Day 27 - (09/05) Chinle, AZ

Today’s travel was 237 miles from Flagstaff to Chinle, AZ. As we’ve experienced for the past three days, it was a gray day with intermittent heavy and light showers until mid-afternoon (thanks to hurricane effects from Mexico).

We stopped at Petrified Forest National Park and drove through some of the Painted Desert. The route (I-40W to US-191N to Navajo route 7) kept us mostly on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Petrified Forest at Visitor Center

Petrified Forest

Painted Desert (on overcast day)

We’re staying at Cottonwood Campground in the Canyon de Chelly (dah-Shay) National Monument. The campground is free, but we have to dry camp … which means if you didn’t bring it, you don’t have it.

This campground is clean, comfortable and free

We attended a ranger lecture on the history of the Navajo culture tonight. It’s very interesting to see how the various native histories we’ve seen in CO, UT and AZ are related.

Did you know?
A national park is established by an act of Congress; a national monument is usually established by proclamation of the President.

We tour Canyon de Chelly tomorrow.

Day 26 - (09/04) Flagstaff, AZ

The campground was fully booked for the Labor Day weekend. We had to move from one space to another. The new site was much smaller than last night’s, but we got some great new neighbors.

We took the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Route to Sedona. The drive was beautiful in spite of intermittent heavy and light showers. Historic US Route 66 was part of our route as we left Flagstaff. What a treat!

Oak Creek Canyon

Sedona is a “high-end” tourist town. We had lunch, walked the main street, window-shopped, then left for a drive on the Red Rock Scenic Byway.

Red Rock Canyon viewed as leaving Sedona

We continued south to Montezuma’s Castle National Monument. Unfortunately, there are no pictures to share.

Day 25 - (09/03) Flagstaff, AZ

We drove 85 miles to Flagstaff and spent most of the day on “maintenance items” … sorry, no pictures.

Dick replaced a circuit breaker in the trailer. Carol did laundry and refilled prescriptions at CVS (yup, they have CVS in AZ).

We had a late lunch at Mike and Rhonda’s The Place Restaurant. Their $6.85 hamburger special (single patty, salad, french fries and all the trimmings) was the highlight of the day. The meal was good. As you can tell, there really wasn’t much going on today.

We’re at a KOA Kampground.

Day 24 - (09/02) Grand Canyon, AZ

Today was full of South Rim touring. The sights were dramatic, continually changing and beyond our ability to capture. Here's a feeble attempt at sharing the experience ...

We started early by taking the Hermit Road shuttle west to Pima Point and walked 1.1 mi to Hermits Rest. We took the return shuttle to Mohave Point, walked along the rim 1.1 mi to Powell Point, and took the shuttle to the village.

Morning view from rim trail

The colors were ever changing



Don't worry ... there are no guard rails and a straight drop-off

Ravens were the "acrobats" of the canyon

We headed to the east entrance of the park to Desert View to see the Watchtower. An afternoon rainstorm moved in while we were there. We made quick stops at Lipan Point and Moran Point on return to the trailer.

Watchtower

Artwork inside the Watchtower

A view from inside the Watchtower ... sure can see 'em coming

View from Lipan Point

And the storm moves in

Canyon sure looks different than this morning

The rain stopped late in the day. We went to the village. It was a quiet evening with few tourists.

We listened to a naturalist who described recovery of the condor. More that 60 condors live in AZ; there are about 320 worldwide. We were able to see one perched in the overlook cliff face.

Day 23 - (09/01) Grand Canyon, AZ

Travel from the North Rim to the South Rim was a scenic drive through a Navajo Indian Reservation. There’s no simple way to get from point A to point B. The rims are about 10 miles apart as the crow flies, but it’s a 185 mile drive.

We passed remains of modern cliff dwellers on the way. This “rock community” was developed in the 1930s.

This house was built under the roof

Hmm ... how do they rearrange the rocks?

Outhouse for rock dwellers ... no, Dick didn't test it.

We took a detour by Lee's Ferry on the way. This is the location where Colorado River rafting trips begin. Two rafts were leaving as we arrived.

Raft begins river tour from Lee's Ferry

Carol found some outstanding fudge at a huge travel stop in Cameron, AZ. She reluctantly agreed we don’t have to go back for more.

An afternoon rain hit as we entered the park, so we concentrated on getting set up at Trailer Village.

Canyon from the South Rim

We went into Grand Canyon Village as the rain ended. We toured some shops, Hopi House, El Tovar Hotel, Verkamp’s Visitor Center and Bright Angel Lodge. Tourism here distracts from the experience much more than on the North Rim.

El Tovar Hotel

We ended the day with some wonderful chili and wine on the porch of El Tovar Hotel ... overlooking the canyon.

Sunset from the South Rim after the rain

Day 22 - (08/31) Jacob Lake, AZ

We started the day with a 45 mile drive to the North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge and Visitor Center. It was a beautiful drive through pine forests and past sprawling meadows. We saw a buffalo herd on the way.

The lodge’s lounge and dining room offer spectacular views of the canyon. There are overlooks right off the lodge terrace.

View from the lodge terrace ... Dick is the yellow speck

We took the Bright Angel Point Trail. The path was narrow; the dropoff views were literally breathtaking.

Then we drove to Vista Encantada, Wahalla, Angels Window and Cape Royal overlooks. The route included close-up views of the damage caused by the August 2009 Aspen Fire. The fire was started by lightning on July 28th and has been allowed to burn out naturally. It’s still active in parts of the Wahalla Plateau, which accounts for the haze you see in some pictures.

Angels Window Overlook

An attempt to share depth of the views

Damage from Aug 2009 Aspen Fire

We ended the viewing day with a drive to Point Imperial. This is the highest point on either rim (8,803 ft). It has spectacular views of Mt. Hayden and Marble Canyon.

Views from Point Imperial

Did you know?
The Kaibab squirrel is also known as the “Silver Ghost of the North Rim”. It has a gray body with a large white tail. It only lives on the North Rim and nowhere else in the world, because the Kaibab Plateau offers an island of forest surrounded by desert. We don’t understand the logic, but it’s what they say.

Gas update:
This is the highest we’ve seen on the trip - $3.039/gal for unleaded regular at Jacob Lake, AZ.

Day 21 - (08/30) Jacob Lake, AZ

We headed for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon today. Only 10% of canyon visitors come here. It’s sunny and clear. The 81 mile trip to Jacob Lake, AZ provided many new sights.

The eastern exit from Zion NP via the tunnels is very different from the canyon views we saw Friday and Saturday. There are no shuttle buses or fancy trails on this side of the park … just great views of unique terrain.

Interesting route out of the park

Rock formations are curious and dramatic

Only way out is by tunnel

Checkerboard Mountain

The route took us through Kanab, UT. It’s a real western town known for the movies filmed there (think Six Million Dollar Man, Lassie, Grissly Adams, Gunsmoke and over 80 more). We had huevos enchiladas for brunch at Nedra’s Too. It consisted of 2 cheese enchiladas, topped with 2 eggs any style, served with hash browns and tortillas. You should give it a try if you pass this way, but bring an appetite.

We’re camped at nearly 8,000 ft elevation in ponderosa pines at Kaibab Camper Village.
Did you know?
All the public water in this area has to be trucked in. A shower in this campground costs $2.25 for 5 minutes … thankfully, we brought our own shower (and water) with us.