Canyoneering

On the edge of the Grand Canyon

Another long span has developed since I last posted, and a lot of water passed over the dam. We got Bill and Pat moved into their new house in Mesa, with relatively few incidents. The moving company dis most of the work, but we helped some. They're having a great time finishing the move, putting up photos, fixing odds and ends. Just like newlyweds!

We cruised back to Tucson once we finished our time in Tempe. Our Pincher Creek friends Art and Sharon had moved there, and we wanted to visit, play golf, and eat some more. Art and I got our 3 times to play golf. Two of the courses were tough, but we kept under 100. The third course was a par 3, which I finally got into the hang of by about the 15th hole. We also worked on finishing their shed update.

Hummingbird in Saguaro National Park, Tucson

On our last night there, Consuelo and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, a few days ahead of schedule, but we wanted to dine with friends. We had a great meal at Olive Garden, topped off with Asti Spumante.

We then left for northern Arizona, with a fast oil change for our motor home on the way out of town. We slipped through Phoenix and made our way to a casino in Camp Verde, AZ for an overnight stop.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

The next morning we explored Montezuma Castle, one of the Sinagua cliff dwellings along the Verde River. The site was misnamed by early settlers who thought that Montezuma had a summer home here in the hills, but history assures us that Montezuma never got this far north.

Leaving there, we rolled up through Flagstaff, headed NW to Tusayan, AZ, just outside the Grand Canyon National Park. We spent 3 nights there, wandering around the park, taking the free shuttle buses to and fro. I went out one night to try for sunset photos, but the sunset was blah. We tried to celebrate our real anniversary at El Tovar Lodge, but they were booked up.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is quite a place. My photos are but a suggestion of the immense size of the canyon, and the beautiful colors of the canyon walls. The canyon width is about 8-10 miles from the south rim area. It's about 4500 feet down to the river from Hopi Point (elevation 7008) on the south rim. The mules were making their journeys down to the river, but we didn't even consider trying it.

It was cold there, especially compared to Phoenix and points south. Overnight lows were down to the low 20s. We had all of our heating devices running, and we were cozy.

Red Rock mountain on US 89

On Tuesday, 3/30, we hooked up our bug and traveled out the East entrance to the Canyon, connecting with US 89 up to Page, AZ. This route traveled through wonderful scenery, close up views of the various layers that appeared in the Canyon, reds, pinks, greens, tans. There is so much of this stuff out here. I suppose that the locals don't notice it anymore, but it's quite a change from Maine!

We passed by Page, crossed the Glen Canyon Bridge and found our reserved campsite in the Wahweap Campground, inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We have a great view of Lake Powell to the north from our campsite, just a mile or so south of the Utah border.

Glen Canyon Bridge and Dam

Today we visited the Visitor Center, located at the dam. Currently the water in Lake Powell is down about 80 feet, somewhat lower than normal for this time of year. Also, the snowpack is somewhat less than average, meaning that the lake won't be filling this year. Unusual, considering all the rain that fell in Arizona this winter (but not here).

We were surprised by the warmth when we arrived here. I knew that the temperatures at the Colorado River were higher at the Grand Canyon (by 20-30 degrees!) but that was conceptual. When we left the south rim, it was a relatively warm day, with temps around 60 degrees. But when we arrived in Page, it was 82, with an overnight low last night of 57. Back to shorts!

Today has been quite windy, with gusts up into the 45 mph range. Sand and dust have been blowing into everything... our car, my camera, our hair and Thumper's fur. Rain and perhaps snow are coming this way, and cooler temperatures. Such is the environment for travelers like us.