In a Big Country #1

After a full body pat down in Tallahassee, a brief flight and four hour layover, I found myself with two married people that insisted I sit between them.

"Don't worry, we'll just talk over you!"

Words could not express my joy. The next four hours were a dizzying blur of personal details from two people, that although very nice, reached comfort levels with strangers, faster than Charlie Sheen goes from negotiation, to completion, with hookers. We shared life experiences and my tray table, for duration of the flight.

Once in Vegas, I was greeted by my sister Barbie, and brother Davey. We visited her beautiful house, and I wanted to stay but, we were on a tight schedule, and before long Davey and I were on the road.

We drove up to Hoover Dam and stood in wonder of that awesome structure. The moon was full, and a canopy of stars set the backdrop for the beginning of our trip. Davey and I laughed at the beauty of the night, and off we went into the desert toward the Grand Canyon.

We stopped for the night in Williams Arizona, at a cheap hotel my sister found for us on line. She was doing recon as we drove, and called us to keep us awake and on track. It was like that voice, in the Trans Am, on "Night Rider". We found the hotel at four A.M. and we passed out like Charlie Sheen on a..(insert favorite drunk metaphor here). Three hours later, we woke up and felt like we had slept for hours. It must be the altitude. We found a cool little cafe' and had the last good meal of the trip (in a restaurant).

After being beaten, by the huge plates they served us, we hobbled to the car, and headed for the south rim. I'm sorry, I don't have the writing chops to do this justice. Once you are at the canyon and you see the scale of it, descriptions and photos are sacrilege compared to being there. So few things live up to the hype, and when something does, it knocks your reality around, and makes you realize you have been missing the point for a long time. Grand Canyon is one of those places. Perhaps the best surprise was that the tourists there didn't ruin it. People were quiet. There was no graffiti, and we tried all day but never found trash on the ground. There is a supreme being, and I thank (Deity of choice) that the hand of the ignorant, has not left a smudged print on this cathedral. If you have been, you know what I mean, and if you haven't, stand up, walk to your car, and go right now. It's that good.

We stayed as long as we could and finally drove out the south end, heading to Flagstaff. We stopped at a small Navajo market. I bought some pottery and jewellery, for the ever understanding wife. The canyons continued long after we left the park and we pointed, sighed, and marveled, at the landscape we hated to leave. Onward into the big sky and more adventures to come.

W.B.Z.N.