The extremely adequate canyon...

Click the photo for a slide show.

Just another crummy day in paradise; that's what we had today. We got up early, and I did a few maintenance projects on the coach and the toad. Mainly, I cleaned the bugs off the windows and the front of the coach. I also replaced one of Sadie's headlights, which I had noticed was not burning when we arrived at the Hitch 'n' Post. I think there is a bad taillight bulb, too, but I need to check that later.

I had been on the internet earlier investigating RV parks in Flagstaff. It became apparent that the good places fill up fast, so I called for a reservation at the J & H RV park. A recorded voice told me I couldn't call until 9 AM Arizona time. Since Arizona doesn't recognize daylight time, that meant I couldn't call until 10 AM local time. So, I went about my business. Jill got everything ready for our day's outing.

At 10:00 AM on the dot, I called the park and made a reservation. That was a load off my mind, so I was now free to enjoy the day. We loaded Pogo into the car, along with our backpack, containing everything we needed for a day's outing, except, as we would later learn, the beef jerky! We headed out of town for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The drive is spectacular, and I was taken completely unawares by the dense pine forests that cover the hills on the way up to the park. I remarked to Jill that it seemed odd we had to climb 4,200 feet in altitude so we can look at a hole in the ground. In fact, when we reached the lodge, we were within a few minutes' drive of the highest point on the rim of the canyon.

We arrived at the park, and I smugly forked over my Senior LIFETIME Pass for the national parks. (Did I mention this gets me into any national park in the U.S. for free, for the rest of my life?) We then drove from the entrance about 35 miles to the visitors' center and lodge. As you will notice in the slide show, the lodge is a spectacular structure.

As we walked into the front of the lodge, we found ourselves in a large foyer. On the Left were the reservations desk, a desk selling mule rides into the canyon, and a large room that appeared to be set up like a theater. On the right and down a flight of stairs was the dining room, which has ringside views of the canyon. Straight ahead, and down another short flight of stairs, is an octagonal observation room with windows on five sides looking directly into the canyon.

It quickly became apparent that the architect who designed this building knew his stuff. The lodge sits literally on the precipice of the canyon. Looking out the windows of the lodge, or from the observation deck just off the octagonal room, you can look almost straight down for thousands of feet. It is breathtaking, literally. In the Visitors' Center there is a sign on the wall that says something to the effect that people are so overwhelmed by the grandeur of the canyon that they speak in whispers. Throughout the afternoon as we wandered about the observation points near the lodge, I listened, and people did speak in whispers. One fellow was trying to locate his party and was hollering their names at the top of his lungs. I must admit, it seemed irreverent of him.

With the time change, and the fact that we had eaten our breakfast early, not to mention that we forgot the beef jerky, we were getting pretty hungry by the time the dining room opened for lunch. We went in and got a table right by the window, where we had a panoramic view of the canyon as we enjoyed some wonderful burgers. At the table next to us was an attractive family of Mom and Dad and four sons. We overheard the Mom address one of the boys as Josiah. Well, the die was cast. Jill struck up a conversation and told Mom all about our Josiah. They had quite a lovely time conversing for a few minutes.

We returned to the Visitors' Center after lunch and asked the ranger if there were a place where we could walk Pogo. He told us where, and we got Pogo from her crate and had a nice stroll around the grounds, where we met a woman from Portland. She and her husband both retired this year, so they are on a five week vacation trip, similar to ours. We had another fine conversation about where they had been and where we have been, and where they are going and where we are going.

That completed we were ready to head for Sadie. We made two stops on the 76 mile trip back. One was at an observation area along the highway. There were three Navajo Indian women selling jewelry and other gift items there. They had some beautiful pieces, but we weren't moved to buy any of them. The second stop was at Honey's Jubilee Market for a few groceries.

We were glad to be home again, and we both felt that we had had an extremely adequate day.