Day 11: Grand Canyon North Rim to Flagstaff

Brrr!  A chilly start to the day with some snow on the ground!  What a contrast! Bob went out early and got ice from the garage opposite the lodge, which seemed a bit superfluous! 

Our cabin and Mary's car with a light dusting of snow! 

We drove north, then east, then south and crossed the Colorado river by the Navajo Bridge at Marble Canyon where there was a good little visitor centre with some interesting memorial plaques. 

The Colorado River near Marble Canyon
and the Navajo Bridge

Memorial plaque to Mormon ferry operator and his wives...

We stopped at Cameron Trading Post - a huge emporium filled with Indian crafts.  At the back we found a grocery store where we purchased a modest sandwich lunch, which we had in the car. 

Food shopping

Then on to an excellent visitor centre at Wupatki where we learned about the Pueblo Indians who built a small village against the rock with ceremonial circles for meetings.  We drove past Sunset Crater and admired the black lava flows now forever still and fields of a'a - which is apparently the name for a particular type of extremely jagged lava.  

Wupatki Pueblo ruins

Our arrival in Flagstaff in the late afternoon was something of a culture shock after the quiet of the deserts and the canyons...Flagstaff is big, much bigger than Bob and Mary remembered, and has a complicated road system which we engaged with at rush hour!   Our standard Quality Inn motel rooms are a great contrast to the cabins at Kaibab Lodge and we have the usual two queen sized beds in the room.  We have exchanged quirky for conventional!  We went to an Italian restaurant, the Olive Garden, part of a chain that Bob and Mary like.  It was packed and we waited 45 minutes for our table, and were then disconcerted to find a large birthday party on one side and some very noisy and wriggly children behind us.  We were all a bit tired and grouchy, but fortunately the noisy ones left and our food, when it arrived was good! 

Day 10: Grand Canyon North Rim

After breakfast the rain set in and we drove under dark skies back to Grand Canyon, wearing layers and coats for the first time.  We whiled away time in the  lounge vainly seeking wi-fi connections, booked for dinner at a ridiculously early hour (4.45) in the Lodge dining room, went up to the camp ground general store, where there was wi-fi and whiled away more time on coffee, emails, and then a sandwich lunch.  

Emails at the General Store

After lunch Mary and Bob took the car down to the Visitor Centre and Peter and I walked the mile back down through the woods.   More sitting around and relaxing before we went to hear a park ranger talk about the geology of Grand Canyon.   Russell was working as a ranger while finishing his MSc in geology and deciding what to do next.  He was excellent!  He was slightly put off by the obvious expertise of Peter and Bob, not that they interrupted him in any way, but occasionally they exchanged comments.  Russell checked them out afterwards and was obviously relieved to know that he had done well.  

Russell Rosenberg

Before we had supper we went on a short walk to an overlook near the Lodge.  It was cantilevered out over space.  There were railings to hang on to, but Peter took one look at the drop and stayed well back!  Mary and I were more adventurous! 

Ruth with Mary watching her back! 

Looking down Grand Canyon at dusk

Supper was very good!  Bob and I had prime rib – delicious chunks of roast beef cooked to order, Peter had a steak and Mary had Buffalo.  We had a bottle of Argentinian Malbec, which following the swift scotch in the car, left us feeling mellow.  

Lodge Dining Room, Grand Canyon North Rim

Another great sky as bad weather rolled in.

Sunset, Grand Canyon North Rim

Bob was abstemious and drove us back to the cabins, where we turned in at 6.0 pm!   What a ridiculous time to be thinking about going to bed.  I did the blog, downloaded and sorted photographs and vainly tried to find out how i-photo works.  Peter dragged the only chair under the only light and did a crossword.  We managed to keep ourselves amused until about 9.0 pm and gave up and went to bed.

Day 9: Zion National Park to Grand Canyon

After our overnight at Quality Inn, Springfield, just outside Zion National Park, we had a modest breakfast of cereal, scrambled eggs and toast.   Then Bob emptied the ice box, a daily task, and refilled with fresh ice.

We drove south through ever changing scenery, from rocky to desert and then, as we neared our overnight stop, into forest and meadows, reminiscent of Switzerland.    We passed on the way a unique ‘Trainer Tree’!

The trainer tree

Trainers, close up, but don't get too close!

Little house on the prairie???

