DAY FOUR, part two: Holbrook, AZ to the Grand Canyon

DAY FOUR, part two: Holbrook, AZ to the Grand Canyon


We stopped for gas not too long after leaving Holbrook. Turns out I was so hungry I could eat a sandwich from a gas station. Thankfully no dog wet on the picnic basket. But John is keeping his eyes peeled for a hot blonde in a Ferrari.

In my previous note I forgot to comment that as we exited the Petrified Forest, we clicked over to 2000 miles travelled! A less enthusiastic cheer this time! We are 1/3 of the way through the trip.

As we drove I noticed an alternate route we could take to get to the canyon that would allow us more time along the south rim to view the canyon. When I plugged it into the GPS, it only added 10 miles to our journey so we decided to try it. And then the sun set. : (

We drove on into the sunset, catching glimpses of lesser canyons that even in the dim light were impressive. As we drove the man on the radio informed us that the sno line was at 7500 feet. We were at 7200 at the time, and had only seen snow up higher on nearby mountains. We figured the anyon was at lower elevation anyway, so we were in the clear.

We entered the park at dark, and stopped to take pictures of the sign by the light of the headlights. As we kept going, the GPS showed we were climbing higher and higher, and then the snow started to fall. At first it was just a little bit, and we were struggling to have Ava recognize it in the headlights. Then, it really started to come down, and there was even a dusting of accumulation on the roadway and the shoulders of the roads.

Much to our dismay we drove past a few “scenic overlooks” that in the pitch blackness of the night all looked the same. Close your eyes and you can see it too!

The “fun” really began when we turned towards the campground. And immediately the map and the actual roads did not match. Cue the sound of screeching cats as frustration mounts. John trying to drive an unfamiliar vehicle on dark unlit roads desperate for his navigator to give him some sort of directions. Me trying to figure out where the heck we are by locating a street name on an unlit dark road marker so that I can give directions to the driver. After looping around a couple of times, we found it.

The campground is filled with mostly people sleeping in their cars. There is no water or electric hook ups here. We are operating on generator power and Cardinal Rule #1 of the RV (no pooping in the RV). Everyone is a bit nervous, but it should be somewhat fun.

We drove to the Bright Angel Lodge for dinner. It was less fancy than I expected but fancier than John expected. And “fancy” would not be a good descriptor. Comfortable would be.

Dinner was okay, and more expensive than El Pinto, for much MUCh less food. Now I need to plan the day tomorrow. The Skywalk is nowhere near the South Rim. It is considered the West Rim, and closer to Vegas. This is why we will be camping at Lake Meade tomorrow. But the GPS now shows the trip to the Skywalk as a 5 hour trip, but I think Google had it at 3. So I’m going to sit with the good old fashioned map and plan it out that way. : )