Chicago
We arrive in Chicago at 9.15am having spent the last 10hours or so on the Amtrak train. We didn't sleep much as the train was a bit chilly and there were a lot of restless people about. We are slightly concerned as check in is not until 3pm and in the interests of economy we have not booked the night before at the hotel. So we arrive fully expecting to have to dump our bags there and meander around the town on a freezing cold Sunday morning. However we are in luck as the very nice man on reception informs us that the room is ready and we can go in - yippee! We are staying at the Ohio House Motel as recommended by Lonely Planet. The location is right on the loop, which is where it's at in Chicago apparently. Also it is very cheap considering how central the location is. It is a very basic hotel but it is clean enough the rooms are a good size and we just want to rest. So we sleep for a few hours then head out to get some food. Chicago has a great vibe it is very modern and there seems to be loads going on. We get some booze and food from some nearby local places and as we still feel a bit spaced we head back. We have been warned about the hideous cold in Chicago and the ground is indeed covered in snow but it is not as cold as it was in Pittsburgh so we are relieved. I am very excited to be in Chicago I have always wanted to visit and we are on a mission to find Gil Scot Heron, who we love and admire greatly. D does a bit of research online and unfortunately Gil is locked up not only that he is HIV+ and we are very sad to hear this. However Gil would not want this to stop us sampling his hometown so we indulge the next few days accordingly. We go for a walk around Lake Erie it is massive and magnificent it is also full of icebergs and the wind is freezing as we take our walk. The sun is shining though so it is a beautiful day. We then go to the Freedom Museum on the Magnificent Mile and this is a very good museum full of interesting facts and history. We spend a long time here and later go to a restaurant called 'Kitsch'n', which has been advertised in the Lonely Planet as having pies for dinner. D is craving pies so we walk for ages to find it and it is a supercool huge venue very retro and 70's style. However there are no pies which is very disappointing and we question the waitress on this and apparently the pies are specials which they only have about once a month - grrr. We have some decent food there though and a few cocktails and also get some free muffins to boot. The next morning we go for a walk down to the Navy Pier, which is mostly closed due to it being out of season and all. However we go into the funhouse, which has the usual strange mirrors and shifting walkways it is a laugh but doesn't last long enough for the price it costs. Afterwards we go to the John Hancock (or is that John Footpenis - ha ha Family Guy) Tower, which has stunning views of gorgeous Chicago and very decent cocktails. Later we head to a Lebanese restaurant near the hotel which has ok food though it is overpriced and has a useless waiter. Doh! The next day is a bit rubbish as we have some forward planning to do for the next part of our trip and so we spend rather a long time in internet cafes. In the evening we go for a big fat burger then to a place called 'Ed Debovic's' for a drink as it looks like a retro diner. When we walk in the hostess is rude, as is the waitress that serves our beers. We are not impressed and sit there bitching - we have been used to fantastic service in the US and it is really apparent when it is bad. However the waitress overhears us and asks us if we have ever been there before and we say no and she informs us that bad service is part of the theme there. Apparently staff are very rude to customers and sometimes they just get on the tables and start dancing etc. We would like to return with some equally loud obnoxious types and have a face off - it's easy to be rude! Later on we go to an excellent blues club - it is a little place nothing special but the band and accompanying singer are outstanding. They have real character and are proper old school talking to the crowd and making lewd suggestions it is thoroughly brilliant - an excellent last night in the windy city and the next morning it's all aboard the Amtrak train to Kansas City.
