North Rim of the Grand Canyon, First Day

Driving into the Park at 8:30 am we passed the 1,000 mile mark on our trip odometer; the temperature was 52 degrees in this 8,255 foot alpine forest and we made an immediate decision to beat the crowds and drive the 23 mile scenic route to various view spots. It was a great decision. We saw one or two other people until the very end when the final parking lot started filling up fast; but even that wasn’t bad. The North Rim really does live up to its reputation of being less crowded and quieter. It has only 500,000 visitors per year, compared to 4.5 million for the South Rim!

First View

Colorado River

North Rim View

The penultimate viewing spot is called Angel’s Window at the Cape Royal stop. We stared at the spectacular views and had fun watching storm clouds move in and out. Within 15 minutes we went from sun to rain to sun again. A volunteer ranger told us that this is unusual weather—the monsoon season is generally gone by this time of year.

Angel’s Window

By the time we made it to the lodge it was 11:30 Arizona time. (12:30 Utah time; so we were hungry--having gotten up at 5:30 this morning in Hatch). We decided to beat the crowds once again and have a nice lunch in the outstanding dining room with souring ceilings and massive windows looking right out over the rim of the Grand Canyon. We were seated at a nice table by one of the giant windows and enjoyed the best meal of the trip so far. Our server, Clayne, from Idaho, recommended the Navajo Taco and the Roasted Vegetable and Cheese Quesadilla. Good choices! Reasonable prices! Best meal on the trip so far!

Veggie Quesadilla

Navajo Taco

Our assistant server was Vince, from Malaysia. All of the servers are college students from various parts of the world. Vince was very excited about being here and told us that this student program includes a month of travel before he returns home. He was extremely polite and personable.

Clayne told us that he is a Jr. and his father was supposed to be named Dwayne. The person filling in his birth certificate didn’t understand and mistakenly wrote Clayne. He was proud to tell us he is the only Clayne on Facebook.

Dining room

After lunch we visited the Visitor’s Center and spent a fair amount of time talking with the two guys working in there while a thunder storm roared outside. We sure hadn’t figured on cold and rain in the Southwest! One of the guys is retired and has lived with his wife in a motor home for 16 years. He seems to enjoy working at the North Rim and has done this at a number of other national parks. The other guy is retired Navy and is a volunteer ranger and gives talks at the lodge.

Soon, the sun came out and we wandered along the Bridle Trail taking in the breathtaking views. I don’t think I’ve felt this relaxed and enjoyed myself this much in a long time. The day was absolutely perfect. We had fun taking pictures of other people and they did the same for us. We scrambled up some rocks and looked over cliffs. It’s amazing how few safety barriers there are.

On the Cliff

View Point

Lodge

Claire on the Rocks

Today was 9/11 and we were curious to see if there would be any recognition. We found the flag at half staff and a note on the white board that it was a day of remembrance.

Soon enough, another loud thunder and lightning storm worked its way in and we rushed back into the lodge.

Storm Coming

It Came

After some ice cream for Chuck and an iced tea for Claire (best iced tea in awhile too), we decided to hang out in the gift store until this storm passed so we could move into our room. Though our new wheeled suitcases are perfect over smooth surfaces, the rain forced us to use the zip-out backpack straps, which were just the thing for making our way from the parking lot through rivers of water, bogs of mud and slippery stone stairs to our own little lodge. Our room is great—no TV, no WiFi—and very quiet, at least during the day. In the evening we could hear the guy next door snoring then jerking awake with a shout then lapsing into snoring again. Earplugs work great! The room was $113 the first night; $116 the next night. They had a rate increase since we made our reservation so I guess we got a deal (?) on our first night even though it was guaranteed with our credit card. Maybe that guarantee is only for them—if we don’t show up, they charge us.

Our Lodge

I took a break today to hear a volunteer ranger talk about Condors. It was quite interesting for me, since I have always been interested in all things Peruvian—my dad was born in Mollendo, Peru. But, Andean and California Condors are distinct—the CC has a wingspan of only 9 feet—about a foot less than their southern cousins. Curiously, only Condors can distinguish gender visually—humans have to rely on blood tests. Even male Condors sometimes make mistakes!

We had reservations for 6pm at the Lodge’s Rim View Dining Room—we planned a leisurely dinner that would permit us to view the sunset through the large windows. We decided to make this a special night and ordered a Cactus Cosmo for Claire (High Spirits Prickly Pear vodka, Cointreau, cranberry and lime juices. Served up.) and a Grand Margarita for Chuck (Cuervo Gold tequila, Cointreau, Prickly Pear syrup. Shaken and served on the rocks.) They were delicious. The bread they brought was so hot I had difficulty holding it to tear off pieces. It was lovely. We finally decided upon Utah Ruby Trout for both of us--generous and wonderful. Later, we decided to share a dessert; after negotiations, we got the bread pudding—we think the presentation was supposed to represent the Canyon!

