Flagstaff

The next day i decided to visit Flagstaff for the main purpose of shopping. I headed to "Maswik Lodge" and waited there for the shuttle. I thought that it would be more fun to just go there without a reservation for a hotel. Upon arriving at the train station i asked the information desk if they knew a cheap place to stay nearby. They pointed me towards the "Grand Canyon Hostel", the room was 21$ with 5$ deposit for the key. It had 4 beds a radiator and a sink, i left my tripod and hit the shops.

  Flagstaff is a really old mountain town, the first permanent settlement there was built in 1876. It has lost of historical buildings and a wild west feeling to it, and on that note the stuff i wanted to buy were some cowboy boots, a hat and maybe a belt buckle. First i went to "Gene's Western Wear", everybody in the shop were very helpful and with some difficulty i was able to fit into a size 13(46.5EU) brown roper boots! The only ones in the whole store that fitted me. I bought two pairs of "Wrangler" jeans and i was on my way back to the hostel.

I was a bit surprised when i saw two guys in the room already. Tim from Austria and Preetesh from South Africa. We chatted a lot, and then me and Preetesh went in search for a place to eat. We ended up in "Fratelli's Pizza" where you can get a slice of pizza, salad and a soda for 6$, which compared to other places in the states is quite cheap. After that i hurried back to the room and got my tripod, i wanted to take a picture of an old American diner that i saw from the shuttle, and i had no idea how far away it was. It turned out to be 3 miles away, but i got there just in time for the sunset.

After i got back i found out that we had a new room mate , he was from Germany and riding a bike through the States. I spend the rest of the night going through my 3 backup cell phone batteries, got a bit of sleep and went out early with the thought of catching the sunrise, but the colors were quite dull, and i didn't like the results. I still hadn't bought a hat so i went in search of the other store that i knew about, it was called "Circle Q", it turned out to be six blocks from the train station, but no matter,  i found what i needed there. I checked out of the hostel around 11am and still had around 4.5 hours left 'till the shuttle back to the Canyon. On my way to the train station i saw some tumble weeds rolling towards me, it was straight out of an old western movie...a deserted train station and some tumble weeds ^^ .

This picture was taken by my friend Rolland Babka which i met at that very spot! I wish you all the best wherever you are!

The "South Rim" of the Grand Canyon is at an altitude of around 7000ft. or 2.1km above sea level. The air is quite thinner than what i am used to back home. Riding a bicycle uphill for example is twice as hard, or when you carry heavy bags, even for a short distance you feel the strain immediately.

   Today we went to the canyon early in the morning so we can catch the sunrise. After a mile or so we went off the "Rim Trail", through some loose earth and rocks, having only branches to hang on to and vertical drops on our other side, a while later we were on rock pointing into the canyon. The sunrise was gorgeous, we saw the first rays of morning light touch the jagged edges of the "North Rim", and engulf everything in warm light.

   After we got back i ordered a 500GB external hard drive with a CF card slot, so i can backup my pictures, because i had only 5 cards which were not going to last very long. It cost 149$, a lot of  money, and kind of a risk if i took into account the comments for the product, but that was the only one i could afford. It seems that i have brought more clothes than necessary, the washing machine was ready in 30 minutes and the tumble drier in an hour, so you don't have to wait days for your clothes to dry.

   I cleaned the bike, pumped up the tires and greased the chain, only one of the big sprockets was working, but it had to do. We rode the bikes through the forest with mule deers walking around us, it is incredible that these beautiful animals can be seen from so close. While Kiril was going through his shift at the store i bought two magazines- "Arizona Highways" and a collectors edition "Chevy magazine" which was commemorating 100 years of "Chevy", they made some incredible cars through the years. 

I went for a hike on my own in the afternoon in search of interesting spots for pictures, i ended up at "Yavapai Geological Museum", took a short break and with around 30 minutes left before sunset i headed towards a cliff i saw earlier. There were two terraces, the lower one was the one i was after, but getting there wasn't going to be easy, i looked around i  spotted a way down. I dropped my jacket and tripod before me and lowered myself down. The colors of the sunset were absolutely astonishing.

 

It was already dark before i decided that i was done with taking pictures, so i was going to use the flash of my cell phone to light my way home. After i got back i decided that i am going to take a well deserved bath, but before that i noticed something very disturbing, the pocket of my backpack where i keep my wallet was open...and my wallet wasn't there. Then the terrible thought of dropping my wallet somewhere in the dark on my way home dawned on me...No need to say that in my wallet was my passport, my to credit cards and around 200$ cash...and if i had lost it..i was done for. I was on my way to tell my friend Kiril the terrible news, when i saw that there was something underneath a newspaper on the table, and lord behold there it was! After that incident i never took my wallet outside of the apartment.

