"Grand Canyon Day 2"

Tuesday 23^rd April



Hermits Point

Coffee call at 5.45am; which was too early for Alison but she managed to be dressed for cooked breakfast at 6.30. 

After de-camping and loading the boat we all went for a ‘short’ hike up into one of the side canyons, “Monument Creek”.  This also gave time for the river to rise a little more before we negotiated the first rapid of the day. (They close the dam a little at night to restrict the flow of water into the canyon).  As we hiked up the changing layers of rocks were outstanding.  We stopped at one point where we were looking up at Hermits Point, which is the furthest west of the view points at the top on the South Rim.  

Alison on the slide

Going back down a parallel side canyon we had to negotiate a creek.

 

The rest of the day was spent on the river, with a stop for lunch on a sandy beach.  This day was when we travelled the most miles on the river and consequently the most rapids.  Paul took his turn in the “Bath Tub” which is right in the front of the boat where you get totally drenched.  Alison stayed in the “Chicken Coop” to the rear of the boat but still managed to get wet.  The water was really cold and over our water gear it helped us cool down in the hot sun.

 

Alison ready for bed

We spent the night at Race Track campsite.  We had a Mexican theme to the evening with Tequila and American Honey Whiskey served as pre-dinner cocktails.  We tried to watch the stars as we lay in our camp beds but couldn’t keep our eyes open for long and quickly fell asleep.

 

Wednesday 24th April

Breakfast again at 6.30 and we watch the sun gradually creeping on to the furthest mountains. 

We set off down river for a few miles and then landed part of the group who were off for a 9 mile hike with a 2000ft elevation change.  Those of us who didn’t fancy such a tough hike continued on down the river to Deer Creek Waterfall having stopped part way to listen to Dan read us a story from a book of GC River Stories.

Our hike started at the base of the waterfall which gushed out from the rocks about 150ft above us.  It was a quick ‘straight up’ climb of around 800ft and then we followed the slot canyon of Deer  
Creek.
We were treated to wonderful views of the Colorado from above the waterfall.


At one point we had to squeeze along a narrow 2ft ledge for about 20yds with the sheer drop below us.  ( Alison was on her hands and knees). Eventually we arrived at our goal “The Patio”.  It was a lovely area of flat rocks with trees, butterflies and lizards as the water flowed down the creek.  We spent some time here, bathing in the water etc.
 

When we returned to the boats down on the river we had lunch and bathed by the waterfall whilst we waited for the rest of the group to meet us from their ‘long hike’.

We then continued down the river.

 

Our camp site was at Mat-Kat Hotel and was surrounded by high canyon walls.




Day Four and Five to follow.

 

The"Grand Canyon"

Monday 22nd April

We were both up for 3.45am and drove into the Grand Canyon Nat Pk.  We were surprised the gate was manned at 4.25 in the morning.  We parked the RV and car in the Back-country parking area where we could leave it for the week at no charge.

We met our fellow hikers at the Fire Place in the Bright Angel Lodge, along with our guide who was wearing flip flops.  Our guide will accompany us half way down the trail until we meet the guide coming up from the Rafts on the river.

We began the hike at 5.30am as the sun was starting to rise over the Canyon; the colours changed as we descended.

 

 

 

The views are terrific and constantly changing.  At three points there were restrooms and water filling stations where we rested and had a sandwich.

As we descended we passed people hiking up after staying overnight in the Canyon; many were carrying their camping gear in big backpacks.  We didn’t envy them their uphill journey as the temperature began to rise. 

 

 

 

The halfway point at Indian Gardens was a cool oasis with trees and a creek which we continued to follow down to the river. Even though the hike was over nine miles it was a very pleasant hike. We had different views of the canyon as we descended.  

We all set our own pace for the hike down and eventually arrived on the beach between 10.30 and 11.00, having crossed the bridge over to the north side of the river.  The temperature was now getting up to 30C. 





We were introduced to the boats crew; Nate, Dan, Sean and Will.  After the safety briefing we introduced ourselves to the other passengers (they had already spent three days on the raft traversing the upper rapids), put on our waterproofs and life jackets and climbed aboard.

We cannot begin to describe how we felt about being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon looking up at the cliffs.  It was just incredible and so exciting.

 

The first rapids are some of the biggest we will meet; so once Alison had experienced that she knew she could cope with the rest of the trip!  Our boat was captained by Nate and this was the lead boat.  After we successfully negotiated Horns Creek rapid we turned to watch the other boat come through - it hit a rock which punctured the front point of the boat.  The boats have several separate air compartments so, fortunately, it did not hinder their progress, however it brought home to us how easily accidents can happen.