Kansas City
The journey to Kansas City on the train is pretty special as we are seeing more and more scenery of the great mid west. The weather is sunny and the train is busy and we sit in the viewing car for a long time, drinking extortionately priced rum and colas. We arrive in Kansas about 9pm which isn't the best time to arrive in a strange place that can't decide whether it is in the state of Kansas or the state of Missouri. We take a taxi to the hotel which is on some business park way out of town yet more genius planning by us in an attempt to save some cash - when will we ever learn. Anyhow the hotel is ok - big rooms and friendly staff. We fill up on crap from the vending machines and retire to bed - daytime drinking is such a killer. The next day we head to 18th Street and Vine, which is famous for its jazz history, being an area where the brilliant Charlie Parker used to play regularly. We visit two fantastic museums - the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and the Jazz Museum. Although baseball is not something I am particularly interested in, the museum is very good indeed, well laid out and fascinating. It is shocking what went on in the US not so long ago in terms of segregation and inequality and this museum really brings it home. There is lots of memorabilia and footage and individual case histories we are very impressed and end up spending a long time in there. Next it's over to the jazz museum and wow it is also a top rate museum with loads of history on all of the greats. This incorporates the social side of the era and there is also a big section where one can listen to loads of music and play about with the tunes as if in a recording studio. The museum also has a jazz club attached which we are tempted by, but we are worried about getting back as it really is quite far from the main bit of town. So we reluctantly head back to the town centre and go to a veggie place for dinner. It is all a bit religious not what we expected but the food is hearty and gives us enough energy to face the grim cold outside. We want to go to a bar before our train, which is due around 11pm, but there is a complete lack of places to imbibe on the road that we are on - lots of restaurants but we are stuffed. It is hideously chilly and raining and we just want to get out of the wind so we admit defeat and hail a cab back to the amtrak station. There is a bar in there but it's an oyster bar (bleurrrgh) and it's full of people with rosy cheeks and weak chins so we hotfoot it into the waiting room. We have a two hour wait for our train and there is some horrid ranting old man in there who keeps shouting and swearing at his grandson who keeps running around to us being friendly. Whooppee do a two hour wait in this hole - we unfortunately do not have a great view of Kansas City. Great museums but not a whole lot else going on seemingly. Maybe if we had a little more time there we would have thought differently but we were very happy to leave. We hope that we will not be sitting next to the horrid man on the train. We are off to Dodge City next and we are very excited as cheesy though it is we love all that shoot em up cowboy stuff. The train journey is pretty uneventful there is not much to see as it is dark and we arrive bleary eyed into Dodge around 6am. I have been clever enough to reserve the hotel for the night before and it's a good job as there is nothing happening here at this hour and it is absolutely freezing. We get chatting to a local lady as we step off the train and it's a darn good job as there are no taxis and she kindly offers us a lift in her 4x4. A very good result and incredibly generous as we would have been stood around for ages waiting for a cab. The wind is howling it must be below 0 apparently the weather was fine and warm the previous week what is going on we expected to be in a warm state by now. We get dropped off at the Thunderbird motel and go into our room it is very basic and really cold so we stick the heater on and dive under the covers and pray for sleep asap!
Dodge City
We wake up about 11am after a few hours of restless sleep. It has finally warmed up a bit and we are ravenous after not eating much in the past 12hours. D goes to get food and I stay in bed - really can't see us doing much today! We cannot believe our luck when we turn on the TV and Tombstone is on - how very coincidental! We watch this followed by two more films with Clint Eastwood in - what a brilliant way to spend a Saturday! There isn't that much to do in Dodge if one does not have a car as walks and sites are pretty far away so we decide to do touristy stuff the next day and just chill out that evening. We have some noisy neighbours who sound like they are calling to each other from different apartments and are very pissed. No matter we can sleep tomorrow! So on Sunday we are heading into town and are lucky enough to get chatting to the owners of the motel. They are a lovely couple and she in particular has an amazing story. She is from Lau and has lived in the states for 20 years, but first arrived as a refugee, having escaped persecution in her own country. She tells us how she walked for 7 days with her 4 children, only moving at night as it was too dangerous during the daytime. Anyhow she has done very well for herself and it was great to hear a genuine tale of the American dream. We get dropped off in town by the husband as we are informed that it is too far to walk. We have begun to realise that the average American's perception of what is too far to walk is very different from ours. It is really not that far but as it is rather chilly we accept the lift graciously it would be rude not to. We go to Appleby's for lunch great vanilla milkshakes and ok food, then it's off to the Boot Hill Museum for some history of the 'wickedest little town in the West'. It is a brilliant museum - more of a town really - with loads of information and we are very impressed. There are specific case studies of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, etc, along with other people who existed in the town at that time. It also provides history of the Native Americans and the people who drove them out, and the incredibly sad tale of the extinction of the buffalo in that area. There is a whole street of stores called Front Street, which are almost exactly as things would have been back in the day. There is hardly anyone else around so it is somewhat lacking in atmosphere but it is still great. In the summer they stage gunfights and other entertainment it would be a sight to behold. The OK Corral sight itself is actually in Tombstone though so we don't get to see this unfortunately. There are some great staff though who are up for a chat it is a pity we did not arrive earlier as we could have had drinks and bought some tack. There are a serious lack of bars in Dodge so we head back to the hotel with some beers. We have a 6am train to catch so it's an early night for us - we are hoping that the noisy neighbours have gone. Dodge has been a brilliant little place to visit it is well worth going out of the way to see but tomorrow we are off to Albuquerque it should be a good journey with spectacular scenery.
