Step One - Staying with the Gray's
The flight to Phoenix included a bus ride from Allentown to Philly. After a scavenger hunt to find the car we got lunch at Chick-Fil-A at Phoenix U and went to Brett and Minji's. Visited with them for a little and headed to Prescott Valley for the night. The next day, we visited downtown Prescott.
On Saturday, Corrine joined us for a trip to Sedona. We enjoyed walking downtown and seeing all of the rock formations. There was a group with rescue animals on display.
We had lunch at a nice place with a deck. Linda was pretty excited about the ice that was very similar to Chick-Fil-A ice.
We always enjoy the local flora. Here are a couple plants that we found in downtown Sedona.
That evening I was introduced to the game of Croquet. Todd seems to take great joy in winning. Unfortunately for him, each of the ladies took a turn at coming in first.
Sunday, the three of us took a fun hike at Watson Lake. The scenery was pretty exceptional. This lake is near Todd and Corrine's house.
Step Two - The South Rim
On the way to the south rim we stopped and had lunch in Williams. The diner that we chose closed at noon, but we did not know that when we sat down. After spending some time walking the town, we got groceries and continued on to the south rim.
We checked in at Yavapai Lodge and then went for a short hike along the south rim near the village. We were going to have dinner at the lodge, but mask requirements kept us away. Instead, we went back into Tusayan to have dinner at the Mexican Restaurant. The next day, we drove out to Island view and worked our way back along the rim. I discovered that there are other trails that drop down into the canyon. After dinner in Tusayan again, we drove out to Grand View to watch the sunset. The drive out was much farther than we remembered. On the final morning at the south rim, we stopped at Mather Point. There are some pretty impressive views of the canyon from Mather.
Sunset watching is a fun activity. We enjoyed seeing the shadows work their way up the sides of the canyon. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones that enjoyed this activity.
Step 3 - North Rim
After leaving Mather Point, we drove on to the North Rim. Along the way, we stopped to see a side canyon in the Navajo Reservation and the Little Colorado in Cameron. We were able to get gas and mail some post cards here. Our lunch stop was the Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon. It was hot, but we braved a trip out onto the bridge and ate lunch in the shade. I like the gift shop at this stop. We thought it would be a good idea to drive into Lees Ferry on our way by. That way we would know where we are going the next day. The balanced boulders are a fun phenomenon to see.
Early the next morning, we drove back to Lees Ferry to kayak the Colorado. This was a pretty epic adventure. Luckily for us, the family that shared the shuttle with us wanted to start at the Glen Canyon Dam. That means that we were able to ride the ferry all the way to the dam, see the dam, and ride back down to the 7.5 mile spot. We really enjoyed seeing the canyon from water level. The water was cold but the sun was hot. What a wonderful day. There were also wild horses to see.
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After kayaking, we were hungry, so we stopped at the first little place on the way back to Jacob Lake. We also stopped to find some information about the Vermillion Cliffs.
Friday started with breakfast at the Jacob Lake restaurant. We drove into the park and out to Point Imperial and Cape Royal. We stopped at all of the vistas along the way except Cape Final. I am told that the Cape Final trail is worth the hike. Shaded and flat trail. Found the wedding venue at Cape Royal. From here we could clearly see the Cliff Spring trail. We hiked the Cliff Spring trail into the spring. Picked up a t-shirt at the country store just outside of the park. Dinner was fry bread from the food truck back at Jacob Lake Inn.
Our last day at the north rim, we hung out at the Inn until about noon. Then we hiked out to Bright Angel Point and the Transept Trail to the campground and back along the Bridle path. We spent the evening watching the sunset from the deck outside the North Rim Lodge over looking the canyon.
Some interesting things happened while we were watching the sunset. A humming bird made an appearance at the cardinal flower right in front of us. Also, there was a Native American festival going on and we were able to watch a few dance from the Yavapai Apache dancers.
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Step 4 - Zion
Hurricane is a nice little town about 45 minutes west of Zion. We stayed in this AirBnb that Linda had found.
There is a new permit system in place for hiking Angel's Landing. I applied and got the permit for the first day we visited the park. This was a fantastic hike. It was very crowded, but everyone was polite and took turns when necessary. After the summit on Angel's Landing, I continued up the West Rim trail a ways so that I could look back at Angel's Landing from a distance. I overdid it by jogging back down the trail at the end of the day and had great difficulty walking for the next couple of days.
I enjoyed watching the ravens up close.
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While I was hiking, Lin rode the shuttle and spent some time at the Zion Lodge.
The next day we drove the scenic highway that goes along the south side of the park to the east entrance. This goes through a mile long tunnel and affords some phenomenal views of the park. We hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail. This was short but very nice. The overlook is above the giant arch. It was neat to be able to see the ventilation shafts into the tunnel.
The final day in the park, we hiked the Lower and Middle Emerald pools trail. This was not nearly as exposed as I expected. Lin and I really enjoyed the hike.
I enjoyed checking out the tadpoles. They were pretty cool. We also got to watch a team of horseback riders cross the stream.
Some final stops on the way out of the park. We stopped to take pictures of the Court of the Patriarchs. Spent some time in the gift shop and on the way out of town we stopped to take pictures of a house that had great prickly pear cactus all around the house. The owner did not seem pleased with us. Back at the AirBnb, Linda enjoyed the sunset.
Step 5 - The Hoover Dam
The drive down to Las Vegas from Hurricane was pretty spectacular. The highway is built in a giant gorge that contains the Virgin river.
When we arrived at the Hoover Dam, we upgrade to the full dam tour. It was definitely worth a couple of extra dollars. There was an introductory movie that shows the history and the making of the dam. Then we met our dam guide Zane who was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He took us down an elevator to see ventilation shafts that go out to the face of the dam. We toured the power plant and tunnels inside the dam. Some of these tunnels are cut into the rock around the dam and some are in the dam itself. Of great interest to me was the "Stairway to Hell". On each side of the dam, there are a set of steep stairs that go from the top to the bottom. I would enjoy hiking these if it were allowed.
There is a spill way on each side of the dam. I am told that each can carry the same amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls. It has only been used twice, once for a test and again in 1983.
The original museum has this amazing diorama of the entire Colorado river, tributaries, dams, towns etc. Unfortunately, we did not have much time to examine it. They move groups through pretty quickly.
Boulder City was constructed to house the Hoover Dam work crews. We had dinner in town and then went to watch the sunset at Sunset View Scenic Overlook. On the way into the park, we stopped to check out one of the abandoned boat launches at Lake Meade. The concrete launch is bigger than a 4 lane highway. The water is a significant hike from the bottom edge of the launch.
The sunset was pretty spectacular. Lin and I were pretty heat exhausted at this point and had a difficult time enjoying the sunset.
On our way back to Arizona, we stopped to walk over the bridge before it got too hot.
Step 6 - Heading Home
We stayed with Todd and Corrine one more night before heading back to the airport and home to PA.