Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona...

We stopped in Winslow to see the "Standing on a Corner Park."  During the 15 or 20 minutes we were there quite a few older folks showed up to stare, talk & take pictures.  A couple was getting married there as we walked up.

The happy couple leaving after the photos

I don't think I'd have stopped there if I hadn't heard about the park on another blog.

I was thinking that after the baby boomers stop traveling this park might become a good bit less popular... my wife thinks "The Eagles" music transcends the generations.  
She's probably right :-)

What brought me here

Some of the new world was in Winslow too

At this point we needed a place to stay for the night. A quick check of freecampsites.net showed we were not too far from Lake McHood County Park. Places to park, pull thru spots, trash cans, tables, flush toilets, broadcast TV & 4 bars of Verizon LTE. 
No power or water. But it's free for 14 days, good enough!

freecampsites.net

I'm thinking that freecampsites.net is going to be a popular place for me to visit as we travel. That & GasBuddy!

When you see $3.59 a gallon in California GasBuddy is important!

How could I not include the Eagles doing "Take it easy", 1977 at that! 

A Tale Of Two Holes

Two holes? I'm talking about the Grand Canyon and the Meteor Crater. Yes, I'm back at the Grand Canyon!

The Meteor Crater is a couple of hours from the Grand Canyon. 
Mother Nature took millions of years to make the Grand Canyon and 10 seconds to make the meteor crater. Both are spectacular!

The Grand Canyon 

We were camped in the National Forest, not too far outside Williams, on the road going to the Grand Canyon.  It was a nice place with lots of good spots to park. 
We took the car off the tow dolly & drove the 55 miles to the park. 

The south entrance 

We really should have gone earlier in the day. The line to get into the park was a mile & a half long, and all the parking lots were just about full. When we did get a spot (by the store, bank & post office) the buses were packed. Show up early in the day next time is the answer! This National Park requires $30 a car to get in, but we have the senior pass (Old Farts Pass) so it's free.

We made our way to the edge and I had my look at that magnificent hole in the ground. Wow!  Still "Wow!" after all these visits.  The Grand Canyon is something to see! 
I enjoy seeing the tourists too, and that's a good thing as there were a few (besides us)!

Photos never do the Grand Canyon justice.
In my opinion it's always worth the trip just to see it.
Even to see it again!

They had a water emergency going on at the South Rim because of some broken pipes. I was unable to use their fine coin-operated showers, refill my water bottles or get a drink.  Oh well. 

But I got to see the Grand Canyon ... I enjoyed the day!


The Meteor Crater
The next day we packed up & headed east on I-40. Before you get to Winslow Arizona you need to pass the Meteor Crater. The Crater is 6 miles to the south of I-40.  It's owned by a private party and (like most other things) costs to get in. $18 for a regular & $16 for a senior. Free parking. No drinking water available, besides a $2 vending machine (but you can bring your own). 

Walkway by the entry side

But the Crater is something to see! 

The crater was too big to get a good shot.
Just Wow!

The impact happened 50,000 years ago and the rock was 160 feet across and made of nickel-iron. They said it went well into the ground then exploded, leaving the crater.  The crater is 4,000 feet across and over 500 feet deep.

The visitor center is off to the left

Most of the meteorite broke into very small pieces that were scattered everywhere in the area or vaporized. The large pieces on display there broke off before the impact.

We took the one hour tour, it was free & the guide was really good.  It wasn't until 1961 that they were able to prove that this crater was made by a meteorite, it was a good story.

The Crater was too big to get it all in my phone camera at once.

It's worth every penny of the $16 to see that crater, nothing like it in the world.

Las Vegas

When I was a kid, Las Vegas was where my parents went for a 'Parent Fun Place'.  Back in the late 50s Nevada was about the only legal gambling in the US. Things have changed but I still get a small flash of excitement when we drive over a hill & I can see Las Vegas.

A casino on the strip, look familiar?

When you really need some room there is a way

A pyramid on the strip

Over the years I've been here before, so it's not all "new". 





More than once, I've come here for recreation 
in & about Lake Mead.

Zip lines on Freemont St

But I never stayed for long in Las Vegas, maybe two nights (and they were busy nights while we tried to cram "it" all in). This time we brought our house with us, found a nice place to put it and stayed for three weeks at the Kings Row RV Park. Nothing fancy, but it was clean, safe, a good location & reasonably priced. The broadcast TV & internet cell service were top notch too. 

Who says the old Vegas is gone?

We went to the Titanic Artifact Exhibit, That was something! We also went to the The Las Vegas Show, which was about the big acts & people from the 50s & 60s. Impersonators, showgirls, comedians, a magician;  I enjoyed it.

We went to the Heart Attack Grill on Freemont Street. 
It's a BIG patty on the burger. I had a double, what a mistake! Your waitress/nurse will beat your ass with a paddle if you don't finish it all. 

He didn't finish his lunch

We were sitting next to the stand where you bend over to take your punishment and those ladies were not holding back!  There was this one nurse/waitress:  it was like she was getting even for every lousy tipper she'd had that day! Shoulder, arm, whole body was put into the swing and real follow through!!  It was a LOUD smack!!
NOPE, I finished mine!

The crowd in the Heart Attack Grill

I just didn't have a spare "C" note to go shoot machine guns or ride zip line rides downtown, next trip!  
We did make it to Hoover Dam & Lake Mead.

Lake Mead used to be up by this outhouse. Even low like this, it's still a huge lake. 

There was a lot of competition for us tourists; billboards, trucks with billboards, people passing out cards & come-ons for time share presentations as you walked. Plus the casinos themselves...  

Lawyers!  Las Vegas is the land of lawyers! They are on the bill boards, the TV ads, on buses ... you can't get away from them!  Some clever, some greedy, some are just lawyer ads.

The men's room at the Heart Attack Grill

This visit I wasn't rushed, not in the least. I didn't live there either. This visit was different. 

Las Vegas has that vibe of money, power, tourists, fun, the whole "sin city" thing of Las Vegas.  Pot shops that will sell you  pre-rolled  joints &  amnesty boxes at the airport to dump what is left before you go through TSA security.  
Remember that ad about "...Stays in Vegas"?

It was a fun stay!