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June 19, 2011

Williams to Grand Canyon to Cortez

After a quick breakfast and repacking the van, we headed out for the Grand Canyon. On arrival at the South Rim area, we parked and then walked to the main viewpoints. Again, it was a mind-boggling moment for the Austrian newbies. Lots of photos were taken. The we moved on to the next view point and the Tower for more. Around mid-day we were on our way through the Navajo reservation. Franz had originally thought of Tuba City for the night's stop but we were ahead of schedule so kept heading on to Monument Valley and maybe Mexican Water for the night. The weather changed quickly and by Monument Valley we had some rain, then strong wind and a sand storm. Mexican Hat didn't have anything appealing for the night and dinner, so we headed on to Cortez, CO., which was originally planned for the next night's stay. We got to Cortez later on a Sunday night and Father's Day. After finding rooms at a combination of a Best Western and a Super Eight, we all headed off in hopes of finding something for dinner. The ladies at the Best Western suggested Blondies, a pub grub kind of place, and they were still open. The group of 8 closed the place. The kitchen closed and only our waitress stayed as long as we wanted to and we ate ourselves silly on huge platters of appetizers and green chile burgers and strange microbrew beers.