybody
was
sweating
and
dehydrating
and
certain
even
started
fainting in
the
heat...The
temperature
at Phoenix
was well
over 42
degrees
and the
plane's
air-conditioning
wasn't
unable
to maintain
a healthy
temperature
in the
cabin.
Finally at
around
9:30pm,
the
captain
took
the
decision
to
disembark
everybody
as the
motor
couldn't
be
repaired.
A spare
part would
be flown
out and
the flight
rescheduled
for the
next
day...
Then started the horribly long and unpleasant task
of collecting
our
luggage
and
queuing
for hotel
vouchers
and a
hotel
shuttle in
order to
get a bed
for the
night. The
girls were
really
dehydrated
and hungry
as they
hadn't
eaten
since
midday
but
no
refreshments
were
available
(all of
the
airport
shops had
closed
and
BA
were
very
poor
at
getting
even water
to its
passengers...).
Both girls
fell
asleep on
the
airport
floor as
we queued
for
vouchers
and
baggage.
We finally
made it to
a hotel at
11pm,
ordered
food and
drinks
from room
service
and took a
refreshing
shower. We
went to
sleep very
frustrated
about the
delay. We
had to
be
in
Edinburgh
by
Saturday
for
Richard
(Jenny's
brother)
and
Rebecca's
wedding
which was
looking
compromised...
and the
girls
were
really
upset as
they
wouldn't
be able to
visit
their
teachers
and
classmates
in school
on the
25th as
planned...
Our first flight of our round the world trip had been cancelled
and we had
lost a day
and now
our last
flight had
been
cancelled
too.
What
bad
luck...
All our
other
flights
had run
like
clockwork...!
24 June: The nightmare trip home continued...
Our flight was rescheduled for 1pm so after a delicious buffet
breakfast
we spent
an hour in
the pool
of our
hotel (The
Phoenix
Airport
Hilton)
before
checking
out. The
receptionist
wouldn't
accept
our
dinner
vouchers
from BA
for the
meal we'd
ordered
from
room
service so
we had to
start
battling
again...
Finally
they
accepted
them as
the
restaurant
was closed
when we
had
arrived, but
they'd
only
honour $20
per room
and not
$20 per
person...
We requested
that the
senior
receptionist
call BA to
check the
voucher
conditions
but she
rather
rudely
refused
saying she
was
too
busy
and
it
wasn't her
job!
Extremely
poor and
disappointing
service
from a
reputedly
classy
hotel...
Back at the airport that morning we queued for an hour and a half
to
check-in
again and
get a
rescheduled
onward
flight to
Geneva. We
were now
scheduled
to arrive
in
Heathrow
at 5:30am
and The BA
staff
had booked
us
the15H15
flight
from
Heathrow
to Geneva
on the
25th, a
ten hour
wait in
London!!!
That meant
we'd
arrive
home
around 7pm
and we had
to leave
the house
at 10am
the next
morning
for
our
flight
to
Edinburgh
after 6
months
absence...We
tried to
negotiate
a morning
flight to
Geneva,
but
we
were
told
nothing
else was
available
for the 4
of us.
After
insisting
however
and being
shuffled
from one
queue to
another,
we
managed
to secure
an
11:40am flight
(a 6 hour
wait in
London
nevertheless).
We'd later
understand
the reason
behind
this:
BA
didn't
want
to
put us
on
a
morning
flight as
there were
no seats
left
in
economy
class,
only free
seats
in Business!
It's the
least
they
could
do
for us
after a
whole
day's
delay...
BA also confirmed for
us that
the dinner
vouchers
were meant
to be for
$80 so
we'd have to
write to
customer
services
in the UK
for a
refund -
more
hassle...
We didn't board the plane until 2:30pm as the motor was still
being
repaired
and
tested. US
customs
decided to
perform a
last
minute
check on
all
passengers
as we
boarded
the plane
and kept
a couple
back for
questioning
which
delayed
boarding
for over
half
an
hour.
Then
they
finally
refused to
let the
couple
leave on
the
flight
so
their
luggage
had to be
removed
from the
hold,
another
30-40
minute
delay.
During
that time
the
plane's
APU cut out and all
the lights
and
ventilation
went off!
The
temperature
started
rising
in
the
cabin
and
certain
passengers
started
getting
very
nervous
about the
plane's
reliability:
five requested
to
disembark.
Another
30-40
minutes
lost in
order to
remove
their
baggage... When
the
captain
announced
he'd start
motor
number two
to get
some
air-conditioning
in the
cabin and
it
wouldn't
start we
were all
beginning
to panic.
He assured
us that
with some
external
cooling
however
they'd
manage to
start
motor
number two
and that
there was
absolutely
no reason
to fear
for the
plane's safety.
Even we
were
beginning to have doubts and we
were
really
beginning
to worry
that we
weren't
going to
make it home
today
either...
After several hours sweating it out in the plane we finally took
off at
4:30pm!
25 June: The nightmare trip home continued...
After a 9-hour flight we finally approached the runway in
Heathrow
for
landing.
But a mere
50m off
the ground
the pilot
accelerated
away again
back into
the skies.
We
couldn't
believe
it! What else
could go
wrong on
this
cursed
flight?
The plane
that had
landed
before us
had not
cleared
the runway
fast
enough...
meaning we
had to circle
around
Heathrow
airport
again for
a
second attempt
at
landing. With
all of
these
delays we
only had
40 minutes
to get
our
connecting
flight and
little
hope that
our bags
would follow...
As we
boarded we
were relieved
to hear
that our
luggage
had
been
loaded
into the
hold and
we were
even more
pleased to recieve
an SMS
from
Francois'
parents
saying
that
they'd be in Geneva to
pick us up
from the
airport!
We finally touched down in Geneva at 2:30pm. What a relief to be
home and
how nice
to see the
family
after 6
months of
absence!
That afternoon we managed to clean the house, clean the pool, do
4 loads of
washing
and drying,
unpack our
bags,
repack our
bags, go
to the
hairdressers,
buy some
shoes for
the girls
for the
wedding,
shift
through
the post, pay some overdue
bills,
see
Niki (our
dog) and
pay a
quick
visit to
our great
neighbours
Hans and
Josée (our
dog- and
house-sitters!).
We eventually got to bed after midnight and we had to leave the
chalet
again at
10am the
next
morning
for our flight to Edinburgh.
But at
least
we'll make
it to the
wedding.
We'd arrive tired, but
we'd get
there!
BACK
| 
