We took the scenic route from Las Vegas across the desert to cross a familiar landmark - the original London Bridge from England...
In the early 1960s, officials in England discovered that London Bridge was falling down. The 1,000-foot span had stood for over 130 years and survived the Blitz, but it was unequipped for modern traffic and was slowly sinking into the River Thames. Renovations were impractical so the City of London resolved to build a more car-friendly replacement. The 19th century granite bridge seemed destined for the junkyard, but a city councilor marketed the monument to prospective buyers in the U.S. The sales pitch raised a few eyebrows in the United States, but businessman Robert McCulloch had purchased thousands of acres of land near Arizona’s Lake Havasu and needed to attract developers. He bought the bridge and had it dismantled and shipped to the Arizona desert where it linked a small island to the shore.
Then he built the city which is now home to over 50,000 full-time residents and boasts a thriving tourist industry. London Bridge, still standing after 185 years on two continents, remains its most recognizable landmark.
With London Bridge behind us we carried on to the community of Williams from where we could launch an early morning assault on the Grand Canyon ...
At more than 2 miles deep it is a truly awesome sight...
Many people climb down into canyon but we simply enjoyed the many spectacular vistas from the rim.
A nearby spectacular sight is the painted desert where numerous different geological layers have been exposed by wind and rain...
Not far away is the equally fantastic Petrified Forest on the lands of the Navajo and Apache Indians.
These petrified trees were swept into a vast swamp 225 million years ago and were gradually turned to stone by the chemicals in the water...
Who cut them into perfect rounds is an absolute mystery!!!
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