October 5 to October 11, 2002

Saturday October 5:

Our cellphone service flicks occasionally to digital, 3 bars with amp, but I cannot place a call; cannot place call on digital without the amp either.  Calls go through fine on analog.  We will not be updating the website this week for sure, unless we go someplace else to do it!  We biked to the Lodge for a ranger led morning nature walk; it was interesting, especially about some trees such as Ponderosa Pine being equipped to withstand frequent low intensity fires, and aspen groves all growing from one root structure, essentially one plant.  Before returning to the RV for lunch, we enjoyed coffee on the veranda of the Great Lodge overlooking the canyon.

  We called Matt, caught him at home picking up lacrosse equipment for some "jamboree" play at school.  I tried calling friends; the connection got poor after a few minutes with the amp, then dropped out.  After lunch we biked to 8338 ft elevation, where we locked the bikes to a dead tree and walked down to the trail head of the steeply switchbacked Kaibob Trail leading down into canyon.  Mules have right of way on this trail.  As Claire chatted with an upbound hiker, I made a strong mental note to always look where I step, and always be on the WALL side of a mule...not on the cliff side!  :-)  

Claire stopped at the overlook, 7713 ft elevation, 1 mile from the bikes. We met a young couple who had hiked the 23 miles from the south rim today, and were resting their burning muscles before completing the last leg of their ordeal.  They volunteered to take our pictures from the overlook.  :-)

 They were members of a hiking organization, and had tried it before and turned back.  They did look to be in excellent condition; I could not imagine trying that in this terrain at this altitude!  I continued to the tunnel,  2.28 miles from the bikes at 6838 ft elevation.  Going down was so easy, as we breathed easier in thicker air, as well as benefited from gravity.  Even though I had the almost irresistible urge to keep going down, I could see from the looks on the faces of those we passed coming up that it would not be that way on the return....still, I wanted to see a mule train that was reported down lower and coming up.  The half day rides go down to the tunnel, where there is a pit toilet and water source.  The trail was about 5 feet wide, and had trees and bushes along the edge most places to keep you from falling straight off a cliff; at overlooks it would be possible to experience a serious fall for hundreds of feet or more onto rock below.  I was attracted to the overlooks for pictures, but usually felt safer kneeling near the edge before trying to snap...VERY few safety fences here.  :-)  The first mule train was stopped at a switchback, and the lead mule was eating pebbles from the trail while the guide attempted to tighten the cinch on a lady's saddle.  

The guide was chewing her out, asking HOW she managed to get the saddle loose so often.  I did get a rear on picture of this operation that I offered to sell to the highest bidder.  :-)  The lady quipped that she had better not see that picture in a newspaper or I'd be in trouble;  she did not restrict the pic from the world wide web, BUTT, I think she meant to.  :-)  It does appear that the mule picked a nicely color coordinated outfit, BUTT the lady wins; even if it is too good to keep totally to myself, this picture is email only, not for publication.  The toilet at the bottom was indeed aptly described by the term "pit"; the flies flew thick, but we must excuse it's condition; it surely is an inconvenient place to bring a septic pump out truck......  After peeking at the view on the other side of the tunnel, I  verified that it did indeed continue down steeply.   

I realized I had prolonged the return climb about as long as possible...and as soon as I took the first step back up I realized the profound difference.  I had no choice, Claire was not even here to help carry...  :-)  Back through the short tunnel, and UP....

 Just put one foot ahead of the other, and climb.  It seemed like forever; snap a picture here and there to give muscles a break, stop for a sip of water, then ONWARD.  

As the sun dropped lower in the sky, it cooled noticeably.  Lots of folks wore shorts on this trail; the most I could get myself to do was open both my over jackets to expose my flannel shirt, and this did not happen until I started the trip up.  Some folks must be warm blooded..... After passing these pink cliffs, I soon reached the overlook.   

