I left Albuquerque and headed west towards Flagstaff, chasing the sun.  On the drive into Arizona, the clouds went on forever.  As I drove, a huge mountain was off in the distance.  By now, the sun had set but the sky was still lit up.  Even so, a huge ominous cloud hung over this mountain like the blade of a guillotine, threatening to reign down it’s wrath on the city.  The mere presence of this cloud blotted out most of the sky, with just enough backlit red sky showing to make this a truly epic scene.

(My bad for not stopping to take a pic.)

As I drove, I knew I was getting close, and I had a feeling this massive mountain had something to do with Flagstaff.  Once I reached the base of it, the exits for Flagstaff started to pop up.  I had arrived.  Not long after, I was finally at the house of my host, John Kelly.  John was an exuberant character, full of life.  Just look at his profile pictures and you’ll get an idea.

He offered me the makeshift bed in what used to be the closet, and I gladly took it.

He then showed me around the townhouse, eventually leading to this interesting stump in the backyard.  

It’s actually a game you play, in which you spin a hammer in the air, then catch it.  However many spins you completed is how many times you get to hit your nail which is so steadily placed in the stump before you.  Whoever’s nail is hammered all the way in first wins!

After a beer, John provided two bicycles on which for us to do a bar tour around town.  After checking out the delicious beers of Flagstaff, I came back to my closet bed and rested up, for the next day I would be on my way into the Grand Canyon…