Albuquerque
We arrive in Albuquerque after a rather long journey of around 10 hours. The scenery has been spectacular with lots of colourful plains and fabulous views of the rockies. Albie is supposed to be a very studenty town with lots going on and we are staying downtown is a boutique style place called Hotel Blue, which is a bargain for the price. We walk onto the main high street which is just around the corner, but the place is deadsville and has a rather seedy edge to it. There are a lot of cafes and shops but most of them are shut we get the impression that this is not the place to hang out at night. We are approached a couple of times by people asking for money and there are also a few crazies about. We go to an Italian restaurant that serves very good value food we could do with more places like this to fill up in! Afterwards we find a hookah cafe, which to our disappointment does not serve alcohol but we enjoy some nice coffee and a plum flavoured pipe not bad. The next day we wish to be a bit cultural and all that so we set off to the Albuquerque museum which is a lot further to walk than we had anticipated but it's a nice sunny day so we don't really mind. Yet again it is clear that Albuquerque is one of those places where one needs to have a car to get about it really is rather frustrating. We walk past office after office in a very green neighbourhood and a lot of them are lawyers, or have signs indicating that they deal with 'amigo bail bonds'. We find this highly amusing Albuquerque is in New Mexico which is of course very close to Mexico and lots of people clearly do originate from Mexico talk about comedy material. So anyway the museum is very disappointing it's rather formulaic and lacking in order and imagination. We leave there and head back to town we have done a bit of research and it seems the number one thing to do in Albuquerque is the Sandia Peak Tramway, a cable car that goes up the mountain and has spectacular views of the area. We grab a cab and head out of the city...and keep heading out...the meter is ticking...good god...by the time we get there we have to fork out $50 for the fare - $50! I am not amused. The preliminary fact finding mission seems to have brought out incorrect information, whereby the destination was thought to be a lot nearer than it was - doh! We are there though so we are going to do it - or we wanted to anyhow but the problem is there were some rather high winds that day. So there are lots of people sitting about waiting to see if the darn thing was even going to operate. We cannot believe our luck - everyone else has clearly driven out here it is not even possible to get public transport right to the site! We cannot believe it and go to the bar to drown our sorrows. In there we encounter the manager of the restaurant which is at the top of the peak, and he informs us that some staff were on their way up there and the car was swinging violently from side to side up to 2metres. Apparently this does not make for a fun journey. So the Tramway is definitely off the agenda and we are going to have to fork out another $50 to get back! To make matters worse we get chatting to a Texan in the bar who has hired a car for 2 days for $70. D is ultra chatty with him in the hope we may get offered a lift but the guy is staying well out of town so no joy. Grrr. We eat in the restaurant there, which is a very good standard, and then take a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi driver is a great, chatty guy who is training to be a pilot. We have a good laugh with him on the way back - $100 dollars down the drain so what it's only money ha ha. He even tries to give us a discount that has to be a first for a cab driver but of course we are having none of it. The next day we have some boring stuff to do and a few hours to kill as our train is not until 4pm but we go for a walk to the other end of town then go to get the train. The other end of town is no more impressive than where we were staying and it's a shame but we are not sorry to be leaving Albuquerque at all. Roll on Flagstaff we cry, we be heading to Canyon country and we cannot wait!
Flagstaff
We arrive in Flagstaff around 10pm and get a cab to the Highland Country Inn, a budget motel about 10mins walk from the centre. It's a good choice it is spotless and spacious certainly a bargain for the price. We are very tired not having slept well the last few days, and hope for some deep uninterrupted sleep. No such luck. Flagstaff is a major throughway for trains, commercial and non, heading all over the country. They power through this town blasting their horns all night long. It is highly amusing but also rather sleep busting. It sounds like a competition sometimes with one blasting away then another will start seemingly to go one better. Wherever one stays in this town near the centre the noise is audible though so it's a case of grin and bear it. The next day we wander into town it is a very attractive little place it reminds us a bit of Brighton, UK, with boutique shops and cafes in abundance. In the background are snow covered mountains and the sun is shining brightly it is pretty special. We get some food and investigate hiring a car. We have worked out the cost of taking a bus to the Canyon, and Williams, but the cost for two is prohibitive compared to the cost and convenience of having a car. So we arrange to pick one up the next day and have a quiet night in. We are laying low in Flagstaff in the interests of economy and tiredness! We pick up a Subaru Outback the next day - this is classed as a 'small' car here. It is a great car for petrol consumption and looks pretty good too. We have done well and it is great to have some freedom and do our own thing without having to adhere to timetables etc.
