One of the little cabins on the North Rim

Tue, 7/7/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: Another spectacular morning. Not a cloud in the sky. We changed the sheets and took the dirty ones over to the laundry. Got back from that chore and just sat around reading for a while. After lunch we hiked the little trail over to Jacob Lake Inn. Only a couple of miles through this beautiful pine forest. Decided to treat ourselves. I had a root beer float and Mike had a chocolate milk shake. Then hiked back. The lowering sun was hitting the pine needles making them look almost luminous. The lacy green pines are beautiful against this deep blue sky. I think it hit 89 today. Felt a lot cooler because of the wind. Watched another vintage John Wayne movie filmed in Monument Valley. We leave tomorrow for Zion.

Mike got this great picture of a condor soaring over the South Rim

Their wing span is 9-1/2 feet

Mon, 7/6/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ:

Decided to drive up to Kanab, UT, today. Wanted to try and get my hair cut and we needed a few things at the grocery store. Kanab is the nearest, decent-sized town. So we left our lush forested area and drove down into an arid, flat, sage brush covered valley. Kanab is a cute little town. They have a couple of movie sets there—one for “Gunsmoke” and some episodes of “The Lone Ranger” were filmed here also. They’re all on private property and they’re just ruins anyway. The hair salons were all closed. So we picked up a few groceries and headed back. It was 99 down in the valley—and 76 where we’re staying.

Mike on the Roosevelt Point Trail

Woten's Throne

Mike way up on the top of Angel's Window

View of the Colorado from Angel's Window

Sun, 7/5/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: After having breakfast at the Jacob Lake Inn, we headed back to the North Rim to do the Imperial Point and Cape Royal drives. We drove up this narrow, windy, but paved road through a beautiful forest with an abundance of wild flowers. Stopped at Roosevelt Point and hiked the little trail there along the rim. Went to Imperial Point first which had an amazing vista. Then we drove up to Cape Royal and parked. Then walked the trail out to Angel’s Window—which is a hole in the rock which forms a natural bridge and you can walk out on this huge rock precipice. I didn’t walk all the way out there, but Mike did. The trail was really pretty through pinon pines, ancient cedars, and these cedar-looking, bushy cliffrose plants that were in bloom and emitting a wonderful fragrance. At some points it was way too close to the rim for me, but it was beautiful. After that we had a picnic lunch at the picnic area nearby which was about 50 feet from the edge of this abyss. They also perform weddings at this spot. It was 83 up on the rim. When we got back to our site it was 75. Another beautiful day.

The two bridges--old one on left

Boat trip heading down river

The beautiful Colorado at Navajo Bridge

This river used to be silty until the Glen Canyon Dam

These huge boulders fall off the top of the cliff, then the softer rock erodes away and this is what's left. Pretty amazing.

Me getting my feet wet in the Colorado at Paria Rapids

Building remains at historic Lee's Ferry

Sat, 7/4/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: Another beautiful, sunny morning. Decided to drive back to historic Lee’s Ferry and the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River. Stopped at the Jacob Lake Inn for breakfast and then we were on our way. Drove down off the Kaibab Plateau on a series of switchbacks through the rocky hills and then into the vast Rock House Valley. This huge, arid valley has the Vermillion Cliffs on one side and Echo Cliffs in the distance on the other. The road we’re on is the only paved road in 2.8 million acres of public land. There are several other impressive canyons along this drive through this valley that would be landmarks themselves—but here they’re just another canyon—dwarfed by the Grand Canyon. Parked at the Navajo Interpretive Center by the bridge. I don’t know who designed this complex, but it blends in so well with the surrounding cliffs. There are two bridges here—the latest one built in the mid-1990s I believe and the other was built in 1928 and closed when the new one was built. We walked out to the middle of the original bridge and took a bunch of pictures of the beautiful, green Colorado River. This river used to be very silty. They used to say that it was too thick to drink and too thin to plow. With the building of Glen Canyon Dam the river is now silt-free. It now has this beautiful blue-green color but it is also cold—45-50 degrees year round. This is because the water is released from the bottom of the dam. Hypothermia is a real issue if you fall in. Leaving there we drove six miles up the road to Lee’s Ferry. This is River Mile 0 and is where most—if not all—river trips start. We explored the historic building ruins and then watched a river raft group setting up for a trip. Parked near where the Paria River flows into the Colorado and walked over to a little beach on the Colorado. Watched a raft trip float by on the Paria Rapids. Looks like fun. They camp on the beaches on the river. No tents—just sleeping bags. On one trip a girl half in her sleeping bag awoke to find a rattle snake coiled up on her chest. I think I’d want to sleep on the boat. It was 99 degrees down there. Drove back to Jacob Lake playing a CD of Sousa marches played by the US Marine Corps Band. Happy Birthday America! Back at our camp site it was 76 degrees. Sat outside for a while reading and listening to the wind soughing through the beautiful green pines against the deep blue sky. Burgers tonight for dinner. After dinner we listened to “A Prairie Home Companion” on NPR. Great show!