Utah Ruby Trout

Homemade fresh baked pinon-chocolate bread pudding. Served warm with caramel sauce. Claire gave it a 12 on a 10-point scale.

May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows, and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder. ~ Cherokee Prayer Blessing

Bryce Canyon National Park

We got up bright and early, today, at 5:30am, hoping to get a jump on the crowds and arrive at Bryce Canyon National Park shortly after they open. We were on the road by 7am, having showered, eaten and stopped only for ice at the Shell gas station in Springdale, situated within Zion National Park.

The drive to Bryce was a little over two hours and offered us an opportunity to see the change in the environment as we left Zion, then left behind the monumental, colorful, sandstone rock for which it is so famous. We only stopped twice, once for a view of Checkerboard Mesa, and again to switch drivers—we have been sharing pilot and navigator duties on this trip. I never knew how much scenery I was missing. The scenery switched to combinations of semi-desert, farmland and pasture. There was much more greenery than I expected. I'm not sure if this is due to Mormon industriousness or the grace of God.

Checkerboard Mesa


Scenic Drive


Majesty along the road


We finally flew by our Motel in Hatch—any relation to Orrin?—Utah, since we could not check in until 1pm and we wanted to cover as much of Bryce as we could in the one day we had allowed: Claire was unable to get reservations in the park for our desired dates and we didn't want to spend the 45 minutes commuting. We knew we were getting close. Susan, our beloved GPS, told us to drive straight ahead into the park, but our printed instructions directed us to turn right. Ignoring Susan, we were soon situated in the Shuttle Bus Parking lot, frantically trying to put on our last minute gear and warm clothing—we had expected thundershowers, but no one told us how much colder it would be here—the highest point we hit was almost 9000 feet.

First View Bryce Canyon


Weather change! 48 degrees


Our Lonely Planet Guide Book said that the most beautiful hike combined two regular hikes—Navajo Trail and Queen's Garden. We chose to depart from Sunset Point as this would allow us the most gradual climb back to the rim of the Canyon. I foolishly thought that since our arrival point was lower than our departure location, it would be easy. It was only easier. It is hard to imagine a more beautiful hike through stone. The pictures fail to do justice to the beauty of this magnificent place; but, they will have to do. Elevation gain for the 3 mile hike was 550 feet each way.

Looking down the Navajo Trail


View of Bryce from top of Navajo Trail


Start of the trail


Chuck navigating the treacherous "Escher" Trail


Slot Canyon


Could it be E.T. immortalized?


Beautiful trail


Skinny place


Fairy chimneys reminiscent of Cappidocia, Turkey


Window


Queen Victoria


Arch


We caught the shuttle back to the Lodge for lunch and to decide how to spend our afternoon time. Claire got the all-you-can-eat Taco Salad Bar and I got the ½ soup and ½ sandwich combo—hearty Southwest cream of chicken and rice soup and a warm ham, cheese, bacon sandwich on toast: Warm was very good. Claire had two small fish tacos, fruit salad and cottage cheese: She was in heaven.

We bought a postcard for our granddaughter, wrote, addressed and mailed it; then we went outside to catch the next shuttle to the Park Visitors Center to watch the 22 minute video on Bryce. Unfortunately, we were 4 minutes late; but we entered anyway. Sorry to say, we both had great difficulty staying awake. I think my problem was lack of sleep (from not-my-bed syndrome) and poor conditioning—I walk either 3 miles or 4.5 miles 6 days a week; but this is all on flat terrain. Claire, however, always adds stair work to her walk—generally 3 trips up and down 9 floor Sproul Hall, which gives her a decided edge in the energy department. Leaving the film we browsed the gift shop, and purchased a cooling scarf. You soak it in water and wear it around your neck; it will cool you for hours.

We hopped the shuttle to Bryce Point, the end of the line in this section of the Park. I had expected to re-mount the bus when we finished viewing the amphitheater, but Claire wanted to walk down to Inspiration Point, the next shuttle pick up location. Since the views were so spectacular, and the endpoint was downhill, I agreed. Again, I misjudged the local terrain. My legs complained bitterly whenever we inclined upwards; but, luckily, these places were infrequent. This added another 1.5 miles to our daily total, on the walk from Bryce Point to Inspiration Point. By now, we were done for the day--and the Park. We leave tomorrow for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!