 

After travelling for about an hour we beached the rafts and had lunch.

More rapids after lunch and then we pulled over onto a sandy beach to make camp for the night at Granite Campsite.  We unpacked the boats including the kitchen gear that the crew used to make our meals – prime rib and mash for our first evening along with a bottle of cider and some whiskey from Pauls hip flask!  ( Only good Irish for this trip)

The crew set about repairing the punctured boat.

The Lounge/Diner.

The Kitchen

The Bedroom

 

We each had a sleeping bag and camp bed – but no tent!  We slept under the stars each night, listening to nearby rapids.  It was nearly a full moon so you could watch the moon-shadows on the canyon walls.  

 

 

Day two to follow.

 

 

Williams, Az

19th–21st Apr  Williams and Grand Canyon

On the Friday we travelled back along the I-40 to Williams.  We found a campsite just on the edge of town and in the afternoon visited the shops.  The town of Williams is on Route 66 so it had a lot of memorabilia from that era as well as Indian crafts and touristy paraphernalia.

Saturday we did a recce to the Grand Canyon in readiness for our trip on Monday.  As we drove towards the National Park we were amazed at how the area outside the park has developed since our last visit in 2001.  All sorts of hotels, shops and attractions have sprung up.

The Grand Canyon was still as amazing as before and we strolled along the rim admiring the views.

Sunday we take the RV up to Tusayan village and dry camp in the Kaibab Forest for the one night ready for the drive up to the National Park at 4.30am Monday morning (Tusayan used to be just one bar/restaurant, it is now a thriving town).

We have booked a Rafting trip down the Low Half of the Colorado River along the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  The Canyon has 227 miles of river, of which we will be rafting down 135 miles of it – including 19 rapids.  The rapids in the Grand Canyon are classed 1-10 rather than the usual 1-6.  The river flows at around 4mph and the boats are motorised holding up to 15 passengers, plus kit. 

We meet our guide at 5.00am on Monday morning at the Bright Angel Lodge along with 6 other travellers.  We then walk down to the bottom of the Canyon to the boat launch – a downhill trip of nearly 10 miles.  We will have back packs for water and some food but most of our kit will travel down by mule that morning to meet the boat just before lunch.  The boat left the eastern end of the Grand Canyon 4 days earlier with passengers, and we will join them for the remainder of the trip. 

We will spend the next 4 nights camping on the river’s edge.  The Outfitters provide all the camping kit and food etc – we just bring our clothes, especially our waterproofs. 

Apart from floating down the river, and running the rapids, we will get the opportunity for hikes into other parts of the canyon.  On the fifth day (Friday) we will be helicoptered out from the river to Bar Ten Ranch and then a small plane back to the Grand Canyon. …………….

From Sunday evening we will be out of contact until the following Friday evening.

On the move to Flagstaff.

13^th April 

About half way to Flagstaff we stopped for lunch at Seligman on Route 66.  As soon as we pulled over we had water running down the centre of the floor. A quick inspection and we found a cracked

water pipe under the sink. We bought the bits for the repair and when we got to our camp site Paul did the repair before we could connect up to the water supply.

 Flagstaff is at an elevation of 7000ft and was considerably colder than Lake Havasu!  There was snow on the Mountains behind the camp site.

 14^th April  Walnut Canyon Nat Mon

 

We took a picnic to Walnut Canyon and although it is sunny enough for a picnic it is very windy.   

800 years ago the Northern Sinagua Indians made their homes here under the overhanging limestone cliffs.  They were only occupied for around 100 years before the people moved on and were probably the ancestors of the Hopi tribe of today. We were able to walk around the cliff dwellings and even go inside them.

 

Many of the rooms have been reconstructed by the national park service.  The Walnut Creek that used to flow at the base of the cliffs has now been diverted for use by Flagstaff residents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

15^th April

We finalised the arrangements for our River trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and then went shopping for some kit for the trip.

16^th April  Sedona and Red Rocks

 

It was a cold windy day in Flagstaff so we headed south for some warmer weather.  We drove through Oak Creek Canyon on the way to Sedona which is over 2000ft lower altitude that Flagstaff.  Sedona is a town in the middle of Red Rock country and full of amazing shops.  It is also known for its Meditational Vortexes.  The Red Rocks are wonderful and as the sun came out it enhanced the huge formations. 