We checked into Kaibab Lodge – or rather we tried to but the rather dour lady at the desk informed us we were too early.  We had a cup of coffee in the lounge and cruised the shop. The wooden lodge is part hotel lounge, part shop, part reception.  There’s a TV, a fireplace with armchairs and some very old newspapers (probably there to light the fire)! The ‘bedrooms’ are cabins in a row outside.

We drove the 24 or so miles south to the entrance to the North Rim on Grand Canyon through much evidence of forest fires.  Dotted between the burnt trunks, quaking aspens are reestablishing themselves.  We went to the Lodge built in 1937 to cater for the new tourist class after the original lodge burnt down.  We got our first glimpse of the north rim of Grand Canyon through the vast windows of the observation lounge.   We tried to book a table in the restaurant to coincide with sunset, but the world and his wife had had the idea before us.  We checked out the gift shop and then had lunch in a ‘deli’.   This was actually a small café with a limited menu, from which we chose badly and had rather greasy slices of pizza, which we followed with fresh fruit salad to make us feel better!   Mary had soup which she liked and Bob had a sandwich and crisps.

Canyon view from North Rim

View from Angel Point, North Rim

 We took a short walk to Angel Point – a narrow path, with steeply sloping sides, which led out to an overlook.  Lots of people on the path, and some looked very scared!  I admit to a few nervous moments and a great deal of looking down and not to the side!  But every now and then it was possible to clutch onto a rock and look around.   From the vantage point, and from other viewpoints we walked to later, scattered around the north rim, we looked out over the vast canyon with its many side canyons.   It’s a vast scene, almost too large to take in.  We had glimpses here and there of the Colorado River winding its way through the canyon floor.   We took masses of photographs, too many to fit in here and I know we'll enjoy looking at them when we get home. 

Colorado River in the distance

On one walk we came across a woman exceptionally strangely dressed for walking stony paths in a national park and amused ourselves by watching her pose coquettishly for her rather older companion and speculating on the relationship!  Bob amused himself!

Shorts with flappy bits and high heeled mules - perfect! 

Bob having a giggle...

We paused on our way out of the park to watch the sun go down and toasted the day with scotch, concealed in picnic teacups to avoid censure!   Bob drove us back to the Lodge avoiding the many mule deer that had come down to graze on the meadows alongside the road.

Monarch of all she surveys! 

Sunset, North Rim

Sun set, North Rim 

 Back at Kaibab Lodge we checked into our modest, basic cabins (!) before making our way back by torchlight to the Lodge where we had a similarly modest, basic supper!  

Note the broken blind, the pine panelling and the only two sources of light in one corner of the room.
It was toasty hot though! 

Turkey dinner for Mary, Bob and Peter (reminiscent of school dinners) and St. Louis Ribs for me – spicy and messy!   My salad didn’t arrive until asked for, nor did the water refill requested.  A rather amateur set up!  

In the dining room we met up with the quiet, but friendly couple we had had breakfast with at Buffalo Sage B&B.  The ones who had amused us by the length of time it took them to get their gear ready for a hike in Bryce Canyon.   And so to bed! 

Day 8: Zion National Park

OK, let's start with breakfast.  Scrambled egg, 2 waffles with strawberries and a little no sugar maple syrup and water melon.  Quite respectable really! 

We drove south and arrived at Springfield, just south of the park at about lunch time.  We booked into the motel and had lunch next door.  A really good rocket salad with pumpkin seeds, crispy bacon and butternut squash with a light maple and balsamic dressing for Mary and me (about half our 5 a day) and nachos with cheese and jalapeños for Bob and Peter.   

Then aboard the free shuttle from Springfield up to the park and then through the gate and on to another free shuttle through the park.

This area is different again.  A fairly narrow canyon with steep sides  and a river bed in the valley.  Great towering rock faces of red stone with the occasional outcrop of white rock.  

Zion National Park, unusual rock formation with striations in both directions

Zion - wide and tall

Bob taking photo

It's very popular and access is restricted so the shuttle service cuts down on the number of cars in the canyon.   Very well provisioned with rest areas and the place was busy with serious walkers and photographers.  We took the park shuttle up to near the top of the canyon and Bob and Mary walked back alongside the Virgin River to the next bus top and Peter and I did a 2 mile hike up into the canyon and then round along narrow sandy, stoney paths with steep 'drop offs' and past a 

Mmm!  

couple of waterfalls.   It was hot at the start and very steep and then shaded when we got into a spur of the canyon.  Wonderful views down the valley and up to the towering rocks.  It was a great walk.