After snapping a few more pics, sipping more water, and catching some breath, I continued; the thinning air really became noticeable now, as my lungs burned with each breath.  Yoga belly breathing really does help under these conditions.  There was a group at the trail head, apparently waiting for some others in their group to reappear.  I moved to find a seat on a rock for a moment, to record the mileage and elevation, before climbing the last quarter mile to my bike; I knew better than to stop here very long....  :-)  My bike was still locked to the tree, and I was VERY happy to find the key where we had agreed to hide it.  The ride to the campground was short and mostly down hill;  these 'wild' mule deer  I passed are less spooky than Pookie.  

On the way past the campground gate, I inquired about extending our stay, as the weather forecast for the next few days looks clear; the ranger said she would sell any available spaces first come first served the next morning at 7:45.  I called the National Parks reservation service and was told none were available, so I doubt we get one.  If not, we will move on to a day or two in Page AZ for laundry and resupply, and book more time on the south rim, where being snowed in is not such a danger.

Sunday October 6:

Awoke at 5AM, batteries 12.27V, 65% charged, so started the furnace; it is 44 outside, 53 inside.  I wrote until 7am, then shut down for breakfast preparing to inquire at the campground for an extra day.  We DID get an extra day, but in a site intended for 27 ft vehicles; we could back in from the main loop road, and thus fit with all tires on the blacktop (a requirement) IF the blacktop had all been there and not broken up.  :-)  After the site move, we walked the transep trail along the canyon rim to the lodge.  After a pair of mochas at the lodge cafe, enjoyed in the shade of the windowed and breezy "sun room", we sat outside in the hot sun while a wrinkle skinned ranger explained the geology of the canyon.  We were well covered, but I had the strongest urge to hide my hands in my shadow to avoid the sun. Why not talk in the shade???  After mailing a letter at the North Rim AZ post office, and rechecking the gift shop, we walked back to the campground on the same trail we had come in on.  We took a last look down into the canyon from the North side.

This was a light physical exertion day by choice, only 4 miles.  Pookie seemed ready to enforce that decision as Claire prepared stir fried tofu and broccoli for dinner.  :-)

The dinner is ready, and we ate the WHOLE THING!  Yummy!!  We could get NO useable TV in this site 500 ft from the other one where we had some channels;  the channels we had received were usual cable channels, so I would bet a leaking cable at the park staff apartments allowed us to receive them weakly at the other site.  The cellphone would not work to retrieve a voicemail message it said we have either...grrrr.  The cellphone voicemail is worse than NOT having it....if we did not have it folks would call again; this way they think we get a message we never can get.  I was in bed early and Claire tried to do Pilates to a videotape.  I think the 8000 ft elevation thwarted a full session this time too, but I was not awake enough to know for sure.

Monday October 7:

I awoke at 5 AM, measured the battery voltage at 12.07 v, below 50% charge;  I went back to bed under the 3 blankets to await 7AM, when park rules allow us to start the generator; we can then run the furnace without discharging the batteries so low that their life might be shortened. There is no early computer time today!  At the appointed hour, we generated and heated the interior warm enough to crawl out from under the covers.  This was shower day, as we can dump and replenish water when we exit the campground.  Around 11AM we pulled out of the campground all freshened up, destination Page AZ, 120 miles away and 4000 feet lower in elevation.  The road immediately outside the park had some beautiful golden aspens, more golden than they seemed on the way in.

The route took us over the edge of the plateau, across the Colorado river, and along the edge of the Painted Desert.  It was beautiful to look at, but NO WAY I could choose to live here....I need shade other than what I get from the brim of my hat!

 We continued back up over a ridge to Page, with a distant view of azure blue Lake Powell.  We found the Walmart easily, and to our delight the same shopping center also had a large laundromat.  Despite the Indian woman selling cheap jewelry who managed to separate us from a couple bucks, we still accomplished the washing/drying task in good time.  I checked, and found here strong digital cellphone service that worked, just one day late for updating the webpage.  We shopped in Bashas supermarket, and Claire performed her usual magic by obtaining the store shopping card; it took a few minutes...but saved us $20!  I do wonder why the stores do that...rather than just run sales???  If strangers can come in and get the benefit immediately, it seems that all they are doing is adding extra cost to process the card.  We may never see another Bashas....  Claire made spaghetti for dinner, then we shopped Walmart.  We found stuff we had been seeking for a long time; ground cumen, and Power Blaster penetrant for instance.  This Walmart is not a Super, but it is CRAMMED with stuff.  It does serve the Navajo reservation, as well as the Lake Powell recreation area, and demand must be there.  We returned from shopping to find many new RV arrivals in our area of the parking lot; it looked like the wagons were circled for the night.... even in this area of many signs proclaiming friendly Indians. :-)  It was easy to turn in early and sleep well at the 4000 ft elevation.

