Southwest (2)

Heading north, Camp Verde is home to the world’s largest Kokopelli, a religious figure in the shape of a flute player. Next is Montezuma Castle National Monument, a well-preserved rock castle. The next accommodation is in Sedona, also known as “Beverly Hills on the Rocks”. The striking rocks of Red Rock County shine in the sun and have names like Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock or Teapot Rock. From Sedona it’s just a short trip to Flagstaff and to Walnut Canyon National Monument, a rather impressive canyon with more rock dwellings.

From now on we are driving west again. Between the two cowboy towns of Cottonwood and Clarkdale lies the Tuzigoot National Monument, another former native American settlement. Via Jerome (with a hillside like on the Amalfi Coast), Prescott (before Phoenix interim capital of Arizona) and Kingman (without any charm) we reach Lake Havasu on the lake of the same name. There are two outstanding sights here: London Bridge, imported from London and faithfully rebuilt, and Parker Dam with the highest dam in the world. Last destination in Arizona is Quartzsite with its pyramid crowned by a small camel, the burial place of Hi Jolly, a camel driver from Syria.

When we reach Joshua Tree National Park, we are back in California. The Joshua palm lilies do exist only in this part of the Mojave Desert. A last excursion into nature is waiting in Palm Springs, where we take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up Mount San Jacinto. Then it’s straight into the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, America’s second largest city. The next two days we spend in Downtown LA, in Hollywood and Beverly Hills and on the beaches of Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Malibu.

Since we still want to visit friends we last saw 27 (!) years ago, we follow the Pacific coast north. Via Santa Barbara with the most expensive residential area in the USA and San Luis Obispo with a Bubblegum Alley exclusively decorated with used chewing gum, we reach Arroyo Grande.

The journey back is relatively unspectacular. We make our way through the greater Los Angeles area, stroll a bit through Oceanside (with the longest wooden pier on the West Coast), take a few photos of Legoland in Carlsbad and end our trip through the American Southwest at the beach in La Jolla, a San Diego neighborhood.