Day 36 thru Day 39 Grand Canyon and Beyond

Page, AZ to Grand Canyon

Trip Distance: 140 miles

Total Distance: 4,775

Our Route: 

We left out of Page, AZ on Thursday morning, heading south on hwy. 89.  We traveled thru cities with names like Tuba City and Cameron. We turned onto hwy. 64 and headed toward the east entrance to the Grand Canyon. We weren't sure if the RV and towed car would be able to pull thru some of the scenic spots on the rim, so we drove straight to the Grand Canyon Trailer Village to settle in and meet up with Jessica and Ali. 

They had driven out from California on Tuesday and we waiting on us to join them. 

As soon as we got the RV unpacked, we met Ali and Jessica. We decided to ride the blue shuttle to the Visitor's Center. We watched the movie there and Adam picked up another Jr. Ranger Program booklet. 

We then changed buses for the orange line following Ali's directions. The bus system at Grand Canyon was a bit intimidating, but once we got the hang of it, it was time to leave. 

Anyway, we got off at Yaki Point and took in our first real views of the South Rim. 

Words can not express....

The Rose kids.

We took the rim trail at Pipe Creek Vista and walked back to the Visitor's Center and Mather Point.

A distant view of the switch backs on the South Kaibab Trail.

The Rose clan. 

"My group, this way!"

which were the words we would say when it was time to get off the shuttle bus. It was hard to keep all of us together. 

Nana and Paw. 

All of these buttes and points have names, but I can't remember any of them.

We ended the day eating back at the RV and hearing of Jessica's adventures around the world. 

Adam spent the night with Ali and Jessica in their tent in the Mather Campground, where the temperatures dropped down to 32. It was cold. 

Day 37:

Hike the South Kaibab Trail.

We started out Friday morning as a group, hiking the South Kaibab Trail. It starts out with a series of 4 or 5 switchbacks and descends rapidly. 

You can see what a view there is.

When we got to Ooh Aah Point, Nana, Paw and Adam went back up the trail. They ate their lunch somewhere at the top and Adam was able to take in a Jr. Ranger talk on the California Condors. 

What he learned:

They are endangererd. 

There are only about 400 right now. 

They took their eggs and hatched them in captivity.

They didn't know the condors were visual imprinters. 

They used Condor mama hand puppets to imprint the young birds.

They drop their eggs in cracks where mountain lions won't get to them. They don't use nests.

The condors use thermals to help them rise up from the canyons. 

They go to streams and wash their beaks after eating. 

Natalie, Jessica, Ali and I hiked on down the trail to Skeleton Point, where we had our lunch and took in the views.

It was a long walk back up!

That night, we headed over to Ali and Jessica's campsite for Jeffy Pop and a few roasted marshmallows after supper.

Natalie was able to spend the night with her sisters in the tent that night. 

The temperature dropped to 30. 

Another cold night.

Day 38: Hermits Rest Route

After saying our good byes to Ali and Jessica, we took the red shuttle buses to the Trail Overlook, Maricopa Point, Powell Point, Hopi Point, and Mohave Point. Sometimes, we walked along the Rim. We had our lunch. 

We are all very tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Here is the Bright Angel Trail. We didn't have the energy to do this hike. So we just looked at it from the rim.

We also took in the Abyss and Pima Point. 

Here is where we got into problems with the shuttle bus. 

It seemed everyone was trying to get back to the Village Route Transfer and so were we. It was very crowded and hard to get onto a bus. I think it too an hour or so to get back to the campsite. 

Another day completed. 

Day 39: 

Grand Canyon to Gallup NM

Trip Distance: 265 miles

Total Distance: 5,040 miles

Our Route:

On Sunday, we left Grand Canyon early and drove to the south entrance on hwy 64, where we meet with I-40 east. 

We had lunch at Winslow, AZ. 

It reminded me of the song, 

"Take It Easy" 

by the Eagles.

I guess we are pretty tired, because we talked about touring the Petrified Forest National Park. 

We stopped at the Visitor's Center. But when we heard that we were really at the Painted Desert, and that we would have to drive about 20 miles south or so to see the Petrified Forest, we decided to get back on the interstate and keep going. 

We stopped for the night at Gallup, NM at USA RV Park. 

We had dinner at Cracker Barrell and picked up some groceries at Walmart. 

