The Rattlesnake Shake

Short burst up the road to an Airbnb south of Seligman, the instructions on how to find it could only be described as a manual. It requires Navajo tracking skills and Bear Grylls’ concentration, this really is the wilderness; we drive slowly to try and see the coloured pieces of cloth hanging from fence posts which are the designated turning points, slower still to avoid squashing any of the hundreds of prairie dogs that are all over the dust track. Anvil Rock Rd, By Gum Way, N Anvil Rock Rd, Running Shadow Rd; the word ‘road’ is a very loose term out here. The ‘No Firearms Beyond This Point’ sign is reassuring, there are no people here let alone heavy weaponry – unless the prairie dogs also have the right to bear arms.

Oh God! We’re in a converted shipping container hoisted above the Arizona desert and it could be the Garden of Eden. Hummingbirds buzz around, the owners are beyond charming, hammocks are in place, the bed smells of chamomile, the fridge is full, it’s only 4pm and Arizona is ours! There are hummingbirds everywhere… really.

The lovely owners give us the lowdown amusingly and briefly (see St Genevieve, Missouri) and we’ve set our sights on a stroll once round the desert scrub… until the owner hands over the ‘rattlesnake stick’ and explains how to use it. Hey, I’m exhausted anyway. Ashly wants to lie in the hammock and watch the sun disappear with her new hummingbird pals. I’m asleep by 5pm. Ashly has blissful hours on her own. We live together, work together, drive together – she needs this. 

Sadly, one of the reasons we came here; for the greatest stellar show on earth in a zero light polluted plateau on a purpose built viewing platform is buggered. It is the cloudiest night of the decade. Hey ho.

Did I forget to add that we ‘did’ the Grand Canyon in the morning? Early. Seeing the most photographed places on earth is always odd, feels like you’re not really there. Annoying educationally sub-normal young men with drones don’t help, and it’s still strange to see people not looking at the impossible canyon but taking pictures of each other with inane grins. We stare at what is easily geological wonder #001 and get out of Dodge quickly. We took two photographs. The ‘Flintstones Village’ near Valle AZ is sadly by-passed. It’s Sunday so I tuck my shirt in… we leave the canyon as the tourist coaches begin to gather.