Angel Point--Mike walked out there...I couldn't

Grand Canyon Lodge--North Rim

North Rim Overlook

Fri, 7/3/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: A bright, sunny morning so we headed to the north rim which is about 44 miles from Jacob Lake. We drove through the Kaibab National Forest which was a beautiful drive through a thick forest of firs, spruce, pine, and quaking aspen. The drive on the north rim is very different from the south rim. Much more diversity. We drove through thickly forested areas and then you’d come to a huge meadow, more forest and then another huge meadow. And it was a lot more hilly. Then we went through Thompson Canyon which wasn’t a canyon with steep cliffs, but with steep, rocky hills on both sides. The north rim is about 1000 ft. higher than the south rim. After going through the park entrance gate, we drove a few more miles to the Grand Canyon Lodge. Built in the l920s, this stone and wood lodge is right on the brink of a rock wall in the canyon and seems to come right out of the rock. It’s very rustic—built with stone and huge log beams. And there are a slew of log cabins around the main lodge with little porches with rocking chairs. Four of the cabins are right on the rim. We walked around the rim a little bit. The rim here isn’t as shear a drop as on the south rim and there’s more vegetation down into the canyon a little bit. And more red rock. We started hiking out to Bright Angel Point. I had to turn around but Mike went out there. He said it was a good thing I turned back. We had lunch in the Lodge dining room with a spectacular view. Sat outside on the patio on the edge of the canyon after lunch and looking through binoculars you could see the Bright Angel Trail, Indian Garden, and all the south rim lodges. Would have hiked around some more but the sky started looking threatening so we headed back to Jacob Lake. Stopped at the old Forest Service Ranger Station cabin adjacent to the RV Park we’re in. It’s one of the first forest service stations ever built. Think it was in the mid-70s at the north rim.

Getting his butt scratched

Thu, 7/2/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: Rained during the night and still raining a little this morning,. No signs of clearing off, so we decided to do the laundry today and just kick back. The laundry room in the campground abuts a pretty little pasture belonging to one of the trail ride outfits here. In the pasture were two mares and their foals. While waiting for the laundry we walked over and one of the foals let us pet him. That entertained us for a while. Finished the laundry and then back to our site and put everything away. I finished the book “Over the Edge”—Death in the Canyon,” which Mike is just starting. Hard to put down. Then I went back to my book on Navy Seals in Afghanistan, which I had put aside. The people in the motor home next to us (from Maryland) were leaving today. They’re on a two-week trip from Maryland to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Yellowstone, and the Tetons—in two weeks! They’ll barely get a glimpse. Anyway, the motor home wouldn’t start and they had to get a mechanic to put in a new starter. He was able to leave by 4:30 or so. We decided it was a good day to do the pork roast. So we had roast pork, mashed potatoes and a vegetable for dinner. Then we watched “Rio Bravo”, one of the John Wayne movies Mike bought while we were in Monument Valley—supposedly filmed in Monument Valley.

Beautiful pasture next to the campground

Aspens on the North Rim Drive

Wed, 7/1/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim, to Jacob Lake and the North Rim: Left this morning around 10:00. I decided to drive the first leg. Drove back to Desert View and got our last glimpses of the canyon on the east rim road before exiting the park. Drove down off the Coconino Plateau passing the awesome but scary Little Colorado River Gorge. Stopped in Cameron to switch drivers and get something to drink. Now heading up to the North Rim and the temperature is 100. Back through the painted desert, but on Rt. 89 instead of Rt. 160. Much prettier. Crossed the Colorado River on the Navajo Bridge at historic Lee’s Ferry. This is where the river expeditions put in. It’s at river mile 0. The old bridge is still there and you can walk out on it. The river was a beautiful blue-green with steep cliffs on both sides—named Marble Canyon by Powell. Climbing steadily up until we’re on this vast plateau with vermillion cliffs on our right. Eventually left the plateau and climbed into some higher hills forested with old growth pines, junipers and cedars. Finally reached the town of Jacob Lake, well it’s not really a town—just an inn, some cabins, a gas station, and a café. Our campground is only a mile from the inn. It’s a pretty place nestled in a pine forest. We have full hook-ups, but no TV, no Internet, and even the radio in the RV gets no signal. I can only get radio stations on my Super Radio. So glad I bought it. After getting set up we went over to the inn and had an early dinner. A cute little place. Established in the 1920s I believe. Low 70s up here (8000 feet).

Hopi House--South Rim

Tue, 6/30/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim: This morning we hit the grocery store and after coming back and putting everything away we headed to Tusayan and found an Internet café and downloaded e-mail and I updated the blog. That took about an hour and a half and then we went back to our site and sat outside reading for a while. The day was pretty cloudy from time to time but pretty warm—mid 80s. Decided to take the shuttle bus from the campground to the visitor center at Mather Point. These shuttle buses are a great deal. They take you everywhere on the rim and you can get on and off as you please. They run every 15 minutes and they’re free. Can’t beat that. We would have driven over but they have the parking lot closed due to construction. The bus worked just great. After checking out the visitor center we took the bus back and relaxed at our campsite. Had salads for dinner. Tomorrow we leave for the North Rim. We’re staying at Jacob Lake.