Hot time in Scottdale

 Wednesday-Thursday, October 14-15, 2020

Well, we made it to Scottsdale.  We tried to get an overnight reservation at Westworld to unload and clean, but they were full. (Not sure what's going on there.)  So, we parked in the nearby Office Max parking lot to unload.

It was 100 degrees!  Scottsdale just broke the record for the most 100 degree days...144 days so far this year!  Now that's hot!   Here is our patio thermometer at 5pm in the shade.

But it's good to be able to settle down in one place.  Spot is thrilled to be here too. 

After a dip in the pool to cool off....

We had a dinner of grilled salmon....

And we were treated to a beautiful sunset for dessert!

Ooh-Ahh

 Tuesday, October 13, 2020

It was cold again this morning--about 30 degrees!  Jim did a test last night and left a pail of water out, and sure enough, we had ice this morning! But it quickly warmed up and reached 79 by late afternoon.

We woke up expecting to be a bit sore from yesterday's bike ride, but felt pretty good...Some sore shoulders and arms (I think from gripping the handlebars?)   We took off today with a goal of exploring areas of the park we haven't seen.

 We drove the Desert View Trail--heading east for 22 miles from the Visitor Center.   We  used the "gypsy guide" app to guide us through the area.  It a pretty neat app that uses GPS to follow the route, and narrates history and information about the area you are passing through.  We used this app at Moab, and really liked it.  

Duck on a Rock

This section of the park allows cars, and you can just pull off anywhere and peer over the rim.  We stopped at Grandview Point, which is where Hearst built a hotel to compete with El Tovar, the main hotel in Grand Canyon Village.  Unfortunately, the depression hit, and the Grandview Hotel went down with it.  There are no remnants of the hotel, other than the grand view from the point, including the good view of the river winding through the canyon. 

We were only able to drive as far as Navajo Point.  The rest of the road was closed  due to curfews and lockdowns on the Navajo Nation.  Therefore, we didn't get to go in the Desert View Watchtower; but we were able to see it from a distance.  We learned from our Gypsy guide, the tower was designed by a woman architect Mary Colter, and was built in 1932.  She also designed  Hermits Rest that we saw yesterday, and a few other architectural features in the Canyon.  They say from the Watchtower you can see across the canyon to the other end!  We'll have to put that on our list for the next visit.  How unusual in that day to have a female architect involved in such high profile projects...you go girl!

The highlight of our day was a hike down the South Kaibab trail.  The trailhead does not allow cars, so we parked on the road and walked the 1/2 mile or so to the trailhead.   This trail goes all the way to the bottom of the canyon and ends up at Phantom Ranch, where the North Kaibab trail begins, and you can follow it to the North Rim of the canyon.  This is the shortest route to get from rim to rim...7 miles on the south trail and 14 miles on the north trail, but takes 2-3 days to hike it!  Driving to the north rim is about 210 miles, almost a 4 hr drive!  We opted for a much shorter hike.  It was steep and narrow, and all downhill, but what a thrill to go down into the canyon where the scenery changes once again. 

 The first milestone was Ooh-Ahh Point!  What a great description of a beautiful vista.

From this viewpoint, we oohed and ahhed at the mule caravan below us.

We decided to continue on to the next milestone, and got about half way there, but stopped when we saw the mule train coming our way.  What a treat to see these beasts, following nose to tail, pick their way along the rocky path and maneuver the switchbacks.  Their saddlebags were loaded with supplies from the camp below.  Ooh-Ahh ---what a sight!  And Ooh-Ahh what a smell!

Check out the video:

Mule Train coming up the trail

After watching them pass by, we decided we should begin our return trip up the canyon.  The hiking guide suggested the hike up is slow and strenuous and may take twice as long as the trip down....they were right!  But after seeing the mules, I told myself--if they can do it, I can do it!

It was neat to see how the view changes from inside the canyon.  We had plenty of opportunity to look, because we stopped multiple times to rest and quit huffing and puffing.  Instead of Ooh-Ahh, it was Gasp-Rasp!

Once we reached the top, there was station to refill your water bottle with water from Canyon springs.

And there was an elk waiting to welcome us back!

Our hike was about 4 miles long, and elevation change was about 1000 ft. down and 1000 ft. up!

