Between Zion and Grand Canyon

I was happy to leave Utah behind and head into Arizona. I knew the Grand Canyon would be cooler than the weather we were experiencing. I had also been there once before and was ready to be in a little more familiar surroundings. Driving through alien-like rock structures is cool and all for awhile, but I ended up feeling out of place and uncomfortable (and not just from the heat!) after a day of it. The barren landscape got under my skin.

There is no straight route between Zion and the Grand Canyon. We drove through several little desert towns that left me reeling as I tried to put myself in the shoes of the people who live there. Again, not for me, thank you!

There was one little town, it almost looked like an oasis. Just on the outskirts of it there was a sign that said "Cliff Dwellers" along with obvious remnants of rustic housing built into the crevasses of gigantic boulders. Thinking it might be a historic site from ancient Indian dwellings, we stopped. It turned out to be homes people had built in the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression. It was depressing indeed. One step out of the car and my breath shriveled up; I felt like I was walking through a big pool of play dough: it was just so hot! And to think that people actually lived here! Without air conditioning or running water! Regardless, the remains were fascinating.

The remains of a chimney

Justin, eagerly walking towards the remains of a rock house from the 1930s

This is the view from the houses. Would you want to wake up to this every morning? Me neither.

Apparently a woman driving through in the 1920s had some car trouble here. She ended up staying overnight before she could get it fixed. She fell in love with the area and bought up the land. Huh. Go figure!