If you want to see the falls and not deal with the problems associated with the Indian reservation, do this trip in one day. Take the helicopter in, hike down to the falls and then fly-out.
Supai village is a dump. There’s garbage strewn about everywhere. The main tourist attraction in town is watching a bunch of locals wait around for the methadone clinic to open.
When we tried to check-in to the “lodge”, the clerk wouldn’t allow us to check-in since there was a power outtage in the village. No power, no water, no check-in. And, absolutely no advice from the clerk.
Since we had made advance reservations to stay at the lodge, we didn’t bring any camping gear. This left us in an interesting predicament.
So, I signed-up to take the helicopter out of the village. We had plenty of time to hike down to Havasu falls before the last flight out. .
Upon returning to the village, my wife wanted to see if the room situation had changed. The clerk told us that there was power, but still no water.
I then asked if this meant that we could check-in. The clerk said, “Ya, if you want to.” To which my wife replied, yes. So, I went back to the helicopter “pad” and cancelled our flight-out for that day.
The only restaurant in town makes your standard greasy-spoon restaurant look like haute cuisine. And, the people working at the cafe were just as apathetic as the lodge clerk.
Back at the lodge room, there was just enough water dribbling thru the bathtub faucet to fill a waste paper basket. This was adequate to flush the toilet.
Later that night, the natives went on the warpath. There was hooting and hollering and an occasional gunshot to be heard. I guess the methadone was starting to wear off.
The next day we hiked down to Mooney Falls. This is just past the campgrounds along the creek. The porta potties here were a total disgrace. One even had the door torn-off.
After returning from our trip we found-out that there had been numerous robberies in the campgrounds. And, a Japanese tourist was murdered by one of the locals.
Paradise? I think not. I grew-up in Chicago. So, I pay a lot of attention to what’s going on around me. The vibes here are bad ju-ju. More like Paradise Lost.
