BREAKFAST THIS MORNING consists of donuts, coffee, and orange juice in the Ho-Jo lobby, and we can hear the chugging and the whistle of the Grand Canyon Railroad train at the Williams station as we leave around 8:00 to drive southeast toward Montezuma Castle. The land around us changes again as we travel from the pines around Williams and Flagstaff into the scrub desert. Again, although we are never within sight of each other during the 1 ½ hour drive, we spot the Waters' car just before arriving and pull into the Visitor Center parking lot at the same time. The tour of Montezuma Castle, a very well-preserved ruin of a prehistoric Sinagua Indian cliff dwelling (where, despite the name the Spaniards gave it, the Aztec ruler Montezuma probably never visited) is a self-guided walking tour. The trail, except for a small section which ascends only a few feet up into the ruins of a ground level section, stays at the base of the cliff. Tourists have not been allowed access to the main buildings since the early fifties, due to the rapid deterioration in the condition of the ruins. We walked the trail, stopping at several locations to let our imaginations take us back to when people lived here. Lou and I made up our own scenarios, based on our speculation that this was really a well-known prehistoric Sinagua vacation and golf resort. Linda added that it was probably designed before the advent of municipal building codes and abandoned after the (presumably) elaborate and extensive front part of the building collapsed, leaving only the few remaining utility-type rooms we see today. Needless to say, this somewhat unorthodox explanation is not likely to find much acceptance in the anthropological community. But there is no evidence that completely contradicts it, and little of what is known today appears to be any more reliable.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY Our Intention to visit Tuzigoot, another Sinagua ruins (this one the freestanding foundation of a pueblo building) and the "ghost" town of Jerome, but time restraints (and the desire of Mary and Linda to see less rocks and sand and more slot machines instead) cause us to make a slight alteration that cut these destinations from our plans. We head directly to the town of Sedona and the Oak Creek Canyon. I remembered Sedona from camping trips here over a quarter century ago, and it certainly has changed a bit. What had been a picturesque sleepy little crossroads town, serving the local campers with a postoffice, a couple restaurants, and some souvenir shops and general stores has become a thriving upscale community of designer homes and elite shops. It is still picturesque, though, partially due to municipal ordinances that require all structures to conform to a rigid standard of southwestern architecture. Some expressions of this are quite inventive, such as the local McDonald's, which looks like a pueblo and (as an advertising billboard located outside the town limits boasts) sports teal-colored arches instead of the familiar golden ones.

At a gift shop in town, Lou asks the saleslady for an insider's recommendation for a place to have lunch. She says that folks who actually live and work here prefer a restaurant called Friendly Bob's and tells us how to get there. That's where we have lunch.

This is where we first take advantage of having rented two separate vehicles instead of a single van. Both wives have seen all the rocks and scenery they want to for today. They have no desire to "re-live the glory that was Route 66". They just want to get back to the hotel in Las Vegas (five and a half hours away) and hit those casinos for some real fun. Lizzy wants to go swimming. So instead of having to argue about it until someone gives up what s/he wanted to do, we split up into the "just get me back to the hotel" group and the "let's ramble along Route 66 and maybe even find a ghost town" group. That is, the adults do. Poor Lizzy gets a lesson in the limitations of an eleven-year-old's decision rights when she is drafted to come along with her dad and I (she just might learn something fun, and besides, children aren't allowed in the casino).

So, leaving from Sedona, Mary and Linda will drive straight back to Las Vegas, while Lou, myself, and a protesting Lizzy will continue our more leisurely drive along the same route, with stops and side trips along the way. We (well, two of us, anyway) want to check out some of the remains of the famous old U.S. Route 66 and possibly a ghost town or two. Lizzy, ever-fearful of violating her vacation principles, which are "sleeping in, relaxing, and avoiding anything labelled educational" (this is her own proudly announced definition, not just a snide comment from me) reluctantly agrees to remain with us, provided Lou promises to take her to the children's arcade at the hotel when we get back, and that there would be ice cream involved somewhere along the ride.

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Story and original photography copyright ©1996-1997 by John Lipman. All rights reserved.
Descriptions, observations, and characterizations expressed are solely those of the author.
Background music, "Gauntlet", is an original composition © 1997 by Dean Burkhart. All rights reserved.
Re-sequencing and revisions by John Lipman by permission
Visit Dean's Midi & Real Audio Page to hear the original version of Gauntlet and other fine works by this artist

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