The river seen from our walk

Ruth trying to look intrepid, but actually clutching on to the tree on a steep narrow path! 

Water fall

Bob and Mary

Bob and Mary met us on our way back to the visitor centre.

After our usual drinks in the room, we went across the road to a restaurant for supper.  A cut above the normal.   We both had pasta with spicy meatballs - comfort food ! 

Day 7: Bryce Canyon

 

Today was wonderful!   All the places we have seen so far have been amazing and awe inspiring, but Bryce Canyon is very special.   I think it's because you can get up so close to the amazing rock structures.   

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  First there was breakfast.  A large piece of omelette with garden vegetables, fried potatoes with onions, a large piece of perfectly ripe melon and 2 large scones.   Well, it's rude to leave anything on your plate as any child brought up during or just after the war knows....Nothing more to be said.  End of.

Then there was a trip to the Laundromat and a grocery store for a picnic lunch.  When these chores were finished we drove the 10 or so miles to Bryce Canyon where our jaws dropped open!   

Peter and I did a 3 mile hike into the canyon and out again, which took about 2 hours.  Bob and Mary came with us a little way at the start and then turned back and picked us up in the car at the end of the trail.   

This is us at the start of the trail looking slightly nervous as we are standing with our feet inches away from a sheer drop.  That does something to the fixity of your smile! 

These are some of the sights we saw: 

 

 We have only one picture of the walk back up the canyon - this one of Peter clutching a rock.  If the pictures were moving you would see his chest heaving. It was hot and STEEP and at 8000 feet up, we also suffered a bit of oxygen deprivation.  We set off and arrived back at the same time as a young couple, so we felt pretty pleased with ourselves!

Went out tonight to a restaurant where we had delicious rib eye steak.  Bob and Mary kindly treated us for our 45th wedding anniversary in September. 

Day 6: Castle Valley Inn, Moab to Buffalo Sage B&B, Tropic, Utah

There were pancakes with spiced apple on the menu for breakfast at Castle Valley Inn and the guests were amused by the owners’ 13 month old toddler in his sleep suit cruising round the tables.  

Unfortunately our rooms were in a semi-basement which meant that we couldn’t see out to appreciate the orchard and the flowerbeds in which this B&B is set.  The very young couple who appear to be the owners were managing breakfast on their own in a very small dining room, where the guests were pushing past each other to get to the tea, coffee etc. The half hour slot allocated for each breakfast sitting wasn’t quite long enough to eat and drink in comfort.  It’s a shame because the owners were charming and we hope they make a go of it.

We drove north from Moab via Huntsville, then west to Torrey, then south through the San Rafael desert to Fruita.   We passed through many changes of scenery – coloured rock formations, strange shapes that looked as though they had been cast from concrete, bare wide plains of sparse shrubs and strips of green alongside the infrequent rivers.  

At Fruita there were grass and fruit trees.  We bought some food at a Mormon Homestead museum shop at Capitol Reef National Park and had a picnic in the park using up the left-overs in the ice box. 

On the way from the park to Tropic we climbed up through the tree line and drove through pinewoods dotted with the most gorgeous golden yellow aspens.  There were some spectacular views across great swathes of jagged rocks and outcrops.  One of the highlights of the drive was the section of road along a twisting ridge that dropped down vertically on either side into great canyons.  Wouldn’t like to do it in the dark!

Buffalo Sage B&B is just a few miles before Bryce Canyon.  It’s like a large log cabin with a veranda around two sides catching the morning and the evening sun.  We have good rooms with beds with super thick mattresses on very high log bases.  

The only dinner choice was a pizza place and one other restaurant, so we took our chances with pizza and it was OK!   Back at the B&B there was a fantastic night sky, with the milky way visible from one side of the valley to the other.  If we come here again we must bring a star map with us.  It's not much good if you can only pick out The Plough!  It took some effort to climb up onto the bed (must have been all that pizza!).  

 The weather has cooled somewhat but we hope for a fine day tomorrow for exploring Bryce Canyon.  

Food report:  Pancakes and pizza in one day?  Gross, as they say hereabouts!