Sunday in Williams, AZ

Site #12 - $33, p/w/s, TV, Internet, Temps 23C

As mentioned in the last post, we arrived after dark and just picked an empty site not really sure what it looked like. Ron retrieved the Internet password from booklets left for late arrivals.

It's been great to have this 'catch up' time. Picture uploads, reading literature, cleaning, grocery shopping & a load of laundry.

Williams (pop 3,000) is an interesting little town. It holds the distinction of being the last town located on Route 66 to be bypassed by the I-40 freeway. It is a popular destination for Route 66 enthusiasts.

This is where you would climb aboard for the Grand Canyon Rail Tours. The historic downtown still has the original old brick sidewalks. It has some pretty cool shops & restaurants. We laughed when we saw Hop Sings Chinese Restaurant Saloon.

Our plan had been to spend some time in Lake Havasu and then go to Yuma for a few days. Unfortunately an ugly weather front is rolling in to AZ including rain, cooler weather plus today we had some wind. We will see what tomorrow brings!? Plans may change.

And no, we aren't going to do the Canyon Skywalk on the westside. We saw it 'virtually' on the Internet.

Grand Canyon South Rim

Saturday AM (from North Rim): Last night wasn't too bad. We had an extra blanket on the bed & the furnace set to 14C, so if anything we were too warm! It was -3C when we got up at 7:45 am. We were on the road by 9 am. The colder temps get one moving a little quicker in the morning!

Excitement! We saw a Kaibab Squirrel ("silver ghost") that lives only on the North Rim & NOWHERE else in the world! It was blackish with a big white fluffy tail & long ears. Awesome!

The distance across the canyon from the North to South Rim is only 16 km. However it is about a 300 km / 4 hr drive. A pretty drive across the plateau with rock cliffs on either side.
------------------------------------------------------

Sunday AM (from South Rim): I just looked out the window to see where we were camped! When we pulled in, it was dark & I had no idea what the campground was like :) Also it turns out we lost an hour somewhere. I switched to MT time back in Idaho, but on the Grand Canyon shuttle bus yesterday, we realized it was an hour earlier! That worked to our advantage. It meant that we were on the road by 8 am yesterday & we got an extra hour to tour the South Rim of the Canyon. It was a long tiring day though.

So we drove with the RV along the southeast portion of the rim and stopped at a couple of the lookouts.

At the Visitor Centre we took the shuttle to see the southwest route. Saturday was not a good time to be doing this. There were some long waits in the lineups & standing room only between some of the stops. 

The buses weren't as frequent as they were at Zion Canyon. Anyway.. we can say we've been there now! Awesome, but once again I have to say Zion & Bryce awed me more! After the tour (5:30 pm), we drove the hour to Williams. And we set up in the dark. And had supper.

We've covered a lot of territory this past week & have had so many 'one nighters'. It's tiring! Even though this isn't the 'prettiest' of campgrounds, it has all the hookups and we are going to take an extra day to catch our breaths, do some grocery shopping, cleaning etc.

Arizona: The Grand Canyon - North Rim

Grand Canyon Forestry Campground (private)
Site #? - $17, n/s, Temp 15C, Elevation 8860'

Friday: We drove the 90 km to Jacob's Lake only to find that both the private RV site & the National Forest Campgrounds were closed for the season. Closed today.

We started the drive to the Grand Canyon, not sure what to expect at the Park entrance. Maybe no RV's would be allowed in? Anyway, 50km down the road & just before the park entrance, there was a private no service campground that was still open. Relief. Maybe? I'm not sure how exited I was to be there. Elv 8860' Temp 15C. No power & pretty much assured of freezing temps overnight. Eeek.

We unhooked, made lunch and while we were eating it began to rain, with some of that frozen stuff mixed in. (I refuse to use that ugly 4 letter S-word!!) It was kind of weird as the temp was still 15C. I guess it must be a high elevation thing.

As we were leaving the campsite, we drove by a tent. The fly had been removed & was laying over the picnic table to dry. No one was around. We did the 'good neighbor thing' & proceeded to put the fly back on the tent for them. In the pouring rain. It was a bit late for covering. Puddles had already pooled on sleeping bags inside! Six soaking wet lawn chairs circled the fire. We used the wet chairs to protect their firewood pile from further wetness! Sucks to be tenting. In freezing temps when everything is wet!

Anyway.. On to the Canyon. It was actually warmer there. The wet stuff passed over & the sun came out. The drive through the forested area was enjoyable. All the autumn colours. Very beautiful. So different form the south end of the Grand Canyon which is desert. 

The Canyon itself was awesome for it's vast expanse. I'm not sure I would rate it over the previous two canyons we visited. However, it was great to see it.

Back home we found the 'wet tenters' a father & 4 young girls hovered around the fire. The tent was down & their wet sleeping bags were all rolled up and sitting on the picnic table. Mom had gone to the nearby lodge to see if there was room at the inn. I hope for their sake that there was!

