Grand Canyon, AZ

Sunday, September 16, 2018
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Campground: Forest Road 310
Cost per Night: Free (boondocking)
Duration: 1 night
Weather: Sunny and warm

I woke up at 5 a.m., made my coffee and walked over to Desert View to watch the sunrise. I was so surprised that there was only one other person at the point when I arrived, but by the time the sun came up, there were about eight of us. We all spoke in hushed whispers, enjoying the serenity of the morning, watching as the soft colors began to appear on the canyon walls. What an experience!

Patiently waiting for the sunrise.

Dawn's early light.

Peacefully quiet.

Here it comes.

Looking north.

Looking northwest.

It gets prettier with each passing moment.

I walked back to the RV and helped Rod get everything secure and ready to head out. We made our way over to the Grand Canyon Village, stopping a few times at some of the lookouts. We spotted a dozen or so deer at the first stop and I'm hoping I got some good pictures with the Olympus.

Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower in the distance.

We parked the RV and walked over to the El Tovar Hotel for breakfast. The lodge opened in 1905 and was one of a chain of hotels and restaurants owned and operated by the Fred Harvey Company, in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railway. It's a very elegant hotel and is considered the crown jewel of Historic National Park Lodges. I would agree! The interior is beautiful and the views from the dining rooms are breathtaking. 

The view of the Grand Canyon from our table in the El Tovar Hotel.

Chicken Fried Steak for Rod.

Southwest Breakfast Quesadilla for me.

I thought we were going to walk back to the hotel after exploring the rim, but we went a different way so I didn't get a picture of the exterior. It's a beautiful combination of a Swiss chalet and a Norwegian villa. Definitely worth a visit, if you're in the area! I would love to go back and have drinks on the patio as the sun is setting. Next time!

Click on images for a larger view.

Grand Canyon, AZ

Saturday, September 15, 2018
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Campground: Desert View Campground
Cost per Night: $6 (with the senior discount)
Duration: 1 night
Weather: Sunny and warm

We woke up to a beautiful morning and I could barely contain my excitement about spending the whole day exploring the Grand Canyon! As I was enjoying my coffee at the dinette, I spotted a bull elk grazing a short distance from the RV. We were surprised that he was alone, but he slowly grazed on the low hanging tree branches across the road, allowing me to get close enough with both my phone camera (and the Olympus, which has a zoom lens). It's always exciting to spot wildlife while camping, but we're cautious and keep our distance.

Can you see him?

I forgot the cable to transfer pictures from the Olympus to my laptop, so those pictures will have to wait until after we get home.

90% of this two-month road trip was planned far in advance with reservations secured for RV parks and campgrounds all along the way. The Grand Canyon is one of the few places we didn't have anything reserved. We knew we wanted to boondock on the fire road (mentioned here), but we also wanted to stay at the park's Desert View Campground (26 miles east of Grand Canyon Village), which is a first-come, first-served campground. After reading up on the specifics of the campground, we knew we would have to arrive early, as there are only 50 sites, which fill up well before noon. We got loaded up after breakfast and were at the campground in just a few minutes, as it was only about 10 miles away. We didn't have any trouble finding a site that provided plenty of room for our slide-out and with ample space between the other sites.  The maximum length allowed is 30 feet, so there were a lot of tents, travel trailers and small RVs. We were amazed that it was only $6 per night (with the senior discount), but it is a dry campground. No electricity, water or sewer at the site, so we had to run the generator a few times. There are restrooms, but no showers, but we were ok with that.  We didn't have much in the way of a cell signal, though, but I didn't really want to spend a lot of time on the computer. The Grand Canyon was within walking distance!

Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower

This structure was designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter who is often referred to as the architect of the southwest. She traveled throughout the southwest to find inspiration and authenticity for her buildings. The architecture of the ancestral Puebloan people of the Colorado Plateau served as her model. This particular tower was patterned after those found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde. Ms. Colter indicated that it was not a copy of any that she had seen, but rather modeled from several.

As you get closer to the building you might see how well it blends into the environment. It is difficult to tell where the rock of the canyon walls end, and the tower begins.

She said: “First and most important, was to design a building that would become part of its surroundings; one that would create no discordant note against the time eroded walls of this promontory.” To obtain this result she insisted that the rocks not be cut or worked, so they would not lose the: "weathered surfaces so essential to blend it with the canyon walls”.

Note, too, some of the intricate designs she had built into the tower. For example, look for the white decorative stones near the top, which fade out as the eye goes around the tower. She had seen this pattern at Chaco Canyon and thought it would break the monotony of this Watchtower. The built in cracks which are patterned from some of the ancient towers she had seen are deliberately designed. There are petroglyphs on some of the stones which were brought here from near Ash Fork. (National Park Service)

Click here to learn more about the Watchtower.

Looking east from the South Rim.

Seriously! How gorgeous is that?!

The different shades of color and shadow are stunning.

Beautiful Hopi murals inside the Watchtower.

Panoramic View.

Rough life.

Dusk on the South Rim.

Wow.

Tomorrow, I hike into the Canyon!

Click on image for larger view.

Kingman & Grand Canyon, AZ

Friday, September 14, 2018
Kingman to the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Distance:  167 miles
Campground: Fire Road 310 (boondocking)
Cost per Night: Free
Duration: 1 night
Weather: Sunny and warm

We were up early and on the road before 9:00 in order to avoid the mid-day wind gusts. It was pretty much easy driving, though, on I-40. The trees were just beginning to show hints of yellow, but we were too early to see any real fall colors. The sunflowers, however, were in full bloom along the side of the road. Highway 64 (Williams to the Grand Canyon) is long and very bumpy. We were happy to finally reach the national park where the roads were wide and smooth. The sky was blue, with no sign of smoke, although once we reached the Grand Canyon, we could see smoke from the fire near the North Rim.

Once again, we saved the National Park entrance fee ($25) with our America the Beautiful Senior Pass. It sure has come in handy and has paid for itself ($20) with our visits to various parks. We decided to skip the Village and Visitor Center and drove out toward Desert View and the fire road, at which we were hoping to camp  for the night. The first viewpoint had a large, open parking space that I was able to snag, so we stopped for lunch. I literally gasped when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time. Actually, I almost cried. It is so beautiful! And, HUGE! What a thrill to see it and have lunch in the RV right along the south rim. It was just after noon and there were only a half dozen or so people strolling about. We met a sweet young couple from Holland and they asked if we would "make a picture" of them. They did the same for us and we enjoyed hearing about their two-week trip in the U.S. 

Wow. Just Wow.

Lunchtime. View from inside the RV!

After lunch we drove out the Kaibab National Forest to find our boondocking site. Thanks to the GPS coordinates, we didn't have any trouble and found several spots that would work. There was only one other camper a little further away, so we were happy to have the place pretty much to ourselves. 

After getting set up, we went for a short walk and decided to climb the Grandview Lookout Tower, which is 80 feet tall. This steel tower was erected in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

Up we go!

Nice view of the Grand Canyon.

I was able to shoot this without actually looking down!

Can you spot our RV?

I wasn't prepared to get so scared, but I did, so we both agreed to stop at 40 feet. We later saw some folks go all the way to the top to watch the sunset. I'm not sure I'd want to climb down in the dark, but they did!

Great dispersed campsite.

Relaxing and avoiding the horsefly that decided to join us outside.

So peaceful.

Yep, we'll come back here again!

This sunset picture doesn't do it justice.

Halibut tacos for dinner. Mmmmm!

What a memorable day! Tomorrow we explore the Grand Canyon.