After the flat, dry freeway from Amarillo to Flagstaff, the road north from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon was a welcome change.  The snow just added to the beauty and the air was crisp and dry.

The beauty of the Aspens and the contrast of the snow and shadows on the rocks of the Grand Canyon are something everybody should have the opportunity to see.

The reason this picture is so unique is that there aren’t any people in it.  We’ve been to the Grand Canyon a half a dozen times and to Yellowstone Park at least twenty.  Ninety-nine percent of the time there’s kids hanging off these signs with their parents taking pictures.  This barren sign is truly unique!

Between Flagstaff and Nevada there isn’t a whole lot to see except Kingman, Arizona, which we covered on the way East, the new bridge bypassing Hoover Dam, which we’ve already covered, and Chloride, Arizona.  Like Oatman, Arizona, Chloride is probably one of those places that people either love or hate.  We think it’s worth a visit.

We drove almost 10,000 miles, went through 14 different states and stayed in more than 15 hotels and spent about two weeks in two different condos.  How did we end the trip?  We drove a couple of miles on a four-wheel drive only road in the middle of nowhere to see a set of murals that was painted in the middle of the Arizona desert.  Kathy said “turn back” at least five times but I persevered.   Back in 1966 an artist named Roy Purcell was laboring in the Arizona mountains as a minor when he decided to paint a 2000 square foot mural on the rocks of the Cerbat Mountains near Chloride.  The photos here are what he created.  In the end, Kathy agreed it was a fitting ending to a great trip with plenty of beautiful sites and many unexpected experiences.  Despite Bailey’s calamity... a pretty good beginning.  But maybe we’d better take a second look at the rest of the idea...