I always thought the Grand Canyon was just a big hole in the ground, I never thought it was special. And all that nature. The lush foliage, the wildlife carelessly nibbling about dense shrubbery. The fiery reds of clay and mantle; the layers of composition and canyons shaped by millennia of erosion and attrition… It’s a little showy. It’s like someone’s trying too hard. But like Niagara Falls or the fat guy at the buffet, the Grand Canyon is just too enormous of a sight to ignore. It just stops you dead in your tracks trying to take it all in. I haven’t experienced wild and sprawling rock formations like that since the last time I saw The Big Sleep play. I tried going off the trail and getting on some rocks in the middle but I started to get the jelly legs once I got on top. It was freaky, every time I would look over the edge I felt like I was falling into the canyon. I think they call that vertigo? Right around then I figured it was a good idea to turn around. We had a lot of ground to cover so we left a little early and drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s probably some of the most scenic and gorgeous driving in the country. When you finally arrive the city spreads out far and wide, and it is an arresting sight. And let me tell you, the Mexican food you’ve been eating all your life on the east coast – and especially at Taco Bell – is basically dog poop turned inside out then deep fried and wrapped in used diapers compared to the Mexican food in the southwest. I feel like my whole life I thought I was eating filet mignon, only to discover it was actually grade F horse meat. You are being ripped off every time you buy a burrito or fancy taco from a trendy food truck now matter how good you think it tastes – that’s how much better it is. Also, Albuquerque produces perhaps the most generally flavorful American craft beer we’ve had so far. Of the thirty or so different bottles we saw precisely six are delicious. We didn’t spend much time here, it was just a spot to rest our heads before the big destination tomorrow. And where could that be? Some place out of this world…
[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157638706394884/