1am, Flagstaff, AZ. Almost the last gas station. $2.59/gal - quite acceptable. There is also beer in store - thanks, we'll pass on that; coffee - yes, please; also some wooden pistols and slingshots, whew, kids are asleep, so we won't worry...
2:30am, Seligman, AZ. The last town and gas station. Filling the tank up and following route 66 west. Turning north in about 30 miles, hence leaving the USA and entering Havasupai (People of Blue-green Water) Indian Reservation. The road is straight and well paved, we see 3 elk, that slows me down. They are nice enough to cross the road far ahead of the van.
Hitting dead end by 5:30am. This must be Hualapai Hilltop, but I am not sure... No signs. It's dark, smells horses and dust. Stars above as are huge. Few awake are falling asleep on the front seat in awkward poses.
8am. Sunrise manually!!!
Crew wakes up with the help of some tunes. Everyone is excited and somewhat hesitant about packing. Masha and Natasha packed back home, so we just need to decide how much food we are taking. I insist that I become very hungry after a hike, so we should take more food, Natasha is skeptical, so we find compromise somewhere in the middle. All packing takes about 2 hours, and by 11am we are on the trail down to the Havasu Canyon. going slowly, yielding to the horse and mule caravans that a led by Havasupai people. They are calm and cool, so we politely are saying "Hi!", when they pass by..