Day Three, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The above proverb refers to the idea that an image often contains more meaning than a substantial amount of text could ever articulate or describe. For tonight's blog, I want to show you all that this is indeed true. I spent 7 hours at the Grand Canyon today and I tried very hard to capture each moment and landscape and color and the feelings and thoughts I had while bearing witness to this amazing natural wonder in the pictures below (more can be found on snapfish.com, see first post for more info). Though many of you have graciously commented on my wonderful writing and while I am flattered beyond words that you think my writing is even readable, let alone good, I am going to keep the words to a minimum tonight. I've been experiencing plenty of peace and silence during the day despite all the tourists around me at the Grand Canyon, but I don't think I'm getting enough of it at night, meaning even though I don't like to, I will be going to bed early to catch some extra peace and quiet in my dreams!

But before I turn in for the night, here are a few brief thoughts and events from the day.

Last night, I ate dinner at a restaurant called the Blue Corn which was attached to one of the many hotels in Page, Arizona. I thought it would be harmless and I just wanted a quick meal that wasn't fast food. I thought about going to the Dam Bar and Grill (Page is near Glen Canyon Dam which helps create the nearby attraction of Lake Powell), but after driving by, I was intimidated by the large crowd as I didn't want all those people watching me dine alone, so I opted for the hotel restaurant where it might not be as wierd to be seen eating alone. Well, I didn't need to worry about crowds there, or being seen by anyone but my waitress. Have you ever eaten in a restaurant alone? How about completely alone? I don't mind eating alone and in fact hate the fact that society seems to feel sorry for or look down upon lone diners in a restaurant, so I try to do it every once in a while, it's very character and confidence building. I figure after this trip, I won't think twice about it, at least that's my hope.

I wasn't looking forward to another meal by myself tonight and wanted to find a fun place to get a decent meal - I haven't been having good luck in the dining department lately, since my cheaper hotels provide little to no breakfast in the mornings, I've been doing fast food while driving during lunchtime, and then of course there's the Blue Corn incident. I did have New York New York pizza on my first night in Vegas which was good, but not unique or different as I've been there many times. I am staying in Flagstaff for the night and my dad told me about a town called Williams at the junction of the 64 and I-40 so I decided to check it out. What he didn't tell me was how cool it was!! It's part of old Route 66, I felt like I was in the live action version of the movie "Cars," complete with neon lights, old buildings, a few old cars in pretty good condition, slow moving cars, and great hospitality. I even saw Lightning McQueen and Mater, well, sort of! And the great thing about old towns is the old memorabilia, including the most important of all, drum roll please, Coca Cola stuff!!

Those of you who know me well know I am a collector and avid drinker of this wonderful soft drink brand! And for those of you who are still confused about the matter, Pepsi is not Coke, and if I'm at a restaurant and I ask for Coke, that does not mean Pepsi, ever.

Now that we have that cleared up, I'm sure you'll all be glad to know that while I did eat alone as is expected while traveling by myself, I was not the only one there this time! I ate at Cruiser's Cafe 66, which was a great classic diner with plenty of outdoor seating and a live music act playing some classics on the guitar that were fitting for the historic Route 66 atmosphere. A burger, fries, and a rootbeer. Mmm, mmm, good! Finally, real food! I had a Southwestern Chicken Sandwich at one of the little food places at the Grand Canyon, and I'm just not sure it was actually chicken, it was more like white mystery meat. So this meal was a welcome respite from fast food and mystery food and just what I needed after a long, full day! I didn't want to leave Williams. The little town was exactly what I had been hoping to find and the best part is that the only reason I ended up there was because I missed my turn onto 180 which is a bit shorter way to get to Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon. I blame it on fate and thank it very much! I bought several souveneirs, including a cool Coca Cola glass to add to my collection! I hope to find more little unique places like Williams along the way! I'm glad I got my kicks on Route 66 at least once on this trip! (FYI: I'm using "kicks" as a synonym for fun or something of that nature, and not in an inappropriate way as I imagine it could be construed, my time was spent strictly sight seeing and eating good food, I promise!)

As I alluded to before, the Grand Canyon was simply too breathtaking to put into words. Even if I were to manage to catch my breath, I still don't think I could clearly articulate my feelings and thoughts from today, so I will leave it to the pictures and hope they do my in person experience justice. Remember, if one picture is worth a thousand words, the images below could fill up a novel! I wish you all could have been there with me, but to be honest, I'm sort of glad you weren't as it would have really messed up the whole theme of peace and quiet and solitude I'm going for on this leg of the trip. Is that bad? Please don't hate me! A little honesty never hurt, right? Ok, I'm sorry, I take it back! I'll photoshop you all in later if that helps take the sting out a bit.

Alright Jessa, enough with the words already! On with the pictures, sheesh!

Enjoy!

One final thought. The pictures with me in them are a combination of tripod, one-handed self-portraits, and the kindness of strangers. There were so many different kinds of people at the Grand Canyon, families, couples, friends, foreigners, and solo travelers such as myself. But the great thing was that everyone seemed very gracious and polite, no pushing or shoving or honking of horns, etc. Everyone I asked was very willing to take my photo, usually with the condition that I take one of them too, which doesn't seem much to ask, a fair trade seems reasonable to me. And many people approached me to take their picture, which earned me a few extras in return. If only the rest of life was this uncomplicated and easy.

Goodnight!