Day 32: Zion National Park

Zion National Park

We took the shuttle into the park this morning. Adam picked up another Junior Ranger booklet, so he was a happy hiker today as well.

We took in another Ranger talk. This time about the early history of the park. How they made the one mile tunnel and what the early tourists encountered when they arrived.

Then, we went on the shuttle up to the furthest point and got off. It happened to be the Temple of Sunwava. There was a nice riverwalk stroll that we took along with everyone else was happened to be visiting Zion today. It was crowded. 

We learned about 3 million people visit Zion each year. I can see why.

The walk was about 2 miles round trip. Not too bad for us. It was a paced path with very little incline. 

The Virgin River

At the end, some people continue hiking into the Narrows, which crosses the river and up the narrow canyon.

We chose to eat our lunch and watch them....

Afterwards, we took the shuttle back down and stopped at various points called, The Grotto, Weeping Wall, and Zion Lodge.

Adam had to find out all sorts of interesting facts, such as whose face is engraved in the plaque at the Museum Center? 

Stephen Mather.

What type of tree is in front of the Zion Lodge?

Cottonwood.

Who were the Court of the Patriachs named after?

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We also took another short trail at the Zion Lodge called the Lower Emerald Pools Trail. It was about a mile long. We saw all sorts of creatures. tarantulas, deer, lizards, and squirrels. 

  Natalie and Adam have been taking many of today's pictures. 

Then we took the shuttle back to the visitor's center so Adam could be sworn in as a JR. Ranger.

Another happy boy. 

We ordered take out pizza. 

All are tired and need some rest. 

Day 31: How Adam became a Junior Ranger

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT 

and Bryce to Zion National Park, UT

We parked our car at the shuttle parking outside the entrance to Bryce Canyon.
Today was a free visitor day and park entrance was free for everyone. 
We watched a movie of the history of the canyon and then headed out to see the sights.
The shuttle dropped us off at Bryce Point. 

People can imagine all sorts of things in these fins and hoodoos.

Cathedrals, church spires, the Terracotta Warriors....

Bryce Canyon was named after a Mormon settler, Ebenezer Bryce, who built his cabin near the canyon and people started calling it after him.

We were impressed. Everywhere we looked, we were amazed at the scenery and how far we could see.

We decided to walk the rim trail between Bryce Point and Inspiration Point.  About 1.5 miles. It was a beautiful day. Sunny skies, some clouds, warm temps.

Some of the trail took you pretty close to the edge.

Natalie learned it freezes 200 out of 365 days per year here in Bryce Canyon. That causes much of the erosion that takes place and forms the fins and hoodoos. 

Adam learned that Bryce Canyon isn't really a canyon after all.  It's a plateau. A river cuts through the ground to form a canyon and there is no river here. 

Adam participated in the Junior Ranger Program and earned his pin. He was a happy camper. We sat through a Ranger led talk on the geology of the area. Very interesting.

After spending most of the day exploring Bryce, we hooked up "little whitey" (the name of Nana and Paw's car that has been towed behind the motor home with us) and set out for Zion National Park. It was a 2 hour drive and one of the best we've encountered.

Total Miles: 85

Total Distance: 4,525

 Our Route: 

We drove back out of Bryce Canyon on hwy 12. We then turned on hwy 89 south toward Kanab. When we got to the town of Oderville, we took hwy 9 into Zion National Park.

This was one of the first formations we encountered.

Look at these striations in the rock

Look at this ROAD!

When we got to the second tunnel, we pulled over and handed our special $15.00 permit to bring a 31' motor home through the tunnel. The ranger stopped oncoming traffic for us to drive through by ourselves.

The RV is too large side to side for oncoming traffic, so we had to drive in the middle of the lane. 

It's a one mile long tunnel. Pretty cool. 

We found a pull-out and took a break.

You can see the Arch.

Then we had to navigate on several hairpin switchbacks to get to the other side of the park, where our campground was located. 

We arrived safely at the Zion Campground and RV Park in Springdale, UT. Right outside the south entrance of the park. Being a weekend, it is pretty crowded.

After getting the RV settled in our spot, we brewed some coffee and took a walk around the campground. 

We met a large group of campers from an Ohio University, who are participating in a Geo Journey program. It's a nine week class where they travel through many national parks. Sounds pretty cool. 

They looked like they all we enjoying it too.