Tuesday October 8:

Awoke at 5AM, battery check showed 70% charge left, so it's computer time.  Did a check on the route OUT of Grand Canyon south rim just in case the weather changed suddenly; the fastest way takes us to I-40 near Williams AZ, not the shorter Rt 180.  A glance at the topo map reveals Rt 180 goes over 1000 ft higher in places.  Topo is very important out here.  :-)  We shopped again in Basha's for a few things we had forgotten, then started on our way.  We saw the Glen Canyon Dam in the distance, and intended to poke around there before continuing to the South Rim.  This is one of those "targets of opportunity" that develop when you do not have tight time constraints.... :-)  We looked in Page for jewelry shops, noticing regular gas here is 87 octane, and not too expensive either by local standards; it had been $1.729 for regular at the north rim and they did not post the octane either.  We will tank up on the way out of town.  We are returning to high altitudes and I really want to upgrade the gas in the tank before we are driven South off of the Colorado Plateau by cold weather.  We drove to the Glen Canyon dam, with several picture stops, including this one of Lake Powell and the marina in the distance.  

The white "water line" indicates how much the water level in the lake has dropped in the several years of severe draught this area has experienced.  This impressive bridge carries the road across the Colorado River just down river from the dam..

We crossed  the bridge to the visitors center, and parked in the rear.  Here they were checking for metal at the door, and I was told I would have to return my three inch key chain pocket knife to my vehicle;  they could not keep it for me, nor let me in with it.  We decided Claire would check inside for items of interest while I waited outside; the RV was a LONG walk out back, and hardly worth it for the short time we planned to spend here.  They had a tour of the dam starting at noon, in two hours, but that would put us late into the campground.  It was not worth the call to the campground for late arrival either; after dark arrivals in a strange campground usually result in unpleasant fire drills of some unforeseen sort.  This is one of the undesirable features of having to book ahead for campground space.  Walmart has it's benefits; lighted parking lots and no reservations are necessary! :-)  We will be content with pictures of the dam from outside the restricted area, which really do not fit in the camera from that distance.  :-)  This thing is HUGE!  

The little boats you see down at the base of the dam appear to be used for river floats.  This is taken from above the level of the dam which is over 700 feet high.

We fueled on the way out of Page, using the discount card we had gotten earlier in a Maverick station in Moab UT....  We stopped a few times on the way through the painted desert for pictures, but most were taken on the fly, windshield bugs and all.  

The prettiest spots (and the most built up) were those where trees grew.  

Even with a HUGE "make your own shade" wide brimmed hat I would not want to live most places here.....  :-)  We arrived in the South Rim park and waived the $20 entrance fee with our Golden Age Passport.  A few hundred yards down the road we stopped  at Desert View, the highest point on this road, around 7500 ft.  There were the inevitable gift shops, but also an observation point and an attractive viewing tower dating from the early development of the Canyon as a tourist destination.

The canyon did look different from this side.  The light comes from behind us as we look across from the south side, and I believe the haze is less visible.  

The Colorado river is visible in the bottom of the canyon for the first time; there really IS a river there!  :-)  We asked directions for the Mather Campground, and found it was over 20 miles away; these parks in the west are HUGE!  WE found ONE traffic jam enroute, caused by what appeared to me to be a begging coyote at the roadside.  Everybody was stopped to take pictures.  We took our picture from the RV, but it was as close as I wanted to get to a live coyote in daylight, even if it did look quite healthy.  

