Sunday Oct 21 I was still a bit afraid to get off the beaten path, in case my battery wasn't charging correctly. So I went to a couple of well-traveled spots I hadn't been to yet - Dante's View:
and Zabriskie Point:
Then I went to Furnace Creek Ranch Hotel to have a shower. For your $4 you get access to their pool as well as the showers - it's spring-fed, so no chemicals and 81 degrees. So after getting clean, I had a long float in the pool. There's something decadent about floating around a pool in the middle of the desert - but it sure was nice!
Monday, Oct. 22, I packed up and drove to Pahrump, Nevada, where there's a jeep dealer and a Best Western. The Jeep dealer couldn't fit me in Monday, but I got a 7:30 am appointment for Tuesday. So I went and checked into the Best Western (thanks to all my friends at the Peace Vigil!). I got on their wifi briefly, then it stopped working. I called the front desk, she said she'd look into it, and I headed out to do some grocery shopping at non-national park prices. When I got back I still couldn't get the wifi to work. So I called the front desk again, a different person curtly referred me to the Best Western toll-free tech support number. I couldn't convince her the problem was their network, so I called the tech support and wasted half an hour talking to them - they were of the opinion that the hotel's network was down, had been for a couple of days and would be until the next day when some replacement equipment arrived. The front desk then claimed to have a work-around, but I never got it to work. So again the blog fell behind.
Tuesday, Oct 23, I went to the Jeep dealer bright and early and my electrical system checked out fine. Yeah!!! So I headed off to the Grand Canyon, thru Las Vegas, over the Hoover Dam, and across Arizona. I arrived around 5pm, just in time to see sunset over the Canyon.
Wednesday, Oct 24, I had a lazy morning at my camp site and then walked along the canyon rim for a few miles, from Mather Point past Yavapai Point. The Grand Canyon is just an amazing place, every corner you turn, there's an even more amazing view. I took tons of pictures, I'll just post a few of the best.
Wednesday evening I had a visitor to my campsite, not entirely sure what he is, a mule deer maybe?
Thursday, Oct. 25, I walked a few more miles along the rim, from where I left off to Hopi Point.
On Friday, Oct 26, a herd of elk came by my campsite for breakfast:
During the day I did more scenicing along the rim, went to Yaki Point:
Then I walked from Pipe Creek Vista to Mather Point. I watched the sunset from Yavapai Point.
On Saturday, Oct 27. I drove out to the East Rim, to the Watchtower. The Watchtower was built in the 1920s as a rest stop. It was a partly cloudy day, so the light was amazing.
The Watchtower, as seen from Lipan Point:
On Sunday, Oct 28, I hiked along the rim trail from Hopi Point to Pima Point. Much of the rim trail is paved and has railings when it goes near the edge, but not this section. Parts were really narrow and perched right on the edge with nothing between you and that 5000 foot drop. Definitely challenged my fear of heights, but I didn't really get any pictures that show it. The scenery was of course amazing.
On Monday, Oct 29, I decided it was time to get beneath the rim, and I was as acclimatized as I was gonna get to that 7000 foot elevation lack of oxygen. So I headed down the South Kaibab trail. No, I wasn't crazy enough to think I was gonna make it all the way to the river and back. I just went to the first viewpoint, the aptly named Ooh Aah Point.
It was still quite a trek back up. At this point I was saying 'Where's that elevator?'
Today, Tuesday, Oct. 30, I packed up and left Grand Canyon, driving south to Flagstaff. Tonight I'm staying in a historic hotel, the Hotel Monte Vista. It supposedly has a few ghosts, so I'm keeping an eye out - tomorrow is Halloween after all.
Tomorrow I'm off to Petrified Forest National Park. And finally, I'm caught up on this blog. Yeah!!!
2 comments:
Amazing photos, Sheila. Sounds like you are having a great time and getting lots of sun. Have you gotten a nice tan yet?
Love your reports. Love your pictures. Tonight we had a "trick or treater" come by in a turtle costume. Actually the turtle was an adult with a younger person.
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