By the way, yes (as some of you have complained noted), there is a delay on posting sometimes. If we're on the road and I'm not driving, I'll try to write up my blog postings in the car. If we're on the road and I am driving, well, then I type a lot slower so it takes a lot longer. ;-)
This morning, we made a quick pit-stop at a Jiffy Lube to make sure that the car keeps going, and then we left Flagstaff. Goodbye, Flagstaff! I'll miss all your cheesy motels and restaurants. :-(
So, we're headed for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were at the North Rim a few days ago, and the Grand Canyon is about 10 miles wide across, but there's no way across - and it's over 200 miles and five hours to drive around. (Which is why we stopped in Flagstaff.)
We headed into the Grand Canyon park from the west entrance (vs the south entry to the park, which is where most of the traffic is), and our first stop was the Desert View watchtower. Here we saw the first of what would be many construction signs. The crowds were noticeably larger than at the North Rim, but we were still early enough in the day that it wasn't too bad yet. The Watchtower was being renovated, but we could still get inside and climb up to the top. I think the views would be improved by the lack of fingerprints and nose prints on the windows, but maybe that's just me.
At the Tusayan Ruins and Museum, we noticed a display about the "(Dine) Navajo" and their Athabascan-based language. We asked the ranger if the Navajo were related to Dene, who are still in the Athabasca region? The ranger said that the Navajo were newer arrivals to the area, so it was likely that they did migrate down from Canada. Smart, to have kept going south where the winters are much better! :-)
As we drove along through the park, we stopped at most of the viewpoints, and the view is always impressive no matter where you are, but I think I liked the viewpoints themselves more at the North Rim. More of them were perched way out on rocky outcroppings, instead of being located just along the rim.
The Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim is an absolute zoo. Probably more so now because they had large chunks of area closed off for construction. If you have restricted spaces, construction signs, and add in many busloads of tourists - what do you get? You get hordes of people wandering like cattle through narrow detour corridors marked with orange construction fencing. All of the main South Rim outlooks are closed - so you walk for about 10 or 15 minutes, and the minute we're anywhere near the rim, everyone is spilling out into the bushes and the trees and scrambling for photos.
I did hear one woman, shuffling along the makeshift gravel pathways, complain about her shoes. Yes, flip-flops. (When will you learn, people?!) Although, I have to say, there were others who made worse footwear choices. I saw a woman wearing three-inch wedge sandals, and another girl wearing hotpants and heels (must have come straight from Vegas).
We hiked along the rim to the Yavapai point, which is across from the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. From the information posted inside at Yavapai, we had a general idea of where the lodge was - I used the zoom on my camera to see if I could find it. I did! Then I tried to take a picture - had the zoom up to 80x, and there's a lot of wobbly hand when the zoom is that high. My first attempt bombed out, but I got it on the second. Whoohoo! Look - we had breakfast there two days ago! That's about 10 miles away - have I mentioned that I love my camera?
Anyway, North or South? There's no bad views of the Grand Canyon, so I suppose it depends on your preference (or, probably more often, the direction you're approaching from). Personally, given a choice, I'd book space at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim and vacation a few days there. Same view, different angle, and WAY less crowds.
To be fair, I hate crowds. They always walk slower than me and I find it annoying. I also find it annoying when all of the main viewpoints are closed for renovation. But, whatever. Go North. You'll like it.
Okay, we've had enough of the crowds. We're back on the road, driving on the speedy interstate. 75 mph. Whee!
A few notable things we saw on the road:
He was killing himself laughing - I think we made his day. He took several photos, we bought a bottle of his cleaner, and everyone's happy. (One of these days we'll find a car wash somewhere...)
This morning, we made a quick pit-stop at a Jiffy Lube to make sure that the car keeps going, and then we left Flagstaff. Goodbye, Flagstaff! I'll miss all your cheesy motels and restaurants. :-(
So, we're headed for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were at the North Rim a few days ago, and the Grand Canyon is about 10 miles wide across, but there's no way across - and it's over 200 miles and five hours to drive around. (Which is why we stopped in Flagstaff.)
We headed into the Grand Canyon park from the west entrance (vs the south entry to the park, which is where most of the traffic is), and our first stop was the Desert View watchtower. Here we saw the first of what would be many construction signs. The crowds were noticeably larger than at the North Rim, but we were still early enough in the day that it wasn't too bad yet. The Watchtower was being renovated, but we could still get inside and climb up to the top. I think the views would be improved by the lack of fingerprints and nose prints on the windows, but maybe that's just me.
At the Tusayan Ruins and Museum, we noticed a display about the "(Dine) Navajo" and their Athabascan-based language. We asked the ranger if the Navajo were related to Dene, who are still in the Athabasca region? The ranger said that the Navajo were newer arrivals to the area, so it was likely that they did migrate down from Canada. Smart, to have kept going south where the winters are much better! :-)
As we drove along through the park, we stopped at most of the viewpoints, and the view is always impressive no matter where you are, but I think I liked the viewpoints themselves more at the North Rim. More of them were perched way out on rocky outcroppings, instead of being located just along the rim.
The Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim is an absolute zoo. Probably more so now because they had large chunks of area closed off for construction. If you have restricted spaces, construction signs, and add in many busloads of tourists - what do you get? You get hordes of people wandering like cattle through narrow detour corridors marked with orange construction fencing. All of the main South Rim outlooks are closed - so you walk for about 10 or 15 minutes, and the minute we're anywhere near the rim, everyone is spilling out into the bushes and the trees and scrambling for photos.
I did hear one woman, shuffling along the makeshift gravel pathways, complain about her shoes. Yes, flip-flops. (When will you learn, people?!) Although, I have to say, there were others who made worse footwear choices. I saw a woman wearing three-inch wedge sandals, and another girl wearing hotpants and heels (must have come straight from Vegas).
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| The Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim (taken from Yavapai point on the South Rim) |
Anyway, North or South? There's no bad views of the Grand Canyon, so I suppose it depends on your preference (or, probably more often, the direction you're approaching from). Personally, given a choice, I'd book space at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim and vacation a few days there. Same view, different angle, and WAY less crowds.
To be fair, I hate crowds. They always walk slower than me and I find it annoying. I also find it annoying when all of the main viewpoints are closed for renovation. But, whatever. Go North. You'll like it.
Okay, we've had enough of the crowds. We're back on the road, driving on the speedy interstate. 75 mph. Whee!
A few notable things we saw on the road:
- A truck hauling a tank. Yes, a tank! Ka-BOOM! That kind of tank (not a water tank, or a gas tank, duh). Where's it going? I don't know. It's painted green, so I guess it's not going to Afghanistan.
- The Roadkill Cafe outside Seligman. Mmm. (No, we didn't stop. We weren't THAT hungry.)
He was killing himself laughing - I think we made his day. He took several photos, we bought a bottle of his cleaner, and everyone's happy. (One of these days we'll find a car wash somewhere...)
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