We found Mather campground without difficulty, and our reservations were in good order; the National Parks reservation system seems to work very well.  I do wonder why they do not use it in Big Bend NP and avoid the ridiculous "First come first served" system they have there...... We pulled into our "big pull through site" after missing the turn first pass.  It will be pull in, back out for us; we do not hinge in the middle to swing out between the big trees on both sides of the site.  :-)  It appears the campground was laid out in an age of smaller RV's, but the site is pleasant, shaded, and separated well from other sites.  We took the shuttle bus to the visitors center, perusing a bookstore and finally finding the recipe for the pumpkin candy we had enjoyed in Mexico last winter in a Peyote cookbook.  It is evidently an INDIAN recipe, not Mexican!  The process uses a baking soda solution to soak the pumpkin overnight, then cooking in sugar syrup.  This one we will definitely try, and with the big box of butternut squash that resides beside Claire's bed!  :-)   We will report on our success here.  We returned to dinner of Burritos, left over beans easily heated in the microwave now that generator time has arrived.  The cats seem uncomfortable outside for any period of time; shortly after they come in, we heard a few close by "Yips" near the RV, and then further off howls unmistakably from coyotes. Smart kitties!  It is early to bed time, as I plan to join a 7:30 AM ranger guided hike down the South Kaibob trail in the morning.  This means a 6:40 AM departure from the RV to take the bus to the trail head.

Wednesday October 9:

Sleeping was easy, though in the middle of the night I started the furnace.  I did get up in time to pack food and water for the hike, caught the bus at the  campground stop, and changed for the one to the trail head.  The ranger introduced himself, explained he had poor vision, but had been at the park since obtaining his masters degree in the 60's.  He planned a very slow hike with lots of talking.  We start down the "chimney", perhaps the steepest part of the trail; you can see the ranger in the lead, and numerous switchbacks below our "people train".  

The ranger did have interesting things to say about the history of the trail, like the mule wrangler who had been bucked off on the way down the trail in early morning hours, and had been saved by a piece of rebar trail reinforcement rod going up inside his boot. He hung upside down there for hours until help arrived.  All supplies for the Phantom Ranch on the valley floor are still taken in by mule;  here is one, and there are loads more crowded into a barn/corral in town too; if you miss them, your nose should remind you....  :-)

  The ranger gave us a choice of continuing from Oooh-ahhh point at our own pace, or continuing down with him.  This point is named for the super view it offers both up and down the canyon.  

 The gorge going left to right in the picture hides the Colorado river running well below it's rim.  I chose to go on from here myself, as my muscles were tightening uncomfortably at each of his long stops for lectures;  I knew there were restrooms at cedar breaks too.... :-)  I intended to go on beyond Cedar Breaks for a bit; they warned not to try all the way down and up in one day in summer, but I knew I could do more than the 1100 ft drop to Cedar Breaks, as I had done more on the North Rim. I packed my shirt and jacket into my vest back pocket at Cedar Breaks, and proceeded on down in my T shirt.  I found a beautiful place to take a panoramic picture, set up the tripod, then could not figure out HOW to get the @#$%^ camera into panoramic mode... grrrr, no instruction book here either. I was able to peek east into the Colorado river gorge with a telephoto shot, but did not observe any water...  :-)

 It was getting hot, time to start back up.  It was slow going, and I had no sunscreen, but I was able to keep my arms shaded by my body, so no sun hit skin while I walked.  I passed two girls resting, then they passed me, only to stop and let me pass as they rested.  I could not stop that long before my muscles cooled; I needed my slow steady pace to keep going.  They stopped long enough for me to catch up and snap this picture of their trail break; true refreshment on the trail.  The energy of youth is a joy;  they still enough left in reserve for a Southern Smile.  :-)

 I returned to the top, got on the bus home.  At the bus change point I had to walk a few hundred yards; THEN I found out why I really had not wanted my muscles to cool on the trail....owwww!  :-(   I do have a lot of respect for the folks I saw heading down to cross to the north rim with full backpacks loaded high...that is going to be a hard trip!  Claire returned from her morning walk along the rim to find me snoozing in bed.   We decided to partially cook dinner, then go touring some more before returning to finish dinner and eat.  We went west along the canyon to the end of the village bus line.  We walked the rim, the gift shops, and historic Grand Canyon hotels.  We found another young lady swinging her three element hand held VHF beam antenna in search of California Condors with transmitters.  This activity is supported privately by the Peregrine Fund.