PHX-Grand Canyon

The flight was quite bad, when i boarded, the plane was freezing  cold, during the flight it was searing hot and they didn't serve any food...After landing i confirmed my reservation with the shuttle service and got my bags. The last two parts of my long journey were ahead of me.
      It took us 2.5 hours to get to Flagstaff and another 2 hours to Grand Canyon Village. My friend Kiril was waiting for me at "Maswik Lodge" which was a hotel and a place where you can get something to eat. His apartment was 10 minutes from there, and after a brief walk through a forest we were there. I unpacked my suitcase, we ate dinner and chatted a bit. The only thing in my mind was sleep.

The next day i woke up around 3:00am, in hindsight maybe going to bed in 20:30pm was a mistake. It was -6 degrees centigrade outside, luckily there was central heating in the apartment. The plan was to spend the first week of my trip at the Canyon, and then a trip to Flagstaff to get a look around and buy stuff, followed by a trip to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Even though it was only my second day in the USA, i was feeling quite nostalgic already, probably enhanced by the lack of cell phone signal and internet at that moment.

  
Around 7:30am we went outside for a walk in the nearby forest and saw lots of Elk and Mule deers. We had breakfast and William Patrick, who is a friend of Kiril and an MPS employee at the Canyon, arrived for coffee later. He is quite the character, and looks like someone from the wild west, with his cowboy hat, boots ant long mustache. We climbed in the pickup truck and went to buy some lottery tickets in the nearby Tusayan village, which is supposed to be the smallest in the USA. Its quite new, it has an IMAX cinema, gas station, lots of hotels and restaurants. The jackpot is around 100'000'000$ and we had a gentleman's agreement that if some of us won, would give the others 500'000$ each! Then we went to "Desert View" which is one of the many viewpoints around the Grand Canyon. Its famous with the Lookout tower build in the 1920's in Native American style.

There i had my first view of the Canyon, the vastness of it is just staggering, because its so huge you cant compare it to anything around you for scale, the things that seem close are 10 miles away.. We headed for the diner since we were starving, i had a cheeseburger, and i have to say that it was quite good. Then i got my backpack from the truck and went in searching for an interesting viewpoint for my first picture of the Grand Canyon.

On our way back we stopped by the "General Store" to buy some food, the prices were 3 times higher than the ones back home! But i had no choice so i bought some orange juice, eggs, bacon and some other stuff. My "Visa Card" wasn't working so i used my "MasterCard". William gave me his bicycle so now i had the means to move around.

On our way to "Brooklyn" we passed through "Times Square", which is a bigger version of the "Piccadilly Circus" in London, though i am not sure which one was first.

Our goal was "Brooklyn Heights" promenade, and its spectacular view of the island, but the moment we got there a huge gust of cold wind came from the "Hudson" river and almost froze me solid. I decided that it would be better for the remainder of the trip to just skip that, than get sick. Tedy suggested we go to the "Verizano" bridge, and since we had a car that didn't take long. It was still very cold, obviously a storm was coming, i made the most of it and retreated to the warmth of heaters in the car.

After that we went for another snack, and in search for a wc, the 11 hours of flight time were starting to get the better of me. We went to the same place we had earlier, but as i went in the wc and closed the door, it jammed, and i wasn't able to get out! I knew that there was somebody outside and said:

" Hey man, can you open the door from there? Its stuck! "
" Give me 20$ and i will," he said.

At that point in time i was thinking...you've got to be fucking kidding me! But a few seconds after that he said:
" I am joking man, i will get you out, just stay cool ".

The key wasn't working so he kicked the door down, i thanked him , and Tedy bought him a slice of pizza as  a reward, he was happy with that. I was starting to feel sleepy, it had been around 48hours since i last slept, and we decided it was time to go to the airport.

It took us 25 minutes to get to "New Ark" airport, compared to the 2hours in the other direction. We said our goodbye's, and i headed to one of the screens to check the gate and the time of my flight to Phoenix. I found a corner near a bench and went to sleep. After two or three hours of sleep i woke up and went to stand in line for the check in. I got my boarding pass, went through security and sat on a bench at my gate, waiting for the boarding time.

I went to the desk and asked for a ticket, but the lady was reluctant to give me one, she said that it was too foggy and cloudy and you couldn't see anything, and there was no refund..etc..

