7/17/2012
In the Grand Canyon
We got up early and walked a couple of blocks to a small restaurant that was full of old west atmosphere. We had the whole place to ourselves, so we sat out on the patio and had a really good true western breakfast of eggs, bread and potatoes, two cups of coffee each, then we headed due north for the Grand Canyon.
The trip was about an hour, and while we drove we tried to find a place to camp inside of the park. Unfortunately, everyone we talked to said that all of the reservation camping was booked, but that we could try to get a spot at the “desert view” campsite, which was first-come-first-serve. They let us know that it usually fills up pretty quickly, and we’d need to be there before 1 pm if we wanted to be assured a spot. This put a bit of a time crunch on us, but we thought that we could make it. It was obviously important that we have a place to sleep that night. When we got to the park entrance, we were able to scoot by a long line of cars because we had our seasonal pass.
We headed to the visitor’s center to talk to the rangers, get acclimated and ask all our questions about the best places to spend our day. We were lucky enough to get the BEST ranger. He was incredibly helpful. We told him that we had planned to camp and that we were hoping to do a bit of hiking, but especially liked to be away from the tourist crowds. First, he told us how to avoid the big groups of tourist by giving us alternate routes to take that the tour buses didn’t use. Next, he told us his favorite place to go on a fairly easy hike. He said that it was very pretty and not too strenuous for the first hour, then became more difficult the second hour, and still worse if you kept going after the third hour. In this way we’d be able to determine how much we wanted to hike. Lastly, he gave us directions to his most favorite, and secret, place to camp. He told us that it was outside the national park, so you didn’t have to pay for your spot, it was just open camping. He let us know that it didn’t have running water, but there was a single toilet close by. How could we pass up such a great tip? So, we thanked the ranger for all of his help and headed back to the car. Once again, the ranger had said that it was important to get to the campsite quickly, because even though he tried to keep it a secret (as in he told one camper every day), it would still get pretty filled up, and the best spots would go first. We took only enough time to check out the scenery at the visitor’s center, which was our first taste of the Grand Canyon, and truly awe inspiring.
The trip was about an hour, and while we drove we tried to find a place to camp inside of the park. Unfortunately, everyone we talked to said that all of the reservation camping was booked, but that we could try to get a spot at the “desert view” campsite, which was first-come-first-serve. They let us know that it usually fills up pretty quickly, and we’d need to be there before 1 pm if we wanted to be assured a spot. This put a bit of a time crunch on us, but we thought that we could make it. It was obviously important that we have a place to sleep that night. When we got to the park entrance, we were able to scoot by a long line of cars because we had our seasonal pass.
We headed to the visitor’s center to talk to the rangers, get acclimated and ask all our questions about the best places to spend our day. We were lucky enough to get the BEST ranger. He was incredibly helpful. We told him that we had planned to camp and that we were hoping to do a bit of hiking, but especially liked to be away from the tourist crowds. First, he told us how to avoid the big groups of tourist by giving us alternate routes to take that the tour buses didn’t use. Next, he told us his favorite place to go on a fairly easy hike. He said that it was very pretty and not too strenuous for the first hour, then became more difficult the second hour, and still worse if you kept going after the third hour. In this way we’d be able to determine how much we wanted to hike. Lastly, he gave us directions to his most favorite, and secret, place to camp. He told us that it was outside the national park, so you didn’t have to pay for your spot, it was just open camping. He let us know that it didn’t have running water, but there was a single toilet close by. How could we pass up such a great tip? So, we thanked the ranger for all of his help and headed back to the car. Once again, the ranger had said that it was important to get to the campsite quickly, because even though he tried to keep it a secret (as in he told one camper every day), it would still get pretty filled up, and the best spots would go first. We took only enough time to check out the scenery at the visitor’s center, which was our first taste of the Grand Canyon, and truly awe inspiring.
Are you SERIOUS?!
Then we made a beeline to the back roads that would take us to our campsite. We found it pretty easily, passing a few “watch for mountain lion” signs (a bit disconcerting) and a 70-foot fire lookout station that neighbored the toilet. Luckily for us, there was no one there yet, so we got our pick of the sites. The ranger was totally correct in his description of how beautiful a spot it was…and how well we would be able to avoid the crowds….because as we set up our site, we realized that we really had gone quite far off the beaten path. As we laid out our tent, Kim noticed something white about 6 feet away from our chosen spot. It turned out to be a well chewed on femur. Close by was a large part of a jaw and several other pieces of bone, pink tissue still clinging tightly to our new discoveries. Now we started to get a bit more worried.
The bones were obviously elk or deer of some kind, but now we really thought about how secluded we were and that the wild life would be quite active around us. And even though this is the moment in every horror movie that the audience yells at the stupid characters to get out, we also realized that it was much easier to leave our tent set up and just go back to the canyon and get in a nice hike before it got too late.
Which is exactly what we did.
Which is exactly what we did.
Elk?!