 She was quite willing to discuss what she was doing, and let us hear the signal from the bird.   She picked one up, but could not see it.  Claire went into a gift shop, I was chatting with an elderly couple on the second level porch of the hotel, when the man pointed out a condor flying over the canyon.  It was magnificent, soaring with turned up wing tips.  By the time I got my camera into digital zoom mode, it had descended below the canyon rim.

 There are many better pictures of the California Condor, but this one is MINE.  :-)  The tracker lady said it probably would roost on the side of the canyon for the night, and she went off to try to find it.  We returned to the RV, where Claire finished our dinner of chicken pot pie...DELISH!!  :-)  Bedtime came early tonight too...  Do I detect a pattern emerging?  :-)

Thursday October 10:

We heard the howls of coyotes again early this morning; Pookie was visibly agitated by the sound, moving on our bed and apparently looking for a secure place.  I started the furnace around 3AM, woke at 5 to check the battery condition; 65% will allow computer operation until we can run the generator at 8AM.  Today we plan to take the bus to the west end of the line and walk the rim back, then bus to the east end (with camera instruction book) for a noon time panorama picture from a point with a good view up and down the canyon.  On the way out of the campground we see this pointy eared squirrel with white tail.  They are unique to the grand canyon area.  I hope I don't meet him on a dark night though.....and I'll NEVER let him near my neck!    :-)

I am not feeling very energetic after the walk down the South Kaibob Trail; I do take a panoramic picture, but am not impressed enough with the process to wait for a clear shot from our second viewpoint.  This telephoto picture from there shows Phantom Ranch and the suspension bridge that gets the mules across the Colorado River,  WAAAAY  WAY down there!!

I did see some boats float under the bridge before I took this picture, and go in for a landing; they appeared to be the same type as those seen below Glen Canyon Dam.  We returned for lunch; I was TIRED, and could not see myself going out again.  I slept the afternoon while Claire walked the rim trails.  

Friday October 11:

We showered, dumped and took on water on the way out of Grand Canyon NP.  We were headed for Flagstaff intending to spend the night in the Walmart there, and shop at Sams there too.  We ran into some construction delays and we stopped for a while waiting for several miles of one way traffic to clear.  When we arrived, the Flagstaff Walmart had no overnight parking signs posted.  I was pretty frazzled by this time, I think too long at high altitude.  Claire suggested we go to Cottonwood, and I looked at the Walmart no overnight parking list;  it looked favorable.  Cottonwood was only 65 miles away so we decided to go.  I was delighted to find a BUNCH of 6% downgrades that got us below Flagstaff's 7000 ft elevation too.  When we arrived in Cottonwood, there were RVs in the Walmart lot, a strong  digital cellphone signal, and the Chamber of Commerce office next door was still open;  a volunteer in there suggested the Manzanita Inn in nearby Cornville for our dinner.  This place was really first class in food quality, quantity, service and atmosphere.  We spent under $20 each with drinks and came away quite happy.  A German couple own it; he is the chef and she runs the dining room.  We NEVER would have found it without local knowledge though.... AND we are doubly satisfied that we took our money away from unfriendly 7000 ft Flagstaff and spent it in friendly 3000 ft elevation Cottonwood.  :-)

Plans:

We've decided to go to Santa Fe, NM as directly as possible to minimize any visits from snow at that more northern and higher elevation, stopping to see Sedona and Winslow, AZ on the way.  Santa Fe is about 430 miles from here so it will be probably three days in transit.  Tomorrow will be a mid morning start, with a stop in Sedona and the evening in Winslow's Walmart 105 miles away.  Beyond that, we play it by ear and weather reports.  Until next time...ENJOY!