" I have about 5 hours left in NY, so just let me go up there, i will figure it out, " i said.

She seemed to be surprised by my determination, and asked where i was from, when i answered-Bulgaria, she immediately turned to her colleague and said:

" She is from Bulgaria as well! "

At that point the other girl just turned lazily and said " Zdraviei " in accented Bulgarian, i returned the gesture and got in the elevator. The ride up was quite exhilarating, 0-70floor in about 10 seconds...Wow...

There were 3 terraces, the first two with glass walls, and free unobstructed view on the top. I was warned that i should use my tripod only on one leg, because it's not allowed to use three. I did some shots with three anyway, but then they warned me again, and i decided to use the natural tripods around- the stone fences. One of the security guys was from Croatia, and we chatted a bit in a mixture of Bulgarian, Croatian..and something else, which i like to call "Balkan". It was pretty  cold up there you can imagine- wind, rain and all sorts of cold stuff, that makes you shiver. I spend around 40 minutes up there, and headed down frozen and happy.

The first thing we wanted to do, was find a place to eat, because we were starving. But on our way there i was able to take my first pictures of Manhattan.

We found a pizza place, and grabbed a couple of slices, warmed up a little and then back into the "Bat mobile" (NY has always reminded me of Gotham City) and toward "Rockefeller Center" and "Top of the Rock" observation deck, my biggest hope for great pictures of NY. There was absolutely nowhere to park there, so i jumped out with my tripod and camera bag and headed for the ticket desk.

As we entered Manhattan through the "Lincoln Tunnel",  that was the sight that greeted us:

NY

I was going towards border control, when i was pulled over by a police officer who wanted to know, what was my business in his country. After politely explaining everything again, i waited on another big line..and passed the "border". To my utter astonishment it turned out that they allowed me to stay in the USA until the end of April next year, which was the original idea...why they didn't do that in the first place back home is still unknown...

      And here i was, in America, the good old US of A. Everybody in Eastern Europe has heard some stories, or just watched too many movies, so back home, they still believe in the American dream. When they hear "USA",  their association of course  is: cheap goods, earning lots of money for doing nothing, and shopping until exhaustion. The reality is quite different but i will get to that later on. I picked up my suitcase and headed for the exit, there i was supposed to meet a friend of my mum's called Tedy, and together we were going to explore Manhattan. The problem was, i wasn't able to find him...I called his number, but nobody was answering, i even made a call to Bulgaria, to find a way to reach him from there. After 15 minutes we sort of looked at each other and immediately recognized each other.

 " I called your phone, how come you didn't pick up?," i said.
" I haven't heard it, let me check..", he answered

       It turned out, that his phone was missing, and we headed through torrential chilling rain towards the car in the hope that we will find it there. The car was a brand new rental "Chevy Camaro", and was absolutely gorgeous! On first look we didn't find the phone, and he went out in the rain to track his steps, and maybe find some trace of it. And of course 2 minutes after that i found it, between the console and one of the seats. He got back, started the car, and we headed towards the "Lincoln Tunnel". Guess what happened next ? The fuel light came on! Tedy misjudged the amount of fuel he will need to get to the airport and back, since this car had a beast of an engine, that wasn't surprising. We asked for a gas station at the toll booth, and feathered the throttle in that direction.

Zero Hour

The night before departure, i wasn't able to sleep, and used my time to watch some episodes of an old British sitcom called " Allo, Allo ". My friend Mitko drove me to the airport around 3:30am. I usually love our airport, since its quite new and shiny, but to my amazement some areas of the parking lot and entrance to the building were quite neglected and were falling apart.

  I checked in, chose a seat near the window, said my goodbye's to my Family and Mitko and headed for the security check. Everything was in order, and after putting my belt back on, i went for gate B8. I waited calmly and listened to some music, which gave me the opportunity to try the new headphones i had bought. They had a bit of noise cancelling in them, and i was separated from all the commotion around me.

  After boarding the plane i found myself the only passenger on a three seat row, "perfect," i said to myself. The pilot then kindly informed us that there will be a delay of around 50minutes...

It was a good thing that i had 2 hours to change flights in Frankfurt. On another note, the plane was quite spacious and clean, Lufthansa=Quality. Since i had some time on my hands, i started browsing through my ticket, and i spotted that i will be landing in an airport called "EWR", i hoped that this was "New Ark".

