When the Cyclist sags for the Car!

Day 12 was a rest day & the oppurtunity to tour the south rim. We took a 4 hour tour which gave a great idea of what there is to see. We also saw the 1,300 year old Utah Juniper that was used to solve the mystery of why the early peoples left the area (drought). They were Hopi & moved about 80 miles east where they live today carrying on much of the early life style. It is from them that researchers can recreate the ancient life stlye. Also got the answer to the curious sight of dozens of cars parked alond the road leading to the center of thr hotels etc. They were just parked off the road & when I had cycled in I wondered why so many people were ?picnicing or ?hiking along the way. Do you know the answer/ I'll give it later!
That night we left the park to go to Tusayan about 6 miles down the road for dinner & to see the IMAX of the Canyon. Well worth it with spectacular recreation of how the early explorers navigated the river. They rebuilt the boats they had used & ran the rapids in them-more courage than brains I would say!
Day 13 left for Flagstaff about 80 miles away. Hazel took a helicopter tour which I didn't have time to do & in fact had covered 30 miles before she was done. She enjoyed it but wasn't estatic.
We met on the quiet scenic road leading off from Valle about 37 miles from Flagstaff. When Hazel stops to wait for me she tries to find a place were she could pull off the road to be out of the way of traffic. Luckily she stopped at a spot where a country dirt road led off to farms etc. I rode off & she waited as she often did listening to books on tape & knitting. After a while she would move on & again find a place an hours ride up the road to wait for me. This time I got a text after riding about a mile "car wont start, battery flat". I texted back "call AAA in Flagstaff". She replied "there is no cell phone connection".
So that was that & I cycled back to help. Tried to flag down cars & no one would stop. I guess I looked pretty scary in my riding clothes!
The next bit of luck was that 2 trucks came down the dirt road right next to us & stopped to help. They had jumper cables & a minute later problem solved. Hazel headed of to Flagstaff to get the battery checked out & I continued to ride. Turns out the battry was o.k., just not able to run the tapes for hours during the day if the engine wasn't running.
The route was lovely & scenic. Passed through the San Fransisco mountains & even saw the Flagstaff Nordic center & a ski resort just outside Flagstaff. All a complete surprise. Our mistake was to think of Arizona as Phoenix.
Hazel explored Flagstaff while waiting for me to arrive.. She thought it reminded her of Boulder but with the added atraction of the Native American influence. Thought the stores, boutiques, coffee shops were very hip. She got a call from our beloved nephew Gidon Melmed in Jerusalem. His close friend & business partner Daniel Rosen was in Flagstaff where he is working with the Native American people. They are trying to bring Israeli technology in solar power & water to help them develop these resources. We met for a great Sushi dinner & afterwards Daniel suggested that we go to the famous Lowell Observatory to see the art exhibition there of Shonto Begay, one of the best Native American artists. Daniel has been "adopted" as a son by Shonto & today in fact he is driving 300 miles to be with him & his family in the reservation.
Bad news-turns out that the observatory is closed on Thursday night. Good news- there was a school class that was having a special visit & were going to see & use the famous telescope So we got in with them, heard a great lecture about the night sky, saw & looked through the telescope at Jupiter & saw the art exhibition as well. The telescope is 180 yeras old. It was used to discover Pluto. Now it is used only for research. There are about 25 astronomers working at the observatory these days.We learned about a new concept for us-that of a Dark Sky City. Flagstaff is the first. It means that light polution is minimized so that the stars can be easliy seen at night & also less wastage of electricity. Saw photos from space which really shows where the wasted light is coming from. I was embarrased to see how bright Denver was!
Our hotel (Days Inn) is on the historic Route 66 which was the original route from Chicago to Los Angeles.
So it was quite a day!
Answer to the cars along the road at Grand Canyon-they belong to Hopi Indians who have exclusive rights to harvest pine nuts which are harvested this time of year.
Today we head for Sedona. Making a leasurly start as it is only 30 miles away. We are off to have breakfast at the highly recommended Macys coffee shop. Then onto the bike for a plunge down into Sedona.