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The story of the Trek America Grand Trek: 28 April 2004 to 10th June 2004.
Alex(Ipswich), Alex(Buckinghamshire), Craig(Glasgow), Elaine(Glasgow), Hiroshi(Japan), Jo(Boston), Kim(Korea), Konomi(Japan), Laura(Ipswich), Liz(Brisbane), Sheena(Surrey), Steven(Edinburgh) and Vicki(Buckinghamshire).
Day 8 (San Antonio, TX - 5/5/04)
A long drive across Texas! Once we've settled in, we're all well ready for a dip in the pool! It's so hot!
After the dip we get to explore the very pretty San Antonio river walk. And the Spurs beat the Lakers!
Day 9 (San Antonio, TX - 6/5/04)
The day the craze for buying stuffed animals starts. Anthony the Homoxual Armadillo is purchased and Sheena finds her first Cadbury's chocolate since she's been away! Yey!
Also, this is the day 'Hell Boy' comes into our lives! We'll never forget the experience of sitting on top of the van on our wall mart chairs, watching the worst film ever created, (but probably also the funniest!)
And remember, 'If I had legs, I'd kick your ass!'
Day 10 (Carlsbad, NM - 7/5/04)
From Texas to New Mexico (oooh, it looks so different!)
The caverns are fantastic but we'll remember other things about today more!
The campsite is very windy and, as we find out, it's very difficult to cook with a face full of sand and when the food keeps blowing away!
In the evening we go to watch the bats flight. All is going well until someone notices something go flying off the van - Greg%uFFFDs sleeping mat, it turns out! But we can't go back for it (we're already late, surprise surprise!), so on we go!
There are loads of people sitting ready to watch but they're making too much noise - as Greg announces to the whole place! (cue lots of embarrassed faces on our part!). However, whether or not it has anything to do with the now dead silence, the bats do come out, and it does look pretty amazing!
We spend the rest of the evening searching for the flyaway sleeping mat but, although quite amusing, being armed only with our magnalites in the pitch black, it is not to be found!
Radar and Hazel join the group. Thank goodness we now have someone to keep an eye on speeding vehicles!
Day 11 (Albuquerque, NM - 8/5/04)
White Sands! The weather is boiling hot and we all decide to lay on the sand and make 'TREK' with our bodies! A really good idea but does start to get a bit uncomfortable after the 14th photo!
And Craig finds another use for Liz's red umbrella - shielding himself from the sun!
At the camp site, we have our picture taken with some bears and Jo gets to sit on a Harley!
Day 12 (Mesa Verde, CO - 9/5/04)
Breakfast highlight of the trip - free pancakes!!!
Driving into Colorado we get our first glimpse of snow-peaked mountains!
We arrive at one of the best camp sites of the trip. The views are amazing and there are animals everywhere! It's like being on a farm. It would've been rude not to take advantage of the swimming pool and hot tub!
Favourite quote of the day: %uFFFDYou can never get too close to a fire%uFFFD, Liz said before she went on to burn her flip-flops!
Day 13 (Monument Valley, UT - 10/5/04)
It's only a short walk with no climbing involved ( how silly were we..... )
And that was just the Mesa Verde trek in the morning! But we had been warned that it was very strenuous. The ladders were particularly interesting. And it's okay that some were so tired, because we were at a very high altitude, alright?!?!! But seriously, the cliff dwellings were amazing!
Monument Valley looks beautiful, and it was great fun trying to take so many photos in the middle of the road without getting killed. We saw mittens, three sisters, totem poles, Mexican hats, elephant's feet (or monuments resembling these!)
Words can't really express the hike. Or, as some like to call it, the %uFFFDHike of Possible Doom!%uFFFD I'm sure for co-ordinated, fit people, it would not have been a problem. But some people (Sheena) found it very challenging. Others (Liz) found the flat gentle sandy slopes at the beginning to be troublesome. I'll never forget the shocked silence at the realisation that yes, we would have to climb that fragile looking rope, and no, there was no need for safety precautions like helmets, wires, or an escalator!? But we all made it, and kept walking . . . Surely, if we just get over this cliff? Oh, I see another one, right. And so the rest of the walk continues.
So glad we did it, big sense of achievement when we did get to the top, the sunset views were amazing, and the Navajos took really good care of us, but what a day!
Sleeping under the stars was a real experience, and the night sky was amazingly beautiful. But the sand . . .
Day 14 (Grand Canyon NP, AZ - 11/5/04)
Respect goes out to those that actually hiked back down again! And to those that had to clean the van after we'd left most of the sand in there!
A few took the easier (although just as, if not more terrifying) jeep ride back down. A quick jeep tour of the valley, then we were on our way to the Grand Canyon!
We get to see a bit of the sunset, and so far the GC looks pretty cool!
Important questions were asked today, like "How long is the gay armadillo's neck?" and "How capitalist is this country?" (They never mention the one and a half dollar charge for for a 5-minute shower in the brochures do they?)
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