Los Angeles, CA - Grand Canyon, AZ

Los Angeles, CA - Grand Canyon, AZ

Country #46 (an embarrassingly late entry), = USA.

I arrived in LA on Saturday, and stayed at a great hostel in Santa Monica for 2 nights.   Whilst there I did nothing particularly noteworthy, just chilled on the beach and had lunch with a UK work colleague who was also in the area. 

On Monday I went to Joshua Tree NP, and on the journey there the natural beauty of North America became apparent. I always loose perspective when huge numbers are involved, and all I’ll take from being told how many UKs could fit into Texas (for example) is “it’s bigger”. But when you’re in USA, particularly driving through countryside, you start to appreciate the scale of the vastness a bit more. Everything is bigger, mainly because there’s space for it. You can drive for hours and not see a town or another vehicle, in a way that isn’t possible in the UK. 

From Joshua Tree I set up camp just outside Lake Havasu City, right on the banks of the Colorado River. It was 36c so I enjoyed a swim in the open water, again, something that isn’t possible in the UK. Lake Havasu City is strange, in that there’s the original London Bridge right in the middle of it, with a ‘British theme park’ type feel to the place. 

After inwardly sniggering at the American replication of Britishness I swung by the Grand Canyon - my main reason for choosing this route. My guide suggested we put paper bags over our heads in the car park and form a sort of conga, ushered along in the right direction by her, which I agreed to. She lined us up against a railing, counted to 3, and told us to remove the bags. I’m so glad I agreed to make myself look silly for 5 minutes because removing that bag meant I felt the full extent of awe at the Grand Canyon in one go, rather than catching a glimpse from the horizon and then seeing a little bit more as I got closer. Again, when massive numbers are involved, I struggle to appreciate scale. I knew the Grand Canyon is 200 miles long, and the name very much implies vastness. What I didn’t expect was there to be nothing else on the horizon, only Canyon which was obscured by more Canyon. I hired a bike and cycled around some of the rim, hiked the Bright Angel route, and watched the sunset at Yavapai Point. I then camped underneath the stars, and woke early this morning to take a helicopter flight over the Canyon. 

As I write this post I’m on a bus en route to Las Vegas, where I’ll be for the next couple of days. 

Love Emily x