Grand Canyon and a Surprise in Flagstaff
In Travel on January 3, 2012 at 2:54 amMy most recent adventure brought me to Flagstaff Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon. after arriving on New Year’s Eve to a bustling city filled with excitement, we checked in with the Grand Canyon Hostel. The hostel had great rooms as well as an amazingly friendly staff, all of which was nice to have after the latest thirty hour train segment.
Our first day in Flagstaff was nice; Flagstaff is an incredibly friendly and tight knit community from what I gathered. Later in the night as my girlfriend and I were searching for a grocery store I recognized a face from my German program I was involved in the last year. He was visiting the town also with a friend and I just couldn’t believe the coincidence. We went out for a few beers and afterward we decided to visit the Grand Canyon together.
Luckily they were going to the Canyon by car which meant that we could cancel our bus ticket to the Grand Canyon. We woke up early and made the two hour drive there. Upon arriving we visited a castle styled building called the watchtower. The tower gave a magnificent view of the canyon and preluded a picturesque day. We continued to drive the south rim of the canyon and climbing on the rocks, all the while taking care not to fall in.
We ended the day by going to the Canyon’s amphitheater and watching the sunset as a deer came close to us and fed. We drove through the cold Arizona winter desert in the dark and cruised under the star filled sky to end an awesome trip to the canyon.
Journey through the USA
In Travel on January 1, 2012 at 5:34 pmWhat is 7000 miles long, brings you to new places and people, and also makes you smell somewhat bad occasionally? A twelve stop journey through the USA with Amtrak’s 30 day USA rail pass, that’s what!
My girlfriend Asia from Poland departed from Vancouver, Washington on the 15th of December, and since then have mad stops in Glacier National Park, Chicago, DC, Providence, RI, Michigan, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Next up will be LA, then San Fran, and finally home.
I highly recommend taking such a trip to any American. Our country is so big, and chances are that you will never get to experience the beauty of the land while also visiting some of the best attractions such as the Chicago skyline, the history and architecture of DC, or the awe of the Grand Canyon.
Being on a train for a long period of time can get boring however, and this is a great time to start a conversation with the people sitting around you. Chances are that you will meet some cool people, of course along with some real idiots, but hey, that’s life. We stayed at hostels which are inexpensive and a great way to meet people. You can view the hostel selection in various cities by going to Hostelworld.com.
Last but not least is the problem of eating and hygiene on the train. I recommend bringing food aboard the train because it gets fairly pricy eating their food. If you want to sleep well consider bringing sleeping aid pills and an eye cover; they leave the lights on usually and your chair is only so comfortable after a while.
Be prepared to be smelly. Two days on a train can be awfully hard on your hygiene, therefore stock up on deodorant. You will only get to shower if you upgrade to a sleeper car which costs hundreds of dollars on top of your ticket.
Overall traveling the US by train is awesome, but be ready for the obstacles that arise along the way. For more info on the rail pass visit Amtrak.com, here you will get up to date prices and info.
Happy Travels!
