A Grand Trip

“Fair warning this is a long post so you may want to get a cup of coffee. I hope you enjoy it.”

Being here in the Grand Canyon State it would be a shame not to see it. We are about 200 miles from the canyon and about 5000’ lower in elevation from the south rim. With the rising price of diesel fuel we knew this would cost us a bit but like I said, it would be a shame to miss it.

On Friday we started out about 7:00 A.M. heading north and then east toward the canyon. Right off the bat the big Dodge had to make a 12 mile 6% grade climb to the higher ground. That is just the first set of mountains we cross over on our venture. It is basically uphill all the way traversing several mountain passes along the way. It is all interstate so the roads are pretty goods.

The temperature in Bullhead City has been in the 80’s and as we neared the canyon we watched the outdoor temp. drop into the low 50’s. We also began to see snow on the side of the road and on the mountain peaks, some of which towered over 12,000’.

Not flip flop weather

On our arrival at the canyon we had to put on our warmer clothes. I had to put on a heaver shirt and jacket. Victoria had to change out of her shorts and flip flops into more appropriate gear. Wake up in shorts and tee shirts and by lunch long pants and jackets.

This is only an overnight trip so we have one day here and we want to pack in as much as we can. We went right to the canyon rim and Boom, Bang, there it is. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, you must put this on your bucket list. This is an awesome place. The colors and rock formations are hard to describe. We took a ton of pictures none of which come close to showing the huge vastness and beauty of this national park. I hope you enjoy the ones I post.

Huge and awesome

I have to say we are all truly fortunate to have these special places set aside for us all to enjoy. Working with the National Park Service, we have gotten a glimpse of how much effort and dedication it takes to keep these places open for us all to enjoy, not to mention the money.

The tourist

We walked along the rim for a mile or so stopping what seemed to be every few feet to take in the spectacular vistas. We sat and had a snack right at the rim. We took pictures of each other pretending to jump in. That is not recommended as it is hundreds if not thousands of feet to the bottom. We walked and watched the local wildlife. We saw a couple real healthy squirrels and some beautiful birds.

Chippy "for Stacie"

We eventually wound up at a small museum at the rim that explained the geology of the canyon. It had all kinds of info in the form of pictures, graphs, and displays. They also had binoculars so we could look down into and across the canyon. I could see rafts down on the Colorado River. The same river that forms Lake Mohave where we are staying over 200 miles away.

The color is unreal

After all that walking we decided to take the park bus to the Canyon Village. Here we had a bowl of chili which was very tasty and a good choice for this cool day. We then walked up to the El Tovar Hotel where Victoria rested her tired dogs on the front porch while I hunted up some coffee. We sat sipping on our hot drinks enjoying the cool air and spectacular surroundings of the canyon and the grand old hotel.

We were tired and it was getting late, we decided to take the red line bus for a scenic trip along the canyon rim. This was great because we could get off and on the bus at different overlooks. We spent time at several of them taking pictures and owing and awing at the colors of the canyon. When we were ready to move on we hopped the next bus that ran on scheduled stops about every eight minutes. We rode all the way out to the end of the canyon and back getting back just as darkness was setting in. This was a fantastic day, a day that will remain in our minds for the rest of our lives.

Word and pictures can't describe this

We headed out of the park to our overnight hotel in Flagstaff. Between the canyon and the interstate is a two lane road that goes through a mostly unpopulated area. It was dark and there was no moon so I pulled the dually onto a side road and shut off the engine and lights. Pitch black and a gazillion stars. We even saw a satellite floating across the sky.

We arrived in Flagstaff about 9:00 P.M. and “We Were Hungry!!!”. One of the rangers we work for use to live here and gave us some recommendations of places to eat. We chose Oreganos, a pizza place. It was a funky little place that specialized in thin crust pizza. Being traditional when it comes to pizza we ordered a 16’ pepperoni. It was good but we both decided we like our crust a bit thicker. I really don’t think I have had a great pie since I moved from N.Y.

We then headed to the Roadway Inn for the night. What a dump, I usually do pretty good in choosing a place to stay but not this time. Roadway will not get any more of our business. If it was not so late we would have found another place but we were tired so we slept, got up, showered and hit the road.

We drove around Flagstaff’s historical section and checked out all the old building and some great architecture. We found a local bagel shop, “Biffs’ Bagels”, where we had great bagels and flavored cream cheese and a good cup of Joe. The place was decorated with pictures of dogs. They were all memorial pictures with the dates of the dog’s birth and death. A bit weird, but the pictures were cool.

Flagstaff is at about 5 to 6,000’ and there was still snow on the ground in spots. A mere 14 miles away and 3,000’ higher is The Snow Bowl, a ski area. Back in the truck and up we go along a twisty turny road to the base of the ski area. The peak is at 12,000’. The elevation change in this part of the county is amazing.  

Snow on the mountains

Victoria and I walked around the ski area watching people ski and snowboard down the steep mountain. If we had more time I would have done a little skiing, oh well, maybe the ski resort will still be open in Jackson Hole when we get there.

Skiers at the Snow Bowl

We descended down the mountain and headed for Walnut Canyon National Monument.  This is another wonderful park provided by our tax dollars. Walnut Canyon is the site of ancient cliff dwelling of the Pueblo Indians. They inhabited the cliffs hundreds of years ago. They lived in stone structures built right into natural overhangs in the cliff.

The cliff dwellings

The park is designed so you walk down about 185 steps to an area that is like an island in the canyon. There is a foot path that goes all the way around the perimeter and passes by several of the cliff dwellings. The park service is restoring many of the structures on the island. On the opposite side of the canyon we could see the ruins of more of these ancient homes.

A cliff house

As we walked we explored the cliffs and read the provided plaques that gave information about everything from the people who inhabited the canyon to how they lived and what they ate. Walnut Canyon is a much smaller and different than The Grand Canyon but Victoria and I felt it was just as impressive in its own way.

The great explorer

It was getting late in the afternoon and with a 3 hour ride ahead of us we climbed into the big Dodge and headed west on I-40. We arrived back at our little home on wheels about 8:00 P.M. where the temperature was a warm 77 degrees.