June 6, 2002
Hello Everyone:
Just returned from a second trip to the American Southwest. I has helping my son Rob move from Indianapolis to Phoenix where he is starting a job with Walgreen's as a staff pharmacist. He graduated from Butler University after six years of study in a Doctorate of Pharmacy course. You may recall that he went down originally on a track scholarship and not only had a great running career but also gained a great education!!
Before leaving Indianapolis, we took in the Indy 500 on just a perfect day. It was quite an experience but I don't think I will be in a hurry to go back a second time. First, the noise is incredible and if I hadn't brought ear plugs, I would have spent the day with my fingers in my ears. Second, after awhile, it really does get a little monotonous as the cars go round and round. The ending was pretty dramatic though as we watched Paul Tracy (Canadian) pass the race leader on the second last lap only to have the win taken away because of an accident that occurred on the opposite end of the track just seconds before he made his pass which resulted in the yellow caution lights coming on.
We took turns driving a moving van and his car down to Phoenix. The trip went well and we arrived in 2 1/2 days. During the afternoon we moved his stuff into his apartment (3rd floor - no elevator); then helped another fellow who we met move into his place for about an hour and then moved Rob's girlfriend's stuff into her apartment the next day. (She graduated with Rob and is also working for Walgreen's) - Oh, did I mention that when we arrived in Phoenix it was 109 F - just 2 degrees shy of the record? I have never drank so much water in my life. Every second trip up his stairs I had to stop for a few minutes and take a drink.
The temperature continued for the the 3 days that I was there. It really is a drier heat than here, but 109 is damn hot no matter how you look at it!! I was in a Starbuck's on Friday morning around 7.30 and many of the customers were ordering some kind of iced coffee. Another interesting thing is that if you sit out on a patio (they are always covered), many of the places have "misters" that send down a fine spray of water over you.
After the two days that we moved stuff, we went for a hike up Camelback mountain which is just inside the city limits of Scottsdale. It is about an hour hike to the top and I barely made it - cloudless sky - 105 degrees (cooler that day!) On the way down, my directionally challenged son got us lost ( in fairness, the trail was not that well marked) and we ended up improvising our own way down the rock strewn, treeless slopes. When we finally got to the bottom we were on the wrong side of the mountain and had to walk about 3 km to get back to the car. The scary thing for me was that we had run out of water about half way down and I was getting pretty dehydrated. I hope my son learned a lesson about hiking in Arizona from that little ordeal - carry extra water and stay on the trail!!
Sunday, I took a bus to Palm Springs and picked up the Jaguar that I had driven down last November. I took the northern route back this time and made it to Las Vegas the first night. I spent 5 hours walking the strip with my mouth open. It really is totally mind-boggling - you have to see it to believe it. I have never seen hotel complexes so huge - not just the towers that often contain thousands of guest rooms but the bottom level - the casinos, stores, restaurants, night clubs, roller coasters, dolphin tanks, lion parks, 6 acres lakes that contain numerous water fountains that spout hundreds of feet in the air, pirate shows, exploding volcanoes, a not-so-mini Eiffel tower, Venetian grand canals with gondolas - you get the idea!! Actually, if you don't gamble it can be a very reasonable vacation - almost everything I described is free and you can get great deals on buffet meals at most casinos.
Monday's trip helped get my mind back on track and my perspectives back in order. Aside from some wonderful drives through the Alps in 1989, it was the most scenic day of driving that I have ever done. Although the man-made wonders of Las Vegas are spectacular, there really is no comparison to what I experienced as I drove through southern Utah and then crossed the Rockies in Colorado. I'm sure you have seen pictures of the badlands and canyon lands of this area. Vistas of eroded landscape that stretch for hundreds of miles. Fantastic rock sculptures that took any shape that your imagination could create. Brilliant colours dominated by the various reds of the rocky landscape starkly contrasted against the clear blue sky. There was a stretch of about 50 miles that I could have easily shot 5 rolls of film. Finally, the late afternoon 3 hour drive up the west side of the Rockies to Loveland Pass (elevation 12,000 feet), and then down into Denver completed an awe inspiring day that made me grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to experience such natural splendour.
I made it home from Denver in two days - average speed most of the time was 80mph - (speed limit is 75). I was much more relaxed driving the Jag this time and really enjoyed the comfort of this heavy beast with a 350hp eight cylinder engine.
I am working on a website that I hope to have posted in the next few weeks. It will contain pictures of my travels over the last year and I will send you the address soon.
Best wishes to Sherratt staff - the end is in sight!!
Love to Jeff, Nancy, Rob, Vicki.
All the best,
Larry Return