We've seen almost every overlook in the park, and have experienced walking, biking and hiking, and have taken in some awe inspiring views during our stay.  It's easy to see why this is one of the Wonders of the World.   It's hard to leave the Grand Canyon, but we decided to pack up early and head on to Scottsdale tomorrow.  

Our Canyon Selfie

As we crawl into bed tonight, I'm sure you'll hear some Oohs and Ahhs (from our aching bones and muscles!)

P.S. Sending wishes for a speedy recovery to brother Greg and Aunt Marie--we're thinking of you.

Breath - taking.....literally!!

 Monday, October 12, 2020

Brrrr...we woke up to 32 degree weather...cold enough to take your breath away!  (Spot has not adjusted to the time change, so we are usually up at 5am due to his demands.)

Today was our first day to really explore the Canyon.  This year it is celebrating 101 years as a national park!  The Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world...and truly a land of wonder!  The canyon size is immense--277 miles long, one mile deep, and covers a total of 1,900 square miles.  Wow!  We drove in and parked at the visitor center (which is closed due to Covid) and ventured out to Mather Point, which is the most frequented overlook in the park, due to the scenic vistas and easy access.  The views are breathtaking.  

We walked along the Rim Trail for about a mile, taking in the scenery and also watching crazy people get so close to the edge for pictures--what are they thinking?   

I discovered I might be afraid of heights...at times I had butterflies just looking over the edge with a guardrail in front of me.

That's me by the guardrail!

We began shedding layers as the sun warmed the day.  It eventually got up to 75 degrees!  The shuttles are not running from the visitor center to the Village (Covid) , so we drove the few miles to the village, and were lucky to find a parking spot right in front of Bright Angel Lodge.  We visited the Lodge, and checked out the Trail but didn't go far.  Things have changed a lot since our last visit.   It is definitely busier, and they have made a lot of improvements in trails, traffic flow, overlooks, etc.  We extracted the bikes from the back seat of the car (since we don't have a working bike rack) put them together and loaded them up on the front of the shuttle bus.

We rode the shuttle for 9 miles--all the way to the end of the line--Hermit's Rest.  It is a structure built in 1914 as a resting spot for travelers, and is now a historic landmark.  This arch would greet visitors as they arrived.

After a rest stop at the rest stop, we began our bike trip back.  It's the hardest ride I've ever done, but also the most spectacular ride I've ever done!  We thought it would be mostly down hill...but that was a serious misconception.  There were so many steep hills, we were gasping for breath by the first stop! 

 We stopped at every major overlook along the way, taking in the unbelievable sights (and trying to catch our breath).  At one point, it was so quiet you could hear the roar of the rapids from the Colorado River below.  Jim thought to bring binoculars, and we were able to pick out hikers along the trail, and see rafts on the river, and see the suspension bridge; but it was all too far away to get pictures. 

Two and a half hours later we were back in the Village, out of breath, but so glad we decided to do the ride. Here is a schematic from Jim's garmin activity watch that shows our route.  We travelled 6,000 ft. of elevation--that's the up and down I mentioned that took our breath away! What a day!

A Grand Day!

 Sunday October 11, 2020

We arrived at Grand Canyon Camper's Village in Tusayan, just outside the South entrance to the Park.  We're excited again about being old...our senior pass will save us the $35 entry fee!   

The East entrance is closed due to Covid-19 lockdowns on the neighboring Navajo Nation.  In fact, the Navajo Nation had a complete lockdown this weekend! It's hard to determine whether the closure has affected the traffic at the South entrance.  To us it looks pretty calm. 

Our campground is rustic, but has all of the important things close by...A Chocolate Factory for Connie and a Starbucks for Jim!  You walk down the path by the office, and can reach both places in less than a minute!  How handy is that?😉  Cell service isn't great and there's no wifi, so I may have to join Jim at Starbucks in the morning to get the blog posted!

We arrived early at the campground today so we could watch the NASCAR race, and we're glad we did, because Chase was the winner!  Way to go #9 team!  

We caught up on laundry and cleaning while watching the race, and took inventory of our food situation.  Before we left Indy, we packed the freezer full, and Jim commented today that he was impressed that we have not had to go to the grocery store since we left!

