October 8 through October 14, 2004

Friday October 8:

It's 41.7 under the RV  this morning in our 7932' high campsite in Bryce Canyon National Park, and the heat came on last night as expected.  It is still too cold in here to start our day without raising the thermostat to 65, but at least we can run the generator at 8AM and continue until 8PM if necessary (it certainly won't be necessary, as the intense sun warms things up fast here).  The very restrictive generator hours at Capitol Reef park (two hours in the morning, two in the evening) necessitated more careful planning, but then the temperatures there did not require the battery gobbling furnace either.  We decide to hike down among the hoodoos first, as that takes the most energy and might be skipped if left 'til later.  :-)  Bryce is every bit as beautiful as we recall, and rather that trying to do the whole of it again, I'll just provide the link to the page where we covered it two years ago.

Just remember to use your browser BACK button to return to this page from older pages, as there is no back link on the old September 27, 2002 Bryce Canyon page.  There is also Bryce coverage on the September 28, 2002 page. I'll supplement those pictures which seem to capture the glory of Bryce pretty well with "added extras" I'd normally have to leave out...such as this photo displayed in the visitors center that captures Bryce as I hope we never see it.  :-)

Although it's beautiful, we really try not to "go in s***"  :-))   This old picture from the 1920's captures a person after my own heart.....  they come completely equipped!!  :-))

 We do it so much easier now, with the TV ready to go in the RV at the flick of a switch...OK, maybe a few if we need to use the inverter or the generator....and the cellphone that just works almost everywhere we go!

Saturday October 9:

The morning in Bryce is again cold, but we plan to drive past the high far point in here then move on to Zion.  We can do without a shower and dump, as they charge a separate fee for that here even for registered campers, and it is included with the campground fee in Zion..  I just MUST include this picture....

It says so much about why we came back to this park....it's just BEAUTIFUL.  We move on to Zion, and find out at the park gate that Zion Campground is FULL. We had called the park about other issues, but DID NOT ASK, just assuming that this late in the year there would be no problem, BUT we forgot this is a holiday weekend (Columbus Day)....  . We turn back from the park entrance, and head toward the Grand Canyon North Rim.  It is going to be a FAR drive for us this late in the day, with at least 40 wasted driving miles too, but there is NO cellphone service available here to call about alternatives....  :-((     We consider Utah's  Pink Coral State park, but it is 12 miles from the highway, and there is no way to be sure there is space. There is much pretty scenery to see on this trip even if the uncertainty of the night's resting place makes it harder to fully enjoy it.  These horses grazing peacefully in a mountain meadow help put the situation into a better perspective! :-)

We finally find phone service outside Kaneb UT, and call the state park...and find only an answering machine there telling us to call back Tuesday.  :-(  We call Grand Canyon, and they say North Rim is full.  Finally we look in the Passport America book and find a small park not far from us.  We call and find they have space with water, sewer, and electric for $8.15/nite about 7 miles south of our location in Fredonia AZ, and right on our way to the Grand Canyon North Rim.  The manager said no cell service there, so we finish our weekend calls from the side of the road, then move on.  We arrive, register at the Crazy Jug Motel and RV Park, and even find digital Verizon cell service.  :-))  The place has 5 spaces, appears new, neat and well kept, and is associated with a motel and restaurant.  The view is mostly flat mountain valley, around 4600 foot elevation, near the highway.  Not like Bryce, but it is nice, and I enjoy the lower elevation.  We continue to enjoy the Internet too....

Sunday October 10:

We decide to stay another day in Crazy Jug, as Grand Canyon North CG was said to be full for the holiday.  I enjoyed doing absolutely nothing, but Claire decided to vacuum the RV.  It rained much of the day.  I decided to try to reserve a spot in the North Rim campground by phone despite the Grand Canyon phone operator's statement that they were no longer taking reservations, and that we should get there by 10AM to assure they were not full.  We reserved tomorrow night there easily on the National Parks Reservation Service, 800 365 2267, with our credit card. Now we can depart here  whenever we want and have a spot waiting when we arrive.  :-)  

Monday October 11:

We departed early (for us) for Grand Canyon. Other folks in the campground had already left hours ago.  We found fuel was even higher here than the Crazy Jug manager had said, and we paid $2.13 for enough to reach Page comfortably. We arrived in Grand Canyon National Park North Rim before noon, and after a bit of trouble leveling in our assigned campsite we hiked the 3.3 miles round trip to the North Rim lodge and back.  I noticed early on in the hike that it seemed hazier today than on our last visit.  (View the October 4, 2002 Grand Canyon North Rim arrival here use your BROWSER BACK BUTTON to return this page)It will take a lot of adjustment of the polarizing filter to get presentable pictures here today! Careful selection of nearer objects helps!  

It may be hazy, but it's still GRAND!  :-)  The magnitude of this place just BLOWS MY MIND! (View further old North Rim pictures from October 5 and 6 2002 at this page ; again, use your BROWSER BACK BUTTON to return this page) I am a bit concerned when I look at the old pages; if I age this much in two years, what will I look like at 90?  :-))   We enjoyed the lounge in the lodge, and a ranger's geology presentation.  The ranger distributed cookies to the group as part of his demonstration.  When the demo was finished, he suggested we eat the cookies....RIGHT ON CUE this chippie circulated among the crowd cleaning up crumbs.

