We've just returned from what I termed "The Grand Circle". Flew to Phoenix, Arizona, then drove to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoya Park. From there, we went to the Pacific coast: Monterrey Peninsula, a stretch of Route 1, Morro Bay, LA. And from LA, back to Phoenix and so home to Newark Airport.
The experience was so vast, I can hardly express it in words. I've seen a completely new face of Nature, something I haven't experienced in my previous life in Russia or in my new life in New York. The Gran Canyon is especially imposing. The impression is that no matter where you look, there is another chasm that goes deeper still, until eventually you can't even see the bottom of the deepest one - too narrow and too steep. The camera utterly failed me - I could not possibly convey that experience of seeing no bottom, no ultimate limit. Or, similarly, the clouds hurrying over Route 1 at the Pacific Coast - tendrils of fog 10 feet over the road, while the road itself is perfectly clear. And the cloud itself, hanging over the cliffs and slowly moving inland.
Some of the impressions are not even visual - the aroma of pines in the Sequoya National Park, the desert wind and the taste of salt in Death Valley, Soda Springs mineral water in Yosemite - exactly like Polustrovo mineral water of my youth.
The low points were, in retrospect, Las Vegas and LA. Las Vegas is, compared to the other things we saw, amazingly fake. We visited Venetian and Caesar's Palace, the casinos famous for the decor. I found it irritating. I've seen palaces, and these are anything but. They are, perfectly obviously, pumps for sucking money. And that's it. No art or culture needs apply.
LA was just another big city. Malibu beaches were nice. But again, for someone who lived in big cities on th ecoast before, nothing special.
The last day was really trying: 6 hors drive, 5 hours inn airport, 5 hours flight, an hour drive - all with n sleep. In the end I spent 24 hours awake. Toward the end Irka had to whack me with a water bottle to keep me awake on the way home.
I will probably post more on this trip as the whim strikes. For now, I'll be returning to the normal posting...
Some of the
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