We headed back into the park, spying a young elk that crossed in front of the car while we were still in the forest. We followed the ranger’s instructions, and made our way to a lookout point that was also the trailhead for our hike. True to his word, the hike was absolutely stunning…though Kim did feel like he may have been leading us on about how strenuous it was as we were climbing down some VERY narrow paths with some serious drop offs (nothing to catch you if you took a wrong step). We took our time, only being passed by a few other hikers, and were able to really absorb the majesty of the Grand Canyon. If the sheer magnitude of it was not enough to take your breath away, the overwhelming beauty of the plateaus and peaks were just as amazing. We took breaks often, so we could sit and watch the condors sore in the blue sky or gaze at the never-ending rock structures. We hiked for about an hour-and-a-half before we decide to head back up the canyon wall to the lookout point.
Once we got back up to the top, we decided to go over to the Desert View campground, which was famous for an old adobe lookout tower, as well as the spot that the ranger had told us to watch the sunrise the following morning. Once we got there we visited the ranger’s station, and asked a few questions about getting in and out of the park after dark and in the early morning, then we made our way down to the lookout tower. The view was spectacular.
On our way out we stopped at the little café there and had an incredibly filling dinner of veggies, beans and tortillas. On the way back to the campsite we stopped at every lookout we could find, spending some time at each one and really trying to suck in as much of this world wonder as we could.
On our way out we stopped at the little café there and had an incredibly filling dinner of veggies, beans and tortillas. On the way back to the campsite we stopped at every lookout we could find, spending some time at each one and really trying to suck in as much of this world wonder as we could.
As the sun began to lower, we made our way back into the forest and dropped the car off at the campsite. Then we walked back to the lookout station and climbed the 70 feet up to the top to watch the sun set (another tip from our good ranger friend…or was he good. We’d soon find out). We had about 30 minutes to relax before the sun actually crept down below the horizon, and we met another couple on their honeymoon, who we invited up into the tower to enjoy the view with us. They were staying at the desert view campground, and Kim tried to convince them to move their site over by ours, because now that the sun was actually set, being out in the woods all alone seemed a bit more spooky (or terrifying). Regrettably, they decided to stay where they were and we headed back to our own site.
Jesse collected an extra armload of firewood and began to get the fire started. It was at this point that two things occurred. One, a wolf (or some sort of canine) howled in the near distance making Kim’s eyes grow to twice the normal size (to be perfectly honest, Jesse didn’t like the night sounds either, but felt that it was important to maintain a cool demeanor for Kim’s sanity). Second, the cellphone battery died…and here comes that typical horror movie plot.
So, first things first. We grabbed a hammer (our only weapon) and kept it close at hand. Jesse took a shot of whisky, then turned on the car and plugged in the phone to start a charge. We huddled around the fire, listening to the forest and the car engine humming. Jesse kept taking the car for little loops around the camp site because he was worried that the idling would drain the battery and then we’d have been stuck with no phone or escape vehicle.
Eventually, the phone had a decent charge on it, the fire died down revealing the bright night stars as the darkness crept in around us. So, we decided to climb into the relative safety of our tent. We sat up with the light on for some time….then laid in the dark, still awake, for rest of the night, listening to all of the twigs snapping around us. Jesse did get a little bit of sleep, but Kim, while quiet, was pretty bleary-eyed by morning. Which, fortunately, came pretty quickly since we had planned to get back to the Desert View campground to watch the sun rise…which means we awake at 4:45AM.
So, first things first. We grabbed a hammer (our only weapon) and kept it close at hand. Jesse took a shot of whisky, then turned on the car and plugged in the phone to start a charge. We huddled around the fire, listening to the forest and the car engine humming. Jesse kept taking the car for little loops around the camp site because he was worried that the idling would drain the battery and then we’d have been stuck with no phone or escape vehicle.
Eventually, the phone had a decent charge on it, the fire died down revealing the bright night stars as the darkness crept in around us. So, we decided to climb into the relative safety of our tent. We sat up with the light on for some time….then laid in the dark, still awake, for rest of the night, listening to all of the twigs snapping around us. Jesse did get a little bit of sleep, but Kim, while quiet, was pretty bleary-eyed by morning. Which, fortunately, came pretty quickly since we had planned to get back to the Desert View campground to watch the sun rise…which means we awake at 4:45AM.
7/18/2012
We made it over there with moments to spare, and watched with wonder as the sun rose over the desert, slowly lighting up each layer of the canyon, casting long purple shadows and revealing mesmerizing reds and oranges every second. The peace of the morning totally washed away any lasting fear of the night, and gave us a great new outlook on the day. At that point we headed back to the campsite and went directly to bed for another 4 hours.
After getting some much needed sleep, we packed everything up and headed out of the Grand Canyon National Park, back to Route 66 and set our course west. Next stop: Las Vegas!
After getting some much needed sleep, we packed everything up and headed out of the Grand Canyon National Park, back to Route 66 and set our course west. Next stop: Las Vegas!