The delay turned out to be only 15 minutes, and we were on our way to Frankfurt International Airport. I felt like Kevin McCallister , from the movie Home Alone 2. Like him i was alone and heading to NY, the difference is that i wanted to go there, and he ended up there by mistake, either way i was hoping to have a great time there!

What awaits me in Frankfurt? The biggest airport in Europe, but before that-a meal! The last thing i ate were some pickles and a meat roll 4 hours ago^^. I wondered when the sun was going to rise, it was 6:40am, and pitch dark. After seeing it though, i came to the conclusion, and not for the first time, that it is one of the most spectacular things you can see.

The food looked something like a cross between a croissant and "banitza" (which is traditional Bulgarian food), i waited for my orange juice before i ventured in the unknown that is the food served by the airlines.

We landed around 8:00 CET, i wasn't able to find my flight number and gate on the big screen, and asked a guy from Lufthansa, he was nice enough to point me in the right direction. I took a train towards my terminal and ended up behind a huge line of people waiting to go through security. I passed with no delays and headed straight for gate A62, bought a magazine about classic motorbikes, which was a total rip off for the price of 17$, but i had coins left from previous trips and used those. The wi-fi wasn't free, so i had to use a kiosk to post an update on twitter.

  Meanwhile i saw that people changing flights should contact the information desk. They asked me a ton of questions, "did you pack your bags?", "where are you going?", "address?", and all sorts of other stuff, after that they issued me a new boarding pass.

The plane was a Boeing 777, huge plane, at least the biggest i have ever seen. In front of each seat there was a monitor with free movies, games and music, to fill in the long flight. The pilot said that the trip will take us around 8 hours and 10 minutes.

A band of drunk Norwegians were sat in front of me, and they had their seats in the lowest position possible which resulted in some serious cramping in my legs...

The pilot called from the speakers and asked if there was a doctor on board, I hoped that this doesn't turn into an Agatha Christie novel! After that announcement, i turned my attention to one of the Norwegians which was now hitting on one of the stewardesses...that was as funny as it was tragic.

I watched "Casino Royale" and "The Magnificent Seven", then slept a little. I filled in the customs papers as we approached NY, and we landed at about 14:00pm local time.

Introduction

First i would like to clarify, what this blog is all about. The idea of going to the States was born 2 years ago, while talking to my friend and "adash"(which means-having the same name, in Bulgarian) Kiril. He had a green card and was working at the Grand Canyon.

   " Why don't you come over?, " he said.

" It would cost a lot of money, which i don't have, and also have no idea how to save, " i replied.

One year after that talk, i had found myself mesmerized by motorbikes, and was on my way to saving for one. And of course as you can imagine, i hit the wall. My dad was having none of that, i knew his concerns, and i must say, if i had a kid i was going to be worried too. So my saving scheme switched from the bike to the trip, after all...you can always buy a bike, and this trip was once in a lifetime opportunity.

  The year started slow, and around the middle of March i wasn't sure if i was going to save the 1000$ i needed for my plane ticket. But as time passed by, all of a sudden it was the end of September, and i had just saved enough. The next step was, filling the application for the tourist visa in the American Embassy. That set me back around 120$, and that's the fee for them to just look at the documents, without any guarantee of a positive outcome.

D-DAY for my interview came, and wearing my best suit, i headed to the American Embassy. I was around 30 minutes early, which is not at all surprising for the people that know me. I spend around 10 in my car listening to music, and then i started towards the building. After waiting 15 minutes, and wondering why there aren't any other people waiting, i figured out that i was waiting at the wrong entrance, but i managed to get to the right one 3 minutes before the time i was allocated for my interview which was 10:15am.

   There was a big line of people, it turned out that the hour of the appointment was just suggestive, and people were going in by first come, first go basis. After completing my interview, i was informed that my visa was approved and that i will receive my passport tomorrow...

   The next day, after i received the envelope from UPS, i discovered something quite shocking...after filling the period during which i wanted to travel, and mentioning that to the consulate, it seemed that they didn't pay attention, or just disregarded my wishes, and although i was given a visa, it was for a very different period of time. My visa was supposed to be for April, and mine was from the fifth of October to the fifth of December...

I was, pretty upset as you can imagine, a whole year of saving, and dreaming of that trip was going straight to hell. But then i found out, that the ticket prices where the same for 3 weeks later as 6 months later, so i decided to go for it!

Before i go on with The Story itself, i would like to thank my friend Ira, for buying me a notebook in which to write my thoughts and impressions from the trip. Without that i would not have the opportunity to share this story with you.