How nice last night not to have big rumbling & horn honking trains going past close by. Bonus. Hadn’t occurred to us Thursday that night time temps could dip low enough to freeze the water in our outside hose but freeze it they did. Not enough to break anything but enough that we had no hot water to wash our little faces this morning. Been many years since we have had water freeze at the outside tap but it was something we always had to be aware of when ranch sitting in the higher elevations of southeastern Arizona years ago.
Had to start up the Jeep in order to melt this morning’s frost on all the windows & by the time we were back from our walk we were ready to go. Slight change of plans though. Decided not to do the bus rides as previously planned for the simple fact doggies are not allowed to ride & we knew Phoebe really wanted to come along today so with the happy little Pheeber Buns snugly tucked in the back seat we were on the road headed north by 7:45.
Less than half an hour later we arrived at the Grand Canyon’s south gate & luckily only one car ahead of us. Kelly being American/Canadian she had an ‘America The Beautiful’ pass so that meant we entered free. It was at the Grand Canyon’s east gate back in late 2008 she bought that Pass when we entered the Park.
Having been to the Canyon’s south rim before we had an idea where we were going & headed straight for Bright Angel Point to get our bearings. I didn’t want to repeat photos from 2008 so we didn’t stop at the El Tovar Lodge etc. We did however walk west along the Canyon rim. By the way it was a clear blue sky overhead with morning sunshine pushing diminishing shadows across the Canyon floor & walls.
A MULE TOUR HEADING DOWN BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL
BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL MAKES IT’S WAY TO THE CANYON’S BOTTOM
HISTORIC BUILDINGS KOLB STUDIO ON LEFT & HOPI HOUSE ON RIGHT
EL TOVAR HOTEL ON THE CANYON RIM TOP RIGHT
We were fortunate not to have the hordes of people which flock to the Canyon during warmer months & by arriving early we were spared any real crowding. Watching hikers & people walking far below on the Bright Angel trail brought home to me the thought again of how important it is to get out & do things while one’s health still enables them to do so. There was a time & not long ago both Kelly & I could have been those people on that trail far below.
I’M THINKING THAT MIGHT BE A WASHROOM ALONGSIDE THE TRAIL BELOW
It was in this area we encountered a rather amusing clown like character. Very animated Oriental fellow & had a friend along photographing & videoing him. Added some colorful moments & he liked the Pheebs.
PHEEBERS HAMS IT UP WITH THE CLOWN
One of the great things about the Grand Canyon’s south rim is it’s easy walking trail leading along the rim’s edge for miles & miles. There are popular viewing points along the way which attracts many people but in effect the whole miles long trail is just one continuous view point.
From the Bright Angel Trail area we were back into the Jeep & headed in an easterly direction to areas we hadn’t been to before. Roads within the Park twist & wind around making directions confusing at times but we did manage to make our way over towards the Canyon’s Visitor Center where we had not been before. This area had the greatest concentration of people & it is here where can be found the south rim’s most popular viewpoint. If you have came to the Grand Canyon by bus at some point Mather Point is most likely the place you first saw the Grand Canyon. It’s Spring Break for college students & they were here by the busload. And making all kinds of noise I may add.
MATHER POINT ATTRACTS THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE & TODAY IT WAS A VERY NOISY & ANIMATED CROWD OF SPRING BREAKERS…HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO BRAVE THE NOISE IF I WANTED TO SEE THE VIEW…EVEN PHEEBS DIDN’T LIKE ALL THE COMMOTION
MATHER POINT
I barely lasted 5 minutes at Mather Point but did manage a few photos. Kelly walked Phoebe down amongst the throng of teens but Pheebs was visibly afraid of all the hooting & hollering teens are prone to do.
It is always difficult for me when confronted with natures marvelous scenic wonders not to take a whole host of photos. I see beauty everywhere & at the end of the day when faced with well over a hundred pictures it’s a real challenge for me to choose which photos to post to my blog. Always a toughie every night deciding which ones make the blog & which ones end up on the cutting room floor.
We have noticed wherever we go people just seem to be attracted to the Pheebs. People stop to pet & talk to her. Children are drawn to her & today a small boy after stopping to pet Pheebs cried when his Mother said it was time to go. In this photo the boys Mother too had to coax the young lads away. They just wanted to stay & pet the Pheebs. And the Pheebs wanted them to stay too:))
I have always enjoyed taking candid pictures of people & today was no exception as we walked along the Canyon rim. Between photos of the Canyon itself my eye of course was habitually on the look-out for the human side of life as well. People just being themselves. Here are a few of my favorites………
TWO OF MY FAVORITE PHOTOS TODAY
MANY SMILES, SELFIES, & PICTURE TAKING HERE AT THE GRAND CANYON TODAY
This photo pretty well sums up how most everyone feels at seeing the Grand Canyon & especially for the first time. Although this young girl had stepped over the safety fence at least it wasn’t a sheer drop off like in so many places. Each year people die here at the Grand Canyon from falls. I’m guessing most are young males & as we walked along today as well as the last time we were here we could easily see where foolishness so easily takes many lives & it is plain to see how things happen in the 2 photos I took below.
IT IS THIS KIND OF FOOLISH STUPIDITY WHICH MAKES IT BAD FOR EVERYONE
Pheebs sits patiently waiting for Mom to come out of that ‘Grab & Go’ place with some hopefully tasty snacks. It is also the bicycle rental place here at the south rim. Kelly did come out with 2 coffees & it was just a short walk to the Jeep where we had a sack of peanut butter sandwiches waiting. Had some snacks in the Jeep for Pheebers as well. From the Visitor Center parking lot we head farther east to the other side of the Park & stopped alongside the road at a picnic area for a short walk in a quiet Pine forest. Reminded me of home in Bayfield.
Decided at this point to turn around & begin making our way back to the rig. We still had a few boondocking sites to scout out in case we decided to move closer to the Park Saturday morning. On the way we stopped at the Yaki viewpoint.
Headed south out of the Park to the little town of Tusayan. Several fellow Bloggers had told us boondocking spots around the area so wanted to check them out. Found one close to the southeast end of Tusayan but we could tell from the numerous fire pits in the area that it was not for us. With the week-end upon us these types of sites are popular with the locals sometimes plus any area where another rig can park anywhere close to us is not acceptable. Continued down highway 64 checking out some side roads & found a really super great spot in a Pine forest on road 306 east side about half a mile off the highway. We would have grabbed it in a flash had it not been for one thing. A recent area snowfall has left the ground soft especially in forested areas & we felt the ground was too soft for a heavy motorhome. We decided not to take the chance & get ourselves stuck in a forest. So with that it was back to the rig for a relaxing sunny & warm afternoon.
We plan to roll out in the morning & head north up 64 to the Grand Canyon with the rig. We may check out another boondocking spot or we may roll on through the Canyon & out the east side of the Park. It’s the week-end & we know the Park will be crowded in this nicer weather. However if we do come across a good acceptable boondocking site along the way we just may stop for another night in the area…… ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ:))
GROANER’S CORNER:(( My brother was recently launched into the "real world" and, shocked by the expenses that came with it, he was complaining about the high cost of auto insurance. "If you got married," teased my dad, "the premium would be lower." He smiled and said, "Dad, that would be like buying an airline just to get free pretzels."
---
A newspaper reporter was writing a feature story about prison life and was interviewing one of the prisoners. "Do you watch much television here?" "Only the daytime shows," the inmate said. "At night we're locked in our cells and don't see any television." "That's too bad," the reporter said, "But I do think it is nice that the warden lets you watch it in the daytime." "What do you mean, nice?" the inmate said. "That's part of the punishment."
