Lee’s World
South West States
In June 2008, Mark and I set out on a road trip which would take us around the South West States as well as flying to the Midwest to Oklahoma.
Before the trip I started off in Los Angeles for a few days, looking at some of the city's architectural gems - John Lautner's Chemosphere, Frank Lloyd Wright's Sturges House, and his Ennis House, Frank Gehry's home in Santa Monica, Loyola Law School, and his Disney Concert Hall, and spending time visiting the recently restored Griffith Observatory.
Moving to Palm Springs, we spent a week eating well at the inaugural Palm Springs Restaurant Week, before we set off in the heat (up to 120 degrees!) to Arizona. Our first stop was Scottsdale near Phoenix where we stayed at the Fairmont Princess resort. Not a bad place to end up spending a long weekend!
Scottsdale was the Winter retreat for Frank Lloyd
Wright who developed his architectural school at Taliesin West. The school
still operates, and students are encouraged to build their own accommodation
in the desert, just as they did when FLW was running the place. We enjoyed a
tour of the buildings and learnt about life in what would have been a very
remote site, following which we drove round all the Lloyd Wright designed
houses that we could find in Phoenix.
We
were fortunate that someone let us into the amazing Grady Gammage Auditorium
to look around when it was closed to visitors. We also visited the Arizona
Biltmore Hotel where Lloyd Wright acted as architectural consultant.
Frank
Lloyd Wright was proving to be a major influence on our trip, as he had on
several trips before. Despite our friends thinking we were mad, we flew from
Phoenix to Tulsa, Oklahoma to stay at the Price Tower, Bartlesville. The
tower was built in the 1950s, and was the only "skyscraper" built which
Lloyd Wright designed. It was only 19 storeys high, and part of the Tower is
now a hotel. Included in our stay was a tour of the building including a
visit to Mr Price's office on the top floor. It was well worth the trip to
stay in such a remarkable building.
Back
to Phoenix for the dramatic drive through Sedona to Williams. At Sedona we
branched off the main road and took Schnebly Hill Road. We were warned that
the road was unpaved, but we weren't told that most of the road had been
washed away, and was for several miles, just bare, rough, ragged rock. Still
the views were spectacular, and it was worth it. Probably would have been
easier in an SUV rather than our Chrysler 300 though!
Williams proved to be a real disappointment, living
only off it's proximity to the
Grand Canyon. Mark and I went to the Canyon on the
Grand Canyon Railroad, travelling in
the luxurious Parlor Class. It proved to be just what we needed - a relaxing
journey to the Canyon, with plenty of rest. And when you arrive at the
Canyon - well, it takes your breath away! You've seen photos and videos of
the Canyon, but nothing really prepares you for the sight.
We found the food mostly plain or disappointing since leaving Palm Springs, so were looking forward to some culinary delights in our final destination - Las Vegas. So our first stop in Vegas - after a quick cosmo in one of the bars in the MGM Grand - was Wolfgang Puck's Grill! We made up for lost time, and over the long weekend ate at Fiamma (MGM), Bradley Ogden (Caesars), Mon Ami Gabi (Paris) and the buffet at Wynns.
We were in Vegas though for a reason other than food -
the Divine Miss M was
appearing
at Caesars! Bette Midler opened for her Vegas residency earlier in the year,
and the reviews were outstanding. Bette is such a multi-talented performer,
and her show is well worth seeing. For 90 minutes she entertains, sings,
dances and tells dirty jokes - what more could you ask for!
Almost three weeks in length and over 3500 miles of domestic travel, the trip left us exhausted, but it was a great time. Mark, as ever - thanks, couldn't have done it without you.