Later: I didn't envy any of the tenters that were in our campground. It was 0C already when we went to bed. Hope they had lots of firewood & warm sleeping bags!

Zion Canyon, Utah

Best Western Thunderbird
Sites un-numbered - $17, p/w/s, Internet, Temp 22C

We left our Panguitch campsite at 9:30 a.m. & drove the 70 km stretch to Mt. Carmel Junction. (Yes, family that's 45 minutes.. go ahead & laugh.) This campspot was just a few sites across the road from the Hotel but allows you the use of facilities (pool etc. if wanted) and was perfect for us just looking for a parking spot while we toured the Park.

We unhooked. Packed a lunch & headed to the Zion National Park.

Two totally different canyon drives in two days. Both so awesome. If these two canyons, Bryce & Zion aren't listed in the "1000 Places to See Before You Die", they should be! Beauty at it's best. A hiker's paradise. Also for rock climbers. (see above 2 photos) I hope you all get an opportunity to visit sometime. 

The 37 km drive to the Zion Visitor Centre ranks up there as #1 in our travels along with the Needles Highway drive (Black Hills). The 1 1/2 mile tunnel cut through one of the sandstone 'rock' was the longest tunnel we have been in. Quite amazing. It was built 1927 to 1930. You'll get a better idea of this tunnel in the rock from the posted pics.

At the Visitor Centre we boarded the free shuttle for the 80 minute round trip ride. It makes 7 stops along the way, coming & going. You can get off at any or all the stops, hike, bike, take your pictures & board another of the shuttles that come & go every 5 - 10 minutes. This 80 minute drive stretched in to 4 hrs for us. Again, the serious hikers would spend the entire day. Easily. A quote from the Visitor Guide "Zion National Park exhibits some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. Deep sandstone canyons, striking rock towers, high mesas and plateaus characterise this magnificent landscape." 

The weather was perfect. The temps are getting warmer (lower altitude). Today's high was 26C. We shouldn't wake to a frozen waterline as we did this morning!

Tomorrow we will head to Jacob Lake. And our next "Canyon tour" -- The Grand Canyon North Rim.

P.S. I have to tell you. You know that lady from Osoyoos that I told you about. The one who joined us at the fire without her husband. She had been drinking. And she talked. A lot.... Yeah, that one.... It was actually her who said we needed to visit these canyons. And now, I am so glad she joined us at our fire that night! :)

Bryce Canyon Drive

Red Canyon RV Park & Campground
Site #1 - $25, p/w, Internet, Cable, Temp 19C

A decent campground just out of Panguitch on the road to Red and Bryce Canyons. The drive today. AWESOME! A 30 km drive through Red & including a couple tunnels. See below:

And then Bryce Canyons. Oh my gosh!! The hoodoos, the colour contrasts. Unbelievable beauty. Or in Ron's words "mind boggling". We took nearly 4 hrs. driving this short stretch. People with hiking legs could have spent so much more time. 

We drove to the furthest lookout at Elvation 9115 ft & then stopped at each of the lookouts on the way back down. I filled the memory card on my camera. I don't believe I've ever taken so many pictures. There were just so many cool shapes & formations & I wanted to capture them all. Check them out. There are lots, but this is only a few of the many taken!

We will be moving on tomorrow. The plan is to camp at or near Mt Carmel Junction. More canyons to explore at Zion National Park.

Utah - From Ogden to Bryce Canyon

Century RV Park
Site #9, p/w/s, Internet, TV, Temp 18C

We spent last night in Ogden, Utah. I had internet. And I didn't have anything to say. How sad was that. We spent this Thanksgiving Monday in the laundromat.

Today we drove to Panguitch, Utah on the outskirts of Bryce Canyon National Park. I HATED the drive through Salt Lake City with an RV!! So much traffic plus road construction had me gripping the upholstery. Hard! Ron had to hit the binders when traffic came to a stop (from 100 km / hr) & 2 vehicles decided to cut in front of us. I believe we left a fair bit of rubber on the road... and the Mormons would have cringed at the language.

Anyway... here at Bryce Canyon... I thought this description was rather fitting:

"What is Bryce Canyon? Words confound when no comparable exist. A cave without a ceiling? A forest of stone? Even 'canyon' is misleading since Bryce is carved by freeze-thaw cycles, not a river. Yet, 'world's largest pothole' is neither adequate nor flattering. Tour this Website, and you'll be enticed to visit Bryce in person. Once here, perhaps you'll agree with those who say, 'Bryce is a Bryce!"

So we have booked 2 nights and we are looking forward to touring tomorrow. One can't complain about the temp -- sunny & 19C is pretty decent for this time of year and these elevations. We are at an elevation of about 8000 ft. here.