North Rim Grand Canyon

We have been at the Grand Canyon since Thursday. This is a first for Ken and we are both impressed. The campground in the park is very nice, mostly tenters, no electricity but the gas is fueling the refrig and the headlamps are great for reading. Jeff lent us a great lamp that gives lots of light.

The view from the North Rim. Impossible to capture the colors with the haze and the smog.



Yesterday we woke up to clouds and the morning got progressively worse (great thunder and pouring rain) but we were scheduled to go into the canyon on a mule ride. And we did it! We were drenched but then it pretty much stopped raining. We met hikers in the canyon who had come over from the South Rim, camped there and then continued across the Canyon and up the trail to the North Rim! Pretty rugged. I was glad to do what we did on the back of a mule.

The view on the way down and both of us with our mules! Can you see the trail below?











Today turned out to be a gift of a day. After taking a short hike from the campground to the lodge, we were eating lunch back at the Casita and a couple stopped to talk. They told us about Marble Point outside the park but in the National Forest. We decided to try to find it. What a ride! All dirt road, thank goodness for the Expedition. We ended up on the Kaibab Plateau and what a view back toward the route that we took from Canyon de Chelly. We were above the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs, we could see for miles. There were people dry camping there and views were unbelievable. Again, the camera just does not do it justice. Anyone coming out this way, must go to this place.



But the best was yet to come. We finally made it to Marble Pt and met a group of Conservation Corp young people. They work on the trails and they work HARD! The view was good (not as good as the previous plateau) but then we saw this road with an open view at the end and we walked down. What an amazing sight. We walked over to a cairn and behind it was an army surplus ammunition box. Inside was a notebook and photos. A couple had married at this point. The young bride looked resplendent in her gown and they looked so happy. But 6 years later she died while backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Her husband had a memorial at the same place and left the memory box along with their story. But his message was an uplifting one. It was to enjoy every day and to listen to those that you love.








So that's the ending for this entry. It has been a wonderful visit here at the North Rim. Tomorrow we head to Zion National Park but first we need to stop at Jacob Lake for breakfast. Two very nice (older) women from Ottawa told us that the breakfast there was great, as they munched on the cookies that they bought there this morning and now it was 5 pm and they had no idea where they were sleeping tonight! That's living on the edge.

The view where we met the ladies from Ottawa



Hope you are all well and enjoying the bounty from your gardens. And I hope that Jeff is freezing my tomatoes (he did extract 2 large bottles of honey from my bees), thank you Jeff.

J/K

Happy Anniversary Seth and Hope!


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