On the bus on the way back from Inspiration Point, we encountered a lively young couple from Davis! Well, actually, Roberto is a Researcher in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Laura (trill the r), his wife, along with his brother, who is visiting from their hometown in Tuscany, Italy. Small world, indeed.

We have noticed that once we left California we found many more foreign accents floating around us--delightful; today, we heard German, Spanish and French. However, that view may not be shared by everyone: Just before starting that shuttle ride with our acquaintances from Italy, I heard an American tell someone that "I couldn't get a 'Howdy' in English out of anyone out there." One person's meat is another's poison, I guess.

Arriving at the motel, beat but happy, we decided to try their Cactus Cowboy restaurant and the 10% discount we get for staying here. Claire got a machine-made English Toffee Cappuccino and I got a peach cobbler a la mode. I could die happy.

When planning the trip, we worried about our ability to eat healthily and affordably. An incident today provided an example of the basis of our concern: We dined at the Cactus Cowboy restaurant again for dinner. Claire ordered a grilled Portabello mushroom with the vegetable soup; I ordered the same soup with my Build-It-Yourself 1/3 pound hamburger. I requested mushrooms and bacon slices for my toppings. It was delicious.

Dining With Cowboys

But, there were a number of oddities associated with this meal: My mushrooms were sliced buttons straight from the can, as were Claire's green beans. The bacon strips were greasy. Claire's mushroom was not fully cooked; it had a heaping pile of bulgar in the center; when she tried to eat a large spoonful, she discovered that it was really minced garlic from a jar, and not even heated. Her Parker House roll was softer than Charmin tissue, and was set aside immediately. The potatoes were tasty, but slicked with oil. The veggie soup was quite tasty, but I believe it was cobbled together from individual canned goods--peas and tomatoes, for example. Oh, yes: The iced tea was so weak it had no flavor until the waitress finally brought a lemon slice. Finishing up, we noticed that the bill was stamped with a notification that the gratuity was not included in the total, and the word 'not' was circled with a broad-tipped magic marker. Never a dull moment.

Driving for the day: 89 miles from Zion to Bryce and 28 miles from Bryce to Hatch.
Expenses: $166.

After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value. ~ George Macauley Trevelyan

Zion

The trip from Hoover Dam to Zion took about 3.5 hours. The heat was striking, peaking at 107 in the middle of the desert.

Mountain Along the Way to Zion. One of the first things to catch our attention was the different landscape as we dipped into and out of a tiny corner of Arizona, coming upon this giant mountain poking out of the middle of nowhere.



Rock upon Rock. Still driving along the road to Zion, we began to see very interesting rock formations and patterns.


Striations. Here we can see many layers of sand and sediment compressed into solid rock. These people apparently brought everything they own for their camping trip.


Zion. One of the first sights we encountered in the park was this lovely cliff.


Pink Wall. This typical cliff facing shows what happens when Navajo sand, heavy with iron oxide, becomes rock. The beauty and uniqueness of these formations reminded us of the Cappadocia region in Turkey.


Hanging Grass. Claire was taken by this clump of grass clinging to a vertical wall--one of our earliest discoveries.


Hanging Garden. The shuttle bus drivers and the film on Zion spoke of the hanging gardens in the Park. This was one sample we could see up close and personal. Overall, we were highly impressed with the amount of water and greenery surrounding us, here. But, early Mormon settlers had terrible problems with drought and flooding along with extremes of temperature.


Virgin River at End of Riverside Walk. We were tired when we first arrived here; but, we decided to do what we could, since we only had two days in Zion. This was a flat easy walk along a paved path (mostly covered in dust.) The walk ended where you could continue on to The Narrows; but, this could be a full day hike largely through water. And it was late, we were tired, and Claire did not have on waterproof shoes. There were constant reminders on the shuttle bus that "you are responsible for your own safety." They don't want people going into slot canyons during flash floods and they don't want people to be careless climbing or hiking up to the tops of peaks--six people have died here since 2004.


Specimen of Fawna. On the way back from the 3 mile (round trip) Riverside Walk, we encountered a family of 5 Mule Deer.


Orange Wall. This is one of many example of the color and majesty of the cliffs and rock formations.


Red Road. We found it fascinating that almost everything around Zion is some shade of red--even the roads.


Court of the Patriarchs. In 1916, Frederick Vining Fisher, a Methodist minister, named this area, calling the peaks Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We first viewed them from the street level where we were dropped by the shuttle; we were then startled to see how much more impressive the peaks were from the slightly elevated vantage point of a viewing platform situated 300 steep, zig-zagging feet up.



