Flagstaff, AZ If you think the Meteor Crater is inconvenient to the highway, then don't even think about going to the Grand Canyon. You have to leave the west bound interstate and travel north for about an hour. We thought the side trip would be worth it, but it was getting to be around 5 o'clock so we needed to hurry. We cut through Flagstaff and headed up to the Canyon. The one thing I noticed in Flagstaff that surprised my ignorant, misinformed brain was the large number of snow ski shops and resorts. I don't think of snow when I think of Arizona, I think of hot and arid desserts. But there are some high elevations in the state and the Grand Canyon itself is at a pretty high elevation. So it can get pretty cold and pretty snowy around this area.

There was one strange ski place that is interesting to note, called the Ski Haus. The lettering on the sign for the place is written in an old German style script. This isn't so weird, because it adds to the atmosphere of a place with the word "Haus" in its title. But what struck me as odd was the old late 1930's style military jeep setting out beside the place. I thought that took the atmosphere a little too far. When I think about places I would like to rent ski equipment from, I immediately eliminate all places that remind me of Nazis. And when I think of Germany in the late 1930's, I can't help but think of Hitler. Go figure.







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