Day 25: Williams, Arizona

Hmm, one of those days. Having left my favourite motel of the trip in Mexican Hat we drifted down into Monument Valley. The reason it was my favourite motel? Well it had no TV and it had a front porch. We had a lovely balmy evening as the sun set, watching the lightning from a distant thunderstorm. Afterwards I listened to music until I fell asleep. Couldn't have been more relaxing.
The stretch of road leading into monument valley must be the most photographed piece of road in the world. It is spectacular as you come over the rise and see the mesas in the distance with the road curving away. It looks so lonely. The reality was of course coming over the rise and almost flattening the Italian family doing the photo op in the middle of the road. I took my pic from a little rise next to the road as I wanted to be different and also it's wrong to have to queue to have to take a picture in the middle of a "deserted road".
Monument valley is spectacular, similar vibe to Arches in Moab. There had been heavy rain through the night before which was great for us as it kept the dust down and added some fun to the scenic loop which was a mixture of mud and sand. We might have enjoyed the road more than he scenery but all in all it made an excellent combo.
After lunch in the town of Kayenta ( I don't think I have ever been in a more depressing place), we rode rather briskly to the Grand Canyon.
The plan had been to spend the night absorbing the majesty of the place but we hadn't factored quite how many people would be there and how expensive it is. So rather than a leisurely evening watching the sunset we had a late afternoon at the canyon elbowing the crowds out of the way.
Eventually we cracked and rode 50 miles down the road to Williams - more about that in a moment.
Experiences are so subjective and so ours of the canyon should be seen through a filter of hot, tired, crowds etc
Despite the majesty of the place I realised I have seen so many images that it wasn't jaw dropping, it was simply what I expected.
Unlike Williams.
I had never heard of Williams until today. We arrived latish at the motel where the check in lady was blessed with the most annoying voice ever. Dave helped by asking lots of questions so that I could fully appreciate how annoying she is. Eventually I cracked (again) and leapt across the counter and pounded her with the "what to do in Williams" pamphlets until she was finally mercifully quiet.
I didn't realise that we are now on Route 66. So we pop a mile down the road to town for supper to be totally immersed in neon, Harley's and 50's throwback Chevys. I have never seen so many 66 signs. All very different to Mexican Hat but once i put my cynicism aside, quite cool. From empty mountains to Saturday night parading in 24 hours..
I didn't take my phone so no pictures but I expect there will be plenty more opportunities for Route 66 imagery.
No shortage of spectacular images today.