Wild?  Well, I thought he might climb up my leg for a moment.  :-)  The sun was low in the west when we started back, and it made the canyon look much clearer.

It chilled off a LOT by the time we started back.  Jackets were fully zipped,  and a hot toddy seemed appropriate when we arrived in the RV.  Claire made up a nice mulling spice mix from available spices, and a teaspoon of bourbon in a 20 ounce mug is PLENTY in this thin air.   We are deeply grateful to our friend Arny for reminding us a while back of the effects of altitude on alcohol tolerance.....  :-))  

Tuesday October 12:

It is cold overnight and we keep the furnace on all night.  I do not sleep well, as somehow I have strained my right shoulder to the point it wakes me when I move.  Claire does not desire to exercise today and neither do I, as I am increasingly uncomfortable with the effects from the 8332 foot elevation..  We decide to move on to Page one day ahead of schedule (our route follows the one we took two years ago to Page, and is covered on October 7 and 8, 2002 at the old page linked above), so use the water and dump facilities after our showers.  We stop for lunch just outside the campground entrance, and this "elusive" Kaibob squirrel darts in front of us.

 The sun highlights it's snow white tail, but  its unique large pointed ears are hidden in the shadow by the time I take the picture...  :-(    The scenery passing along the Vermilion Cliffs is again spectacular, but we do not recall the green vegetation we see now.

 There must have been recent rain.  The dispersed extended family group settlements spread out under the cliffs are interesting. 

 There are numerous Hogan shaped buildings near houses, so we recognize we are crossing a piece of the huge Navajo Nation.  We cross the Colorado river and climb the pass up through the cliffs to approach Page.

This hill is a MAJOR one, and we cheerfully excuse the back of the "steep grade" sign that partially blocks our view....  :-)  We find the Page Walmart easily, and there are lots of RVs in the lot.  We discuss our plans for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and decide to call for reservations.  The number is an 800 one, so I call from the pay phone at Walmart.  After finding the size of our motorhome, the reservation clerk refuses to accept the reservation.  She says the maximum length in the camp ground there is 30 feet.  We had been there 2 years ago, no problem then, and when I told her that she gave me two numbers to call to get a ranger's name and permission for her to book me in there.  Those numbers had only automated responses, no PERSON to talk to.  Claire and I discussed this further, considered booking space for a 30 foot RV, but finally decided it might better be considered an omen to alter our plans to take in Canyon DeChelly instead.  It is much less distance added to our trip than the Grand Canyon South Rim, which would have added a WHOPPING 274 extra miles to the distance from Page to Mesa Verde , and it is NEW to us!!  :-))  It will cost us for a mandatory guide, but will NOT cost us 274 miles of fuel....at the $2.30/gal we saw coming from the North Rim, that is about wash, as it would have taken us nearly 34 gallons.  Hopefully we can do better on gas in Page...but.. ??  The distances between places out here are so large that fuel cost is becoming an ever more serious consideration now.

Wednesday October 13:

It is so much warmer this morning, and the lower 4000 foot altitude has made my mood much brighter.  I slept nearly 12 hours….YIKES.  Today we do laundry, fill Claire's new prescription at the Walmart Pharmacy, and try again to visit the big dam at Page that forms Lake Powell.  This time I will leave my 2.5 inch pocket knife in the RV.  We went into downtown Page looking for tourist information but did not find the advertised place.  We did find gas at $2.019/g at a Circle K there, and filled completely, as that seems to be the cheapest in this area.  Still, the fill cost $110....YIKES.  We went to Glen Canyon Dam, and we got in easily without my knife.  We quickly found out that elevator is out of service for repairs, and there are no tours being conducted below the top of the dam for another week or 10 days.  Some things are just NOT meant to be....  :-))  The visitor's center was interesting, the walk on top of the dam gave a few new picture opportunities, such as this power generating house at the bottom of the dam we cannot visit without working elevators.

Only 3 of the dam's 6 generators are running now (observe the three bubble streams coming out downstream of the powerhouse in the above picture), with the 6 year long draught having reduced the water level to 38% of the full 3700 foot elevation level. The power not made here is furnished up by other generating plants, such as the big coal fired generating station on Navajo land nearby.   This peek over the rail at the back of the dam lets us get a good look at the water level of Lake Powell.

It clearly shows the water is well below the lowest marking on the dam face, at 3630 feet. Our guide said that signs are good that the normal 7 year draught cycle is breaking, with more rain falling in the Wyoming mountains this fall.  I do wonder what happens in the West if the weather pattern ever repeats the 20 year draught that is thought to have ended the Anastasi Indian culture in this area.....  The tunnel at the parking area at the bottom of the dam ramps up to the surface over a mile away near the Walmart where we stayed overnight, but only employees and riverboat tour clients get to use it now....it was constructed so heavy equipment could be driven to the lower part of the dam.