It's been more than 20 years since we were at the canyon (Spring Break when the kids were in high school!) so we were interested to see what has changed.  We decided to go experience a sunset at the canyon which is something new for both of us.   We found what hasn't changed is the magnificence of the canyon!  It was as magnificent today as when we saw it 20+ years ago.

What has changed is the protocol.  Everyone was masked up, and the shuttle buses were limited to 15 passengers, with every other seat roped off.  It's interesting to note that Grand Canyon Village has had only 21 positive cases, and Tusayan (where we are staying) has had only 47 positive cases.

Shuttle bus seats restricted

We watched the sunset at Mohave Point...(a tip from the ranger at the gate to avoid a crowd). 

Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon at sunset

 It was absolutely beautiful!

Sunset at Mohave Point

"It is never the same, even from day to day, or even from hour to hour...Every passing cloud, every change in the position of the sun recasts the whole."  --Clarence Dutton, US Geological Survey, 1882

Starstruck in Sedona

 Saturday, October 10, 2020

Our last day in Sedona was a power packed day!   We got up early to visit a National Monument called Montezuma's Castle.  It is a pueblo dwelling built between 1100 and 1300--that's old!  Right next to it, is Castle A, which appears to be a series of "condos", stretching over 5 stories, but the roofs have slid off over the years.  How amazing to think about the people who built these dwellings using the natural alcoves so long ago, and how they accomplished construction on the cliffs.  Very impressive! 

Montezuma's castle

(And, speaking of old, we were able to use our Senior Park Pass and got in free!  It's the best deal going!)

Castle A

We decided on hiking the Broken Arrow Trail that we heard about at dinner last night.  It was an adventure just getting to the trailhead--you almost needed an ATV to get to the parking area!  We're glad the pink jeep tours were sold out, because this turned out to be a fabulous hike. 

It was a narrow trail, intermediate difficulty, not a lot of elevation, very few people and a lot of interesting stuff!  It was different than the hikes we are used to in Scottsdale, because there were trees that provided occasional shade, and large areas of flat rock surface that provided a resting place and stunning views.  

We stopped at the first flat rock area and there was a panoramic view surrounding us that was spectacular.  We couldn't capture the full impact on camera.  In the distance you could make out the famous Sedona rock formations.

We took a side trail out to Submarine rock--you can see how it got its name!  We climbed up part way, but didn't go over the top.

Along the side of the trail in one spot there is a 90 foot sinkhole dubbed "Devil's Dining Room" that has been fenced off.  Documented collapses occurred in the 1880's, 1980's and 1995.   We didn't stand around there for long!

The hike was about 3.5 miles long--a really good one!  Here's our desert selfie!

We followed the hike with a  nap so that we could stay awake for our next adventure...STARGAZING!   

It's something that's always fascinated me, and since Sedona is one of only 20 certified International Dark Sky Communities in the world, this seemed like the perfect place to explore the starry night skies!  

It was an exceptional experience.  (I'm running out of superlative words to use....)  

We had a small group of about 10 people who met up with Wes, the astronomer and his assistant in an open field set up with huge telescopes and chairs.  It was a little spooky meeting up--they provided directions--"look for the flashing red lights and we will be there to meet you." They were there with headlamps to guide us to the field.  We were asked not to use our phones or flashlights so that our eyes could adjust to the night sky...it was sooo dark, but the blanket of stars was beautiful.  Each group of two had their own telescope, so that made it nice. 

These $3,000 telescopes had an attachment like a remote control, that allowed you to input the object you wanted to look at.  Then the telescope automatically moved and pointed to that site...pretty amazing!  Wes had a powerful laser pointer that he used to help us identify the constellations, planets and star clusters.  The telescopes allowed us to see the rings of Saturn!!  You could hear the gasps of people as they looked in the scope and first saw the rings.  We saw Jupiter with it's lines created by spinning "dust", and Mars.  We saw Alberio, a binary star with two colors, and Andromeda galaxy.  It's too bad we didn't get to see the moon through the telescope--it doesn't rise until midnight at this time of year!  Jim and I both saw a shooting star!  Wes was so knowledgeable and provided a great education.   We learned the North star never moves and it's really not the brightest star. It is hard to wrap your mind around the astronomy concepts--light years and galaxies, black holes, etc.  We will certainly look at the night skies and stars a bit differently after this experience.  Now I'm going to have to learn astrophotography!

A picture from the internet that gives a good example of what we saw.