Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 7 and 8: Holbrook to Grand Canyon

5/28-29/11  This is another twofer days (two days for one click!)  Grand Canyon days!  We got up, went to breakfast, packed up and left town, headed to the Grand Canyon.  The drive was easy; I'm not used to 75 mph Interstate speed limits, but I like them.  We drove to Flagstaff and then took a state road to connect to Hwy 62 that goes to the Grand Canyon.  Traffic was low, so it was an easy drive.  Except for the wind.  Damn, it blew and blew and blew.  Tonight's weather reported that we had gusts of over 50mph; I had to keep correcting the car's direction due to the gusts and constant winds.

We found the hotel we'll spend two nights in and checked in.  The room is fine, so I think this part is working like it should.  After a few minutes of rest, back to the car to make the 5 mile drive to the park.

Because this is Memorial Day weekend, the entrance was packed with cars, trucks, campers and busses.  It took a while to get into the park.  My Senior pass was great; the $25 fee was waived by the pass.  It's the greatest deal in travel.

Once in the park, we drove to the welcome center and walked out to the rim.  I think Sis was awed by the view of the sight in front of her.  Neither words nor pictures do justice to the canyon.  It averages 10 miles from one side to the other, and is 5,000 to 6,000 feet deep.  Colors of red, brown, yellow, white, with some green from plants; it's just gorgeous.  This is my third visit to the park, and it's great to be seeing it with Bar.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that she and I would see one of the 7 wonders of the world together.  I believe my mother and dad are smiling when they see us traveling together.

We used the busses to see the westernmost points and the areas near the village, leaving the eastern points for day two.

We got hungry and needed a snack.  So, we went to the cafeteria where Gary and I had lunch when we were here and got something to carry us over to dinner.  Bar got a slice of pizza, while I had a cinnamon bun and a beer.  It was good!

It got time to start heading back, so we used the busses to get back to where we left the car.  It was beginning to be dusk, and the wind was still howling, putting a chill in the air.

I used my handheld gps to find the car, using a setting for walking.  It led us right to the correct parking lot (they all look the same at the welcome center where we parked.  Then I told the gps to take us back to the motel using the fastest route.  So, we started following the directions and drove and drove and drove through the park.  We found residential areas that I never knew existed.  We found the Mule stables.  Eventually, it led to a road that we went down about a mile, then it turned to dirt.  Thinking that it must know the way, I followed it onto the dirt section.  We went quite a while and that dirt road ended, but another started up.  After a while on that road, Bar spotted a herd of Mule deer beside the road.  Neat.  A little further, we spotted some people camping in the wilderness.

Finally, the dirt road ended and we were back to civilization.  I think Bar has forgiven me for going down the dirt road.  No harm, no foul!  And another adventure to laugh about.

We had dinner at a Mexican place--it was average.  Then back to the motel for the night.  We were both bushed and I did not write.

Today we got up, got breakfast at McDonalds and went back to the park.  We headed east and stopped at a number of viewpoints.  The wind blew even harder today, with some gusts reported at 50+mph.  Bar likes the wind; it wears me out.  You just can't believe how the wind howled today.

The best viewpoint is at the Desert View area.  There's a tower you can climb (like a lighthouse) and see forever up there.  Inside, the walls are painted with indian images, and it's just beautiful.  Bar said this was the best place she had visited on the trip so far.  We hung out here and bought a couple of souvenirs to carry back home.  Also had lunch here.

Then back to the car and rode into the village area.  I wanted her to see the El Tovar hotel, the gemstone of lodging at the park.  I think she liked it very much.  Then some additional viewpoints from the village area.  At about 3:30, we decided we were tired and needed to get back to the hotel to wash clothes and plan for the next few days.

As I write this, Bar is washing clothes.  I thank her for doing it; she's sweet and the sister a brother should have.  I am so glad that we found each other and are spending quality time together going on adventures.  It makes my heart smile.  I love her very much.

I guess this is enough for this post; don't want to bore any readers too much in one post.

Keep tuned...

3 comments:

  1. Cinnamon Bun and a Beer??? That's quite a combination! Yuk! :))) Denise

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  2. Denise! You read my mind!
    Sheila

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  3. You ladies don't know what's good. What's wrong with you.....

    ReplyDelete