Travelling - Cities and Towns
Categories: holidays
Date: 16 January 2009 01:49:56
On my way to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, I travelled through towns and cities which I found had their own unique charms and beauty -- and wished I could've stayed there a bit longer! Oh well: hopefully an excuse to go back one day.
The most surprising was Jackson, Wyoming: of which I have no photos sadly. It is a stunningly beautiful town and I wouldn't have minded staying there and sikiing. I only ended up there due to flight issues. I missed my original flight to Bozeman [to make my way to Yellowstone] due to me being told some incorrect information, so I waited at Denver Airport for the next flight which I was booked on. It took off...and then half-way there we turned around due to a mechanical issue. Landing at Denver it was fixed, and we took off again. Again, half-way there we turned around due to the same mechanical issue. We were then told to see Customer Service and organise alternate arrangements. A quick call to Yellowstone confirmed Jackson Hole was another option, so I was placed on the next flight there. My luggage didn't follow me [I did not get it until four days later...and I ended up going to the airport to get it myself] so my Yellowstone experience in one set of clothes [and no thermals] was an interesting one. But it did work out well -- I got to see a beautiful town [Jackson] and also saw a part of Yellowstone I may not have seen [the southernmost] if my original plans had've worked out. There were more dramas, particularly with my flights back, but they can wait for another day. Happier stories today...
On the way to the Grand Canyon I had a stopover in Phoenix, Arizona for several hours; given the close proximity of the airport to the town I decided to catch a bus downtown and have a look around. Fascinating to see a city in the middle of a desert, and it was nice to see they kept the desert theme with cactii along the city streets:
There were also some beautiful towering palms along the city streets:
By far the most beautiful building, for me at least, was St Mary's Basilica, the only basilica in Arizona and the 32nd in the US. It has been staffed by the Franciscan Friars since 1895. There is a beautiful park surrounding the basilica as well -- it would be a lovely place to stop and rest, or eat: but I was on the move! You can see some beautiful photos of the interior at the Wikipedia page. Here are my paltry efforts:
I did get myself in a spot of minor trouble. While standing at a Transit Centre, I was taking photos of the streets and buildings. I was then approached by an officer who asked me what I was doing and then informed me it was not allowed to take photos while on Transit Centre property due to Homeland Security Measures. I then had to delete them. Apparently I can take photos of Transit Centre property [not that interesting to be honest...], and I could've taken photos had I been 5 metres more north, and off Transit Centre property, but you cannot take photos while on Transit Centre property. Interesting, if not a bit odd. My name was taken and I was let off with a caution. I cannot go anywhere without causing mischief!
Next stop on my way to the Grand Canyon was Flagstaff, which I have talked a little about here and here. Another beautiful town, and quite a busy one -- there are skifields nearby and a large number of students at the Northern Arizona University. I was told the first major snowfall of the season had happened just prior to my arrival, so I did get to experience the beauty of fresh snow. It continued to snow rather heavily as you can see in these photos:
Quite a beautiful town; a nice small, and walkable, downtown with some lovely buildings and wonderful Christmas decorations:
While in the bar, enjoying my first Mojito and talking to people, a newscrew arrived and gave a report right outside about the first big snow of the season.
I would definitely like to go back to Flagstaff -- preferably in clearer weather as I'd love to visit the Lowell Observatory.
My final town visited on the way to the Grand Canyon was Williams, from where I caught the train to the Grand Canyon. My view of this town was only that of my walk from the hotel to the railway station; I had no time to look around. I found it interesting to see a snow-covered McDonald's!
Those are the towns I visited on my way to the Grand Canyon. West Yellowstone and Belgrade, those I visited on my back from Yellowstone, next.