 

 

 

 

From Sedona we travelled to Montezuma’s Castle cliff dwellings, once an imposing 6-story apartment-like building with 45 rooms.  This was the home of the Southern Sinagua Indians and had nothing to do with the Aztec King Montezuma.  There was a lovely creek running at the base of the cliffs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued to Montezuma’s Well which was a few miles further up the road.

It was amazing to see this well in the middle of the desert, fed with thousands of gallons every day.

The well is fed by an underground spring and then goes underground again to feed into the same Creek.

 

Travelling home on the I-17 we came across Trucks parking up on the side of the road.  We must have passed at least a mile or two of them.  The I-17 east from Flagstaff had to be closed due to dust storms created by the high winds.

 17^th April  Meteor Crater

The I-17 east of Flagstaff was open so we were able drive to the Meteor Crater which was the first proven meteorite impact site on the planet.  The crater is 550ft deep, over 4000ft across at the base and 2.4ml in circumference.  We would have liked to have taken the walking tour around the rim but they cancelled the last tours due to the icy cold winds that afternoon.

 

 

 

18^th April  Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki Nat Mon

Lava Flow

 

 

 

Sunset Crater was created was the Volcano erupted in the 11^th Century and created a 1000ft volcanic cone.

It became a national monument when a film crew wanted to film a landslide using dynamite and an appeal was made to the President to preserve this area.  We wanted to climb up to the top and look inside but hiking has been closed to the public since 1971 as it was causing too much erosion.  So we drove the Loop Road stopping at the various look-out spots until we got to Wupatki.

 

Wupatki Pueblo was built against the rocks and formed a multi-storey village of around 100 rooms.  It was inhabited about 100 years after the volcano had erupted and the Indians farmed the land.  Much of the Pueblo had been reconstructed by the Nat Park Service and it gave a good impression of how the village would have been.

Of particular interest was a “Blow-hole”.  This was a hole through which air can exchange with the underground caves.  Depending on the air pressure above ground the air will either blow out of the hole or be sucked into the caves. Today it was being sucked into the caves at a tremendous velocity and noise.

On the way out of the National Park we came across a Prong-horn deer.

Tomorrow we move to Williams and the
Grand Canyon ready for our trip on Monday.

 

 

 

Parker, Az

5th – 7^th April –

We left Yuma in search of some quiet waters for the maiden voyage of the kayak.  We were recommended not to go up to Lake Havasu just yet as the school holidays were still on and the place would be busy.  So we booked in at a County Park on the banks of the Colorado River, 30 miles south of Lake Havasu City.  This stretch of the Colorado river forms the state line between Arizona and California.

 

 

It was, of course, school holidays everywhere and this stretch of the river was no exception.  There were motor boats, jet-skis, water-skiers and paragliding everywhere.  The continuous noise did not let up until 22.30hrs in the evening.  It started again just after 06.00hrs the next morning!

 

This was not the water to test the kayak on.  So we sat and enjoyed the sunshine and watched the younger generations at play; and visited one of the bars either end of the camp site. 

Eventually the noise died down towards the end of Sunday and by Monday morning the river was empty.  However high winds had picked up and wind gusts of 50mph was not the time to be playing around with an inflatable boat.  So Monday we set off for Lake Havasu.

 

8th – 10th April – Lake Havasu City, Az

The Lake looked lovely – in the sunshine.  The lake was created when Parker Dam was built.  It is the deepest dam, in USA, of over 320ft of which barely 100ft is above ground. 

However on the first day there was dust in the air from the high winds and you could barely see the California side of the waters. 

Lake Havasu City is where the London Bridge was reconstructed after it was purchased for $2.46m in 1969.  It was transported via the Panama Canal and California and inaugurated in 1971.  The final cost was $5.1m.  The city was founded in 1964, so the acquisition of the bridge at that time was pretty visionary.  The population has since grown to around 16,000; and the city is still developing.

From Lake Havasu we took a day trip up Route 66 to Oatman.  This town began in 1906 as a gold mining town.  Once the town was by-passed by the Interstate the place died down, as many places did on Route 66.  So it now exists as a tourist attraction and they have made every effort to keep it as authentic as possible.  One of their attractions are wild Burros that come into town for the tourists to feed them carrots and apples; as well as a gun-fight in the high street at noon.




Route 66 was established in 1926 as the first paved highway across USA, running 2448 miles, from Chicago to Santa Monica, and was decommissioned in 1985.

 

The high winds limit our activities.  Of concern on the news is ‘Valley Fever’ which can be caused from the bacteria and spores carried in the dust being blown by the wind.  We had started a BBQ when shortly afterwards a dust storm blew up.  Paul was the hero and rescued the meat.

