Friday 15 November 2019
After yesterday’s fantastic day seeing the Grand Canyon – I wasn’t sure if our day in Flagstaff before catching the train to LA tonight would be able to match it or be a wasted let-down sort of day. No need to fear – today was excellent. We slept in and had a lovely cooked breakfast (on crockery again – see yesterday’s post for why that’s important). Checked out and stored our luggage at the hotel. They had a free shuttle to take us Downtown. The weather is even better than yesterday – 17 degrees C – not a cloud in the sky – and more importantly – no wind! You get a clear view right to the San Francisco Peaks – 12,000 ft. It is hard to imagine that Flagstaff itself is at 7,000 ft – almost as high as Mt Kosciusko – our highest peak in Australia!
We wander the streets looking at the impressive original buildings of Flagstaff. One street has a huge pink Catholic church besides which stand the Indian Bible Church , besides which stands the Mission to the Navajo Indians – quite an eclectic view! A quick coffee and we get a taxi – same firm as yesterday – to take us to the Museum of Northern Arizona. This museum covers the art and history and culture of the Indian tribes of the Colorado Plateau. Among the usual exhibits you would expect – pots, jewelry, art and so forth – was a special exhibition – would you believe it – on the impact of the ‘Star Wars’films on Native culture. So there I was standing before an R2D2 robot – full size and fully functional – painted in Native Indian colours and motifs! There was also a special display focused on the ants that inhabit the ground under and around the museum.
Back to our hotel for a relaxing afternoon as we wait for them to take us to the Amtrak Station to board the 9.38pm train to LA – the end of a wonderful two days in Arizona. I can’t speak more highly of the hospitality we received from everyone we met and who served us in this beautiful and delightful city. I recommend a visit.
Father Shane's Observations and Travels 