To reach Phoenix I had to ride a distance of roughly two hundred miles across very flat terrain. However, I made good time as the road was mostly freeway and I was able to follow 'I 10' all the way from Tucson. My purpose in going to Phoenix was to visit a rodeo. This was to take place at the Arizona State fair in the centre of the city on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th October. I arrived on the afternoon of 25th and as the nearest campsite was over twenty miles away, I booked into a motel for the first time on my holiday. The next day I set out for the fair which was within walking distance. The rodeo took place at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was an all Indian rodeo and the audience too appeared to be composed mostly of Indians many of who appeared to be related to the participants of the rodeo. These were the first Indians I had seen on my travels. They appeared mostly to be of Navajo or Apache extraction. The rodeo was obviously an annual festival and I was treated to displays of bareback bronc. riding, bull riding, calf roping, bull dogging and barrel racing. When it was over I was able to explore the fair which was in essence a large fun-fair with many horrific mechanical rides. But there was a tent devoted to the arts and crafts of the Indians, including demonstrations of Navajo weaving and sand painting. I stayed a second evening at the motel as it was too late to continue my journey that day. That evening I explored Phoenix's night life. there were only two bars within walking distance from the motel. In one the juke box played country music continuously, in the other it played non stop heavy metal music. I detested both but chose the bar with the country music because at least it was quieter. The next day I left Phoenix and rode north-west along 'Route 88' towards Holbrook. After twenty miles the landscape began to change and I left the desert behind me. Soon I was into mountain country and the road climbed its way through pine forests. The change in terrain was quite dramatic and is not of the type generally associated with Arizona. It reminded me very much of an earlier trip to the black forest in Germany. As I climbed it began to get colder, although the sky was still clear and filled with sunshine. I was forced to stop and put on more clothing, conscious of the fact that only the other day I was sweltering in the desert. Eventually I emerged from the forests on to a dry flat plain, conscious of the fact that I was at high altitude. I was back in desert again, however, it was still cold. It was a very dry cutting cold but there was no wind. I reached Holbrook, found a campsite and pitched my tent. Then I walked to a nearby restaurant for a steak to warm myself up. It was seven o'clock and already getting dark. It was extremely cold that night. The next morning I got up, packed up my tent and booked into a nearby motel. Then I had a hot shower to defrost myself before setting off to explore the nearby Painted Desert and petrified Forest National Park. The ride through the national park covers a 27 mile scenic drive through an area characterised by desert and sandstone. The desert is stained by different minerals such as carbon and iron in the sandstone and also by scant vegetation. This gives rises to vivid, greens, reds and blues. There is hardly any rainfall here and there is no water so that erosion is slow. The sky overhead was a deep clear blue and the sun was shining but it was still very cold. In certain parts of the desert the slow erosion had uncovered giant petrified logs; the remains of primeval trees which, after falling into ancient rivers, had become encased in silt and silica turning them into fossilised rock. The sight of these "rock -logs" is quite staggering. In some cases they have protected the ground below them somewhat from erosion so that they have been left above the surrounding area on the top of small pillars of sandstone. I spent the whole day exploring this area and then returned to the motel for the night. The next day I set off early and was soon riding west towards Flafstaff on the famous 'Route 66'. On the way I stopped to view Meteor Crater. This is a giant hole in the desert created by a meteor dating back to 20,000 BC.. It is 570 feet deep and more than 3 miles in circumference. It was here that NASA trained its Astronauts for walking on the moon. I stopped for an hour and then continued on my way. At one point I saw horse back riders in the distance away to the right and felt that they must be Indians as I was crossing part of the large Navajo reservation. At Flagstaff I turned north on to 'Route 89'. The terrain had changed briefly again to pine forest but soon I was back in desert. It was much warmer than the day before but not warm enough to discard my leather jacket. A little while later, I turned left on to 'R64' and a few miles later I reached the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I expect most people have seen pictures of this famous landmark. To me the steep walls seemed to resemble a badly cut block of Neapolitan ice cream. The Colorado river at the bottom of the gorge appeared as a mere trickle. I followed the rim, through pine forests, stopping at various vantage points to admire this dramatic spectacle. There was a campsite near the visitor centre which, because of the time of year, was almost deserted. I stopped there and pitched my tent by the light of my head lamp. I would have liked to have descended the gorge to the bottom of the canyon but I knew that the journey would have had to be by foot or mule and would have taken two days. Also there were other sights I wished to see before it was time to head home. The next morning I rose early and once more packed my tent on the back of the bike. Then I rode west away from the Canyon on 'R89'. I rode north for a few miles before turning north-east on to 'R160' which led me deep into Indian Territory.