 

11^th April  Launch the Kayak.

Today the winds have subsided and the lake was almost empty so in the afternoon we decided to give the Kayak it’s inaugural dip in the water.

We spent the next couple of hours testing it to see how it handled, we were very pleased to find out that it was very stable and easy to paddle. ( Manual say’s that it is almost impossible to overturn) Our verdict? A very good buy.

 

 

 

 

12th April.

 

This morning was taken up with all the conformation letters going back to the company for our White Water Rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. It was also the second outing for the Kayak.  

As we had been on the water for most of the afternoon we decided not to cook at home, so we went into town. Some people would call this fate, out of all the restaurants in town to choose from, we chose one just as a couple from Southampton were going in. We then spent a very pleasant evening with Graham and Sara. Once again "Happy Birthday" Sara. Have a great holiday.

 

Tomorrow we are on the move again, this time we are heading for Flagstaff. 

“The 3.10 to Yuma”!

27/29th  March   

Not quite the ‘3.10 train to Yuma’ but the I-8 instead!  (Any fans of the Glen Ford film or the Russell Crowe remake?).  As we drive the I-8 we see a number of green fields of crops.  By the time we get to our camp site we are surrounded by lemon orchards and alfalfa fields.  This is turning into a surprising agricultural area – all fed by the waters from the Colorado River.

Paul discovers one of the inside rear tyres on the RV is at ‘zero’ pressure so he inflates it with the compressor.  Next day it is down again.  We suspect a slow puncture and call out the Good Sam Breakdown Assistance.  It turns out to be just a leaking value and soon rectified.  It took a lot of effort for the mechanic lifting the two tyres, which were nearly as big as he was, off and and back onto the RV in 30C temperature!

30/31st March – Yuma Prison

We had a visit to the Yuma Territorial Prison Museum – the one referred to in the film.   It is right beside the Colorado River and there is a substantial portion of it still standing.  Some  of it has been hewn out of the local "Kalichi" which is were the soil has become so hard it is like concrete and they have carved out cave-like structures.  The living conditions during its use, 1876–1909, must have been pretty horrendous.  Six people in a cell 6’ x 12’ in temperatures of 40Cs must have been awful. 

During the Depression Years impoverished travellers used it to camp in as it was next to, what was then, one of the few road crossings over the Colorado River into California.  At that time road blocks were set up checking people coming across the state-line as they were looking for jobs that didn’t exist and many were turned away as California didn’t want ‘vagrants’. You had to prove that you had money to support yourself and your family.

1st April - Sand Dunes and YPG

We drove over into California to see the Imperial Sand Dunes.  The yellow sands stretch north from Mexico for approximately 40 miles.  They were used for filming movies such as ‘Star Wars – Return of the Jedi’.

We then drove along the California side of the Colorado River through the Quechan Indian reservation lands.  We drove past several Date Farms with hundreds of Palm Trees lining the road.  We crossed back into Arizona at the Imperial Dam and then past the Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG).  We stopped at a site were a number of Tanks, Howitzers and nuclear missiles were on display at the side of the road, including a Sherman Tank.  Everything there had been tested at the Proving Grounds during the past 80 years.

2nd April – Los Algodones, Mexico

Our main reason for coming to Yuma was to go over to Mexico for Alison to seek out some dental work.  We have had many recommendations of the high standard of dentists in the border town of Los Algodones and we were not disappointed.

The drive to the border took about 30 mins.  We parked up and walked through barriers into Mexico.  There was no-one there to check who was crossing; no-one wanted to see our passports!

As we walked around the town we were continually bombarded with people trying to sell us something or persuade us to come for a dental or optician appointment.  We found the dentist we wanted and he treated Alison for the first part of a tooth implant, there and then.(no waiting time here) 

Afterwards we walked around looking at the souvenir shops.  We also checked out the prices in the pharmacies for Paul’s migraine tablets which were a 10^th of the price here compared to USA prices.  Everything was in US dollars not Mexican pesos, so we didn’t need any foreign exchange. The place was busy with fellow visitors from USA and Canada; all here for cheap medication, glasses (£20) or dental work.

Coming back into USA we queued for around 15 mins to go through normal immigration passport checks - easy.  We will have to return in 6 months, or more, for the final stage of Alison’s dental work.

Everyone at the camp site is really friendly and we were invited to join in a number of activities during our stay – all of which involved eating and drinking! 

So we’ll be back here again one day ……!