Grand Canyon
Day 1.
We set off for the Grand Canyon it is a very scenic drive and only takes a couple of hours. We drive into Canyon Village where we eat some food served by some very strange people in one of the restaurant hotels. We purchase a pass that allows us to park in the Park for the next 7 days and it is a bargain. There is a good visitor centre that provides information on conservation, flora and fauna, and the various trails that can be done. There are lots of warnings and alerts about the dangers of the canyon. Many people die here yearly as they over exert themselves in extreme heat. Apparently it has hit 50 degrees here before. One can hike to the bottom of the canyon but then it is a lot harder to hike back up - this should not be attempted in one day! There is one hotel and some campsites at the bottom and one can take a mule ride down too. This effort is rewarded with a view of the Colorado River where rafting, etc can be done. It all sounds amazing but this stuff costs so we will just be doing a hike and and we opt for one that we hope will be less busy. We have already stopped at one of the main viewing points and are surrounded by other people and we just know that we need to get away from them. Most people opt for the 'easy' Bright Angel or Rim walk, so we head out on the Hermit's Trail, a 'moderate' but jarring walk. It is a twisty path down into the Canyon and we only encounter one other couple on the way. It is around 3.30pm and we anticipate that we can return to the top to catch the sunset in a couple of hours. The sun is shining and as we descend it gets hotter and hotter and we end up taking layers off. As we round each corner we see right across to the other side of the Canyon and every half hour we can hear the helicopters that frequently go through. It is not enough to spoil it though. This is without a doubt the most jaw droppingly spectacular place I have ever been in my life. I was looking forward to this destination anyhow, but of course one never knows how one is going to feel until arriving there. It's so big and red and breath-taking I am literally stuck for words. There are cacti everywhere but it is mostly just red rock and dust but it is so beautiful. We sit at the bottom for a while - we have descended quickly - and take it all in. I am a bit concerned about how long it will take to ascend so we head back up but we need not have worried as we do the walk in the shortest time according to the guideline information at the beginning of the trail. We drive along to a spot that looks good and sit and watch the sunset. Unfortunately there are a bunch of pissed idiotic teenagers and it spoils the ambience somewhat. Even so it doesn't matter we are over-awed by the place still and plan to do another hike tomorrow. We drive out of the Canyon Village and back towards a town about 10miles out as we are staying at the Holiday Inn there as all of the hotels near to the Canyon are a lot more pricey. It is pretty standard but decent although we are not impressed by the breakfast as everything is plastic tasting as well as all of the utensils and plates etc being disposable. How convenient.
Day 2.
We leave mid morning for the South Kaibab hike. It's another sunny day and a bit warmer so we leave the fleeces in the car this time. The trail is supposed to be more challenging and does eventually lead to the bottom of the Canyon if one wanted to go that far. We start off and it is very icy at the top to begin with but as we descend it gets hotter. We encounter a lot more people on this walk as it is quite early in the day but it is not too busy to ruin the views. Again we are overwhelmed by the vast quiet and beauty of the place. We walk for 2hours and come to a viewpoint where we break. The next stop is another 2 hours away so this is as far as we will go today. This is only one hike out of many at the South Rim and we will not be seeing the North Rim on this visit as it is closed until around May. We vow to return to the Canyon and visit the North Rim, and also to trek to the bottom next time. A mule ride looks like fun and one could easily spend a few days here doing the various hikes. It is definitely my favourite scenic place that we have visited so far and we leave the place very satisfied that we have been somewhere most unique and special.
Williams
We have read about a town called Williams near Flagstaff that sounds quite fun as it is described as being a two road town like going back in time. So with fond memories of Dodge in our minds we drive to Williams and take a look before booking a motel. Good job as there really isn't much going on here it is out of season and there is hardly anyone about. There are a few cafes and restaurants and a couple of bars but it really doesn't look that attractive so we chicken out and head back to the dependable place in Flagstaff.
