Day Twenty - Grand Canyon and Sedona (AZ)

Every once in a while I come up with an epiphany. Sometimes I remember them, sometimes I don't. This one I remember. It seems to me that most of the memories that mom retains are fear or pain based. I find this scary and sad. Scary, because I am hoping that if I ever have Alzheimer's, that I will remember the happy memories. And sad, because I don't like that mom's emptying head is being populated mostly by negative memories. Which is, I guess, another reason for this trip. To try and stuff as many positive memories into her noggin as I can.

Yesterday was certainly a memorable day for stunning scenery! Goodness gracious, how lucky we are!! We drove from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon - not too far, in the scope of things. About an hour. Parking was abysmal, but we ended up in a handicapped spot, right in front (virtually) of the visitor's center. Have I mentioned lately, that mom's handicapped placard is one of the best things about traveling with her? We almost always find a parking spot! Yay!

Mom was feeling the altitude, so we didn't get far before I parked her on a bench and went in search of the Grand Canyon. For such a large geologic feature of the planet, it was elusive. Ok, no, it wasn't. I walked up and was awed immediately. In other circumstances, I would probably have spent 5 hours or more, wandering around - maybe even making a hike down and all that. But I was with my mom, so I went back and we watched the Grand Canyon movie. Then, I had a minor epiphany. There was a bike rental place, maybe they rented wheel chairs! A wheelchair wouldn't allow us to do the hike to the bottom, but at least I wouldn't be frustrated with many mom-mini-pauses on our way to look at the Grand Canyon. Yay!

Mom was suitably impressed. We spent a good long while moving along the Southern Rim seeing the fabulous vistas that the Grand Canyon presents. Words are inadequate.

Eventually, we headed back to the book shop, as postcards were needed. After stopping there, we headed to eat lunch. I picked a place I had seen on the way in to the park - Yippee-Ei-O! Steakhouse. I just liked the name. Weird place inside - very dark. But we had a good shared meal of beans and cheese dip (mom loved this for some reason) and a taco salad with chicken (I needed the chicken for my Daily Challenge). Too much food for driving, but luckily, it wasn't a long haul.

We drove back along the scenic route - which didn't actually end up being any longer than the superhighway route. And much more pleasant to drive. Yay! Somehow, despite all of that, we didn't have as much downtime at the motel as I had anticipated. Mom had napped a little in the car and promptly crashed on the bed. I had a little computer housekeeping to accomplish before I "meditated" for 15 minutes. Ok, it was mostly napping for me too.

Off to Sedona. The first time I heard about Sedona was when I was doing Match.com. For some reason, I kept getting hits from Sedona. I even corresponded with one woman who lived there - though she had been born and raised in the NorthEast. Actually, thinking back on it, her profile might have said she lived back East but she was relocating to Sedona. Or something like that. Anyway, I did some research (quelle suprise!) and found out two things - it was a lovely part of the country, and it was filled with lots of people who were spiritually oriented. Sounded like a great place to visit if not live! I have been in the vicinity a few times before this, but not made a concerted effort to visit. This time, I arranged the trip so that this was achieved! Hurrah for planning! And I am glad we did.

Red Rocks is the geologic feature that is so amazing in Sedona. In fact, I think we will drive through there again on our way to Tuscon. It oughtn't to add too much time to the trip and I think it will be worth it! Again, mom was excited, which really is what this trip is about. After our viewing, we headed to a brew pub for dinner.

Oak Creek Brewery must have moved at some point in the not too distant past - as my GPS led me to a Japanese Restaurant and not the brewery. I then put in an address I had for them and headed there. I thought we would never find it, but we did. It was a cool place, and if I had been by myself, I definitely would have stayed there. It was a cool, pub like location. Very laid back. Sadly, they didn't have much in the way of food. Mom would have eaten whatever I had given her, but I thought she might be better off eating a heartier meal. So we headed to their sister property, the Oak Creek Brewery and Grill.

The Oak Creek Brewery and Grill was in an upscale shopping plaza on the second floor. Much more touristy than the first place. But the beer was good and the food tasty. And the view was pretty amazing as well! Tye and Alika made the visit enjoyable! More on my brewpub blog (eventually).

We took the longer and less scenic (well, it was dark, so I can't say that for absolute truth) route back to the motel. I didn't want to face the twisty drive in the dark! It had been an stunning day, so we both basically went right to sleep!

Mom at the Grand Canyon

Food at Yippee-Ei-O!

Red Rocks in Sedona

Oak Creek Brewery and Grill