The rock canyon walls are leaking some water around the dam, supporting a growth of green algae on the canyon walls half way up, and staining the cliff as it runs down....but any threat to the dam's safety is not considered serious...for now!  This overview of the dam and Lake Powell shows a tour group on the top of the dam.  

The white "bathtub ring" shows how much the water level has dropped.  The log boom and underwater net attached to it floating across the lake upstream of the dam is intended to keep boats, and other floating objects far enough away from the dam such that any explosives detonated there would not be dangerous to it's structure.  We finish the dam tour, and rest a while in the parking area before returning to the Walmart/Basha's parking lot.  We plan to try the Chinese buffet in this shopping center for dinner, but have time to shop for food at Basha's first, and even find a couple bottles of wine; wine has been scarce in Utah, sold only in liquor stores there.  Claire finds the specials card we got here 2 years ago...it saves us a few $$ now.  :-))  The Chinese buffet turns out to be quite good, and we got stuffed long before the last presidential debate started at 6PM local time.  Arizona does NOT use daylight savings time EXCEPT on the Navajo Nation lands....kinda confusing, especially if your TV shows come from different states, as ours do now.  Fortunately the presidential debates are all carried live at 9PM EDT, and that is easy to keep track of.   Regular news shows and entertainment programming are not so easy though.....

Thursday October 14:

 I am up before 4AM, and do some computer business.  I am happy it is not cold (53 under the RV at 5:40) but feel good in the fleece snow suit any way.  :-)  I ran the plan for Canyon de Chelly and it looks like over 170 miles today.  It might be a long day, as the roads look kinda winding....  at least that is better then the 270 miles we planned to do in one day from Grand Canyon South to Mesa Verde.  The distances out here between points of interest are VERY long.  I prepare the house tax check for mailing, and upload the pictures before going back to bed.  This parking lot is unusually quiet at night for a busy Walmart shopping center, but then it is not open all night either.  I find a mailbox to mail my letter 250 feet from our overnight parking place....it doesn't get better than that!  :-)  We start our drive across the Navajo Nation lands, soon approaching the coal fired power plant that can produce three times the electricity that Glen Canyon dam can at full output.  

Hopefully the emissions are just steam....???  The fuel for this plant comes from the low grade coal deposits in black mesa about 30 miles away.  There is an electric railway to haul the coal, and a car loading facility that is filled by a conveyor leading back onto the mesa and out of sight.

 I had imagined visible seams of coal on "Black Mesa", but from the road the only dark objects visible were trees growing on the cliffs.  :-)  We crossed monument valley, and the unique landscape was pretty to look at, if somewhat inhospitable for living.

 The airport in Kayenta seemed to have a few hi $ planes parked.

 I imagine these belong to visitors.  The locals seem more interested in their herds of cattle, sheep and horses.....  

We are not sure what we will find at the end of our day's run, but we have seen reference to a free cottonwood campground on the Navajo Nation in Chinle AZ.  We decide to stay on US highways as much as possible in this area.  There is little traffic on the two lane highway, and plenty of room to pass our slow moving RV, but we notice many people drive behind us for miles, until there is oncoming traffic approaching in the other lane to pass.....?????   We don't really understand, but no accidents resulted.  :-)  The distance between towns is large, Navajos preferring to live dispersed in small multi home family groups distant from the highway rather than in the towns.  Actually, the main part of the towns we pass is off the highway too.  Chinle is one of the largest towns we drive through, but then we must leave the highway and drive through the town to the park.  We find the National Park entrance, and stop at the visitors center, notice that the campground is first come first served, and quickly decide to get our campsite, as RVs are coming in steadily. I snap this quick picture of a Hogan close up.  We can look at the visitors center more later.

The campground has shade on many sites from the cottonwood trees, a good dump station with water, and it's an easy walk up a stairway to the visitors center. Even with all this, it's FREE.   We walk to the visitors center, accompanied by a friendly dog with no collar, and ask about tours.  We find we can hike to one ancient ruin unguided, and can drive along the overlooks on both sides of the valley in our motorhome unguided.  Perhaps we will not need a guide to get a good sense of this park!  :-)  I forgot to take the camera to the visitors center this time, so we will have to return to for pictures later. There are quite a number of dogs wandering around the campground without collars...some quite friendly, but many not well groomed, apparent strays or maybe loosely owned by nearby residents.  There is a warning not to feed them in the campground rules.   One other concern here are the frequent signs and warnings we receive about leaving valuables in unattended vehicles parked on the overlooks.  Chinle appears to have a good deal of poverty, and the law is administered by the locals.....we take that warning quite seriously!  Dinner is burritos, consuming most of the left over beans, and some of the fresh vegetables we had bought in Page.

PLANS:  We will spend Friday and half of Saturday in Canyon de Chelly before moving on through the Four Corners area to Cortez CO in preparation for our Mesa Verde visit.  After a few days there we will move on toward Santa Fe NM for a visit with Bill and Francie and some shopping, then move south through Albuquerque and more shopping, before continuing on south to see White Sands NM. We'll then be moving west through the Bisbee AZ area and Tucson, on our way to Yuma, arriving there at least several days before our November 16th flight home.  The November 16th date is firm, so other points of interest must be scheduled to meet that date.