Back to Flagstaff
We have another quiet night in as tomorrow it is the Superbowl and we are going to support the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though it is the final and they are playing the Arizona Cardinals. Every other car we see has Arizona flags hanging from it and it's a very good atmosphere - there is real hope that the Cardinals will bring home the trophy. If they do it will be the first time in their history so we do have sympathy and cheer for them but our hearts lie in Pittsburgh - it doesn't have much else going for it! We go to the local theatre, which is putting on a special event for the final including free entry and food. There are not many people there so we have our pick of seats and get some drinks. Before we have left the motel we have already drunk a very stiff rum and cola and are feeling a bit tipsy. D makes the wise decision of filling up on the free food but I don't like the taste of much of it so refrain. Big mistake by the 3rd quarter I am hammered and having trouble focusing on the game. D is drunk but in control. The game finishes with the Steelers just clinching it we are a bit sorry for the Cardinals they really gave their all - but ecstatic for the Steelers. We leave straight after we have had enough to drink and luckily have the next day to recover before heading to Sedona.
Sedona
Sedona is rated as one of the top 25 things to do in the USA by Lonely Planet. The drive down from Flagstaff is great too. It twists and turns around a huge cliff face that at times is rather scary especially as every now and then one will see big rocks on the road and signs stating to look out for these rocks. Like it would be possible to easily avoid one if it came flying down onto the road at that particular point anyway! There is snow on the roadside as we go in the places where the sun has not quite reached yet and the temperature is still fairly cool although in Sedona we are told that it will be a lot warmer. And it is when we get there it must be about 25 degrees people are walking about in t-shirts it is bizarre. We visit the information centre to get a couple of maps and information on hikes. There are lots of different trails of varying difficulty and we opt for the Soldier's Pass trail, which should take us up to a viewpoint and loop back around. The sun is blazing as we set off and the scenery is like something from an episode of Star Trek. There are tens of different shades of red and brown rocks and hills dotted with green trees and bushes. Some of the rocks are gigantic and many of them are formed into weird and wonderful shapes and look like heads or body parts. We walk for a couple of hours encountering only a few other people. At points we can see the town of Sedona completely - all low rise and lots of brown it is not as attractive when looked at from a distance but this is in keeping with the landscape of the area so as not to ruin the scenery. The signs for the walk are few and far between and we get a bit lost for a while it is irksome as it is very hot and we need refreshments! However a kind local points us in the right direction and we eventually get back to the car having had to disappointingly walk part of the way back on the road. We go to a cafe, where the lady tells us that the rocks in the area are believed to contain special healing qualities. When we drive back out of town we notice that there are a fair few spa and hippified shops dotted about it's all peace and chakras. There are not that many people around but it is still quite busy so we are glad that it is out of season as the tourist element would no doubt spoil the peace and ambience of the place. We head to another site that is a bit higher up and sit for a while taking in the peace and quiet. Ah. Sedona is a beautiful place well worth making the trip out to. It would be great to stay here for a weekend in a spa maybe as there are lots of little cabins and the like nestled in the hills. For us though it is back to our budget hotel in Flagstaff as tomorrow we are off to Los Angeles. On our last night we have dinner in the Irish pub then board the Amtrak for the last time. It is all a bit surreal our carriage is full of Amish people having a right crack together in a strange dialect that we don't recognise but it sounds Germanic. (Later we find out that it is of Dutch origin). They all fall asleep at around 11pm but we are unable to rest so we head to the viewing carriage so as not to disturb anyone. Also there is some huge man mountain snoring away it is revolting he sounds like a drain and a hippo combined. Anyway we manage to laugh about the hideous monstrosity and neck a couple of rums and vodka. Then we plug in the ipod and bop away for a couple of hours looking at nothing in particular from the viewing carriage. We are very drunk and it is quite surreal. Every now and then a guard or passenger will walk through and it is sobering. Eventually we feel a bit tired and go back to our seats and by this time it is around 4.30am. The Amish have roused as they are getting off at Fullerton which is a couple of stops before LA. D and I would be able to sleep now if it was all quiet and dark but typically this is not the case. Anyhow it all gets rather rowdy and before we know it we are in LA feeling like absolute sh1t having had hardly any sleep.
