Day 31
Woke up to a beautiful morning at Grand Canyon National Park. After having some coffee with Beskin I headed over to the store/cafeteria to get on the internet and do my past blog update. Spent most of the day relaxing doing some reading and watching the birds and lizards all over the campsite. Later in the day I headed to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Kolb Studio which was featuring an exhibit called "Excavation and Discovery along the Colorado River". Really amazing to see all of the recent discoveries! On the way to the visitor center I saw a very large elk. It seemed to be pretty used to people but I wasn't able to get close enough for a good picture. I found a nice quiet spot and watched the sunset over the canyon, so very pretty and relaxing! After the sun went down I took a night hike to observe the stars. It was a new moon so the stars looked incredible in the dark desert sky!
Spring water stations throughout the park to re-fill water bottles and reduce waste
Great idea!
Kolb Studio
Grand Canyon Train Station
Variety of local beer
( only $1.50 each in the park - great deal! )
Cool nights at the Grand Canyon
Day 32
Woke up early, got packed up, filled my water bottles, and headed for the East Rim of the Grand Canyon, Desert View Campground. It was a beautiful ride along the rim of the canyon with many breathtaking viewpoints. As you will see below I took a lit of pictures, hard not too! I had some really fun hills reaching up to 40mph. Met a lot of people along the way who were curious where I was heading and where I came from. Pretty common on ling distance bike trips but today was more than usual. Everyone was very nice and I even met some people from Wisconsin, my home state! After biking 30 very enjoyable miles I reached the campground and got set up in one of the last few sites available. My campsite was really nice and big with a lot of shade, I was happy to be there! I took the short ride over to the Watchtower and checked out the incredible view! The Watchtower itself was quite a site with intricate stonework and amazing artwork inside. After exploring the tower and the area around it I headed back to the campsite for some relaxation. After some reading and relaxing I headed over to the store and then back to the rim of the Grand Canyon to do some hiking and watch the sunset. I spent several hours watching the colors of the canyon change as the sun went down. It really is an amazing experience to watch the sunset at the Grand Canyon and I personally think is best experienced alone. Very meditative! On the way back to the campsite I stared off at the sky and watched the stars and even saw a shooting star. Great day/great night!
Oh boy!
Noisy Ravens, all over the Grand Canyon!
The Watchtower
Inside the Watchtower
Desert View Campground
Looking out my see through tent ceiling
( great for viewing stars )
This stump looks like a lizard!
Day 33
After packing up and a cup of coffee I was headed out of the park and off to Tuba City. The first 35 miles of the trip were downhill and so very enjoyable! As I dropped 2,000 feet the scenery changed as the trees disappeared and the desert opened up. There were many canyons and buttes throughout the ride and I stopped at one of the many Navajo jewelry and pottery stands. When I reached the bottom of the long hill I was in the town of Cameron where I stopped for some lunch. By the time I got out of the deli some dark clouds had rolled in but it looked as though I would be ok. I continued my ride and within minutes the cloud became very close and it got extremely windy. I saw an abandoned storefront and took shelter until the storm clouds blew over, it didn't take too long. I continued my ride down the road with a strong crosswind and very narrow shoulder. It was a little scary but before too long I turned onto the road that took me into Tuba City and had a nice wide shoulder and the wind at my back. I did however have a nice size hill to climb but the scenery was beautiful and I didn't mind taking my time. When I reached the top of the hill I was treated to an amazing view of the reddest desert I have ever seen! I biked another 10 miles or so and got 2 flat tires just outside of town. Managed to patch them up rather quickly and made it into Tuba City well before dark. The Moenkopi Legacy Inn was very kind and donated me a room for the evening. Thanks Moenkopi Legacy Inn!!! The Inn was very nice with beautiful artwork, a salt water pool and whirlpool, and very friendly staff! I walked next door to Denny's for dinner and went back to my room for some rest and relaxation. Just before going to be I started hearing fireworks and they sounded close so I stepped outside to take a look. Tuba City put on a firework show just down the street from the Inn so I found a nice spot to watch them, awesome surprise!
Goodbye Grand Canyon!
Little Colorado River
( dry )
Storm Shelter
Fixing flats
Fireworks!
Day 34
Woke up later than planned and had several things I wanted to get done before starting the 73 mile ride to Kayenta. I stopped at the front dest of the Moenkopi Legacy Inn and spoke with the hotel manager, Darrell Cornford. Darrell was very kind and a supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and said I am more than welcome to stay another night. Thanks again Darrell and Moenkopi Legacy Inn!!! I spent most of the day working on things that needed to get done. Several things online, bike maintenance, laundry, blog update, etc. Also took some time to enjoy the local artwork throughout the Inn. It was really nice to take a swim in the salt water pool and hot tub which I had all to myself. Really nice day of catching up on stuff and relaxing.
http://www.experiencehopi.com/
Trip So Far!
( not all of the locations are marked but it gives an idea )
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