On the Trail. We headed for the park so early this morning it was almost dark. We beat the crowds, the heat and managed to hike 4 trails before noon. As we hiked along our 3rd trail today, Claire picked up on the accent of a couple walking in the opposite direction, asking asking if they would take our picture. "Australian?" she asked. "No, they laughed, New Zealand." After chatting for a while about travel, Richard and Sandra said we should come visit them when we get to New Zealand; I gave them an American Adventures card and told them to email us, so we could keep in touch. We took their picture too.


Tree Frog. Canyon tree frogs are common by the Emerald Pools. They are supposed to sound like bleating sheep; but, we heard nary a peep from this camouflaged little guy.



Hornet's Nest? We are at a complete loss, here. We found this on the ground exactly as you see it. It must have been someone's home, but we dinna know whose. Any guesses or knowledge from out there?


Claire Hiking. Claire stopped to pose for this photo along the Upper Emerald Pool Trail.


Claire at the Upper Emerald Pool. We finally arrived at this lovely spot. We are no longer alone--there were about a dozen others here; thank goodness we like to travel early. This pool is surrounded on 3 sides by sheer cliffs and on the other by significant boulders; fortunately, the trail leads through the boulders to the beach.



Cliff Above the Upper Emerald Pool.


Path to Lower Emerald Pool. As I walked along the path to the lower pool, I stopped at the edge of the drizzle dropping down from the cliff wall. Note the damp ground. We were blessed with cool weather, today, during our time on paths--it never got above 80 degrees F. Temperatures and people are the primary reasons we like to travel early; but, today, we wanted to beat the thunderstorms predicted for afternoon. We did beat them. Later, reading, hot tubbing and swimming in the pool, I went into the lobby and the clerks instructed me not to return to the water due to the lightening. I had been watching it; but, it was so far away I was not concerned. I was struck (no pun, I swear) by the visual (not liquid) white lightening. I commented to several people about this, but they were not as impressed as I. I think of CA lightening as being quite yellow, but this seemed pure white.


Claire on the Trail to the Lower Emerald Pool.



Claire at the Lower Emerald Pool. The Emerald Pools get their names from the algae which color them.


Park Shuttle Bus at the Museum.


From March through October, there is a shuttle bus system in effect in the Park, run by the Park Service. This dates back to 2000. Each bus has two connected coaches and two bike racks--this one carried a wheelchair. They make about a dozen stops in just over an hour. The goal is to reduce confusion and pollution from passenger vehicles. There is a local system in the town of Springdale; it carries you from one end to the other, stopping at convenient points along the way every few blocks and ending at the entrance to Zion. You then exit, walk across the bridge and on to the Park shuttle service.

Two conveniences we especially appreciated were the frequency of bathrooms and the free Zion Spring water delivered by spigot to your own bottle.

We are finding a few kinks in our newly-adopted mode of travel. After traveling for a year in a camper, once we worked out the logistics we were able to sleep in the same, comfortable bed every night--and some afternoons. We also had easy access to refrigeration and cooking facilities--all within about 10 feet of us whenever we were "home."

We are finding it more challenging to figure out what we need to carry in to our motel rooms each day, and how few containers we can get by with. We are currently down, usually, to 2 trips to bring in a total of 2 suitcases, duffel bag, cooler and some external food items. With the heat, keeping our cooler in ice is problematic. Sleeping has been difficult for both of us. Claire finds that earplugs help a lot. I have been sleeping poorly and this impacts the energy I have--or don't--to carry me through the day. Last night our bed was lumpy, had ill-fitting sheets that did not hold the mattress pad in place; so we were aware of lumpy, sliding support.

Finding decent, healthy affordable food is not easy. When we have a fridge, it is often too cold--but, it would be worse to have it too warm. I did have to throw out a frozen hard-boiled egg this morning. On our way back from hiking today, we walked through town to scout out eateries for this evening. We really liked Blondie's Diner. It is a family-run restaurant with excellent food, casual ambiance, reasonable prices and extremely welcoming.

Inside Blondie's Diner


Wifi access has been free and nominally available, but access can be tricky. Still this is, so far, better than we experienced in Europe.

We have a long way to go and we are surely adaptable; so, please stay tuned...

Costs for today: $135. This is for food ($38) and lodging ($97). We don't have to pay, now, for entrance to National Parks, and we didn't do any tours. We did have some snacks.

In the American Southwest, I began a lifelong love affair with a pile of rock. ~ Edward Abbey