Movin' East - Day 58

Friday, October 31 (Happy Birthday, "AJ"), Day 58 - The Grand Canyon, South Rim.

As you can see by the photo, we finally did make it to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This was truly worth the trip. The scenery from the South Rim was fantastic. The only unfortunate thing about today is that the sky was not as clear blue as we have seen the past few weeks. Today, the sky was partly sunny, with lots of big, white, puffy clouds, which cast shadows over the scenery, making it difficult to see the detail in the shots. In addition, it was a bit hazy, which also contributed to the limited visibility today. Anyway, check out the album, as most of the photos came out pretty well.

After visiting the South Rim (we used the free shuttle buses here, also), we returned to the motor home and picked up the dogs, then we drove into the town of Williams, Arizona. This is a neat little town, with a flavor of the "old west". Lots of "saloons" and cafes, and they all looked pretty inviting. We were scouting out the location of the only Catholic Church in town, St. Joseph's, which is way out in the far end of town. We will attend the 8AM Mass on Sunday, then we will have breakfast at the "Route 66 Diner" in town before pulling out and heading east for Albuquerque, NM.

Tomorrow, we will head down into Sedona (again), and on to Jerome for a visit there. I don't know what we'll have for pictures tomorrow, probably shots of Sedona and Jerome, but be sure to check back tomorrow for details and photos of that trip.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay58GrandCanyonTheSouthRim?authkey=hMqvcQNlCyg#

Movin' East - Day 57

Thursday, October 30, Day 57 - Sedona, Arizona.

I know, I know, I promised that we would do the South Rim of the Grand Canyon today. However, because we stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot last night, we had to move the motor home to a campground today. We had made arrangements, on line, to stay at a KOA in Williams, AZ for the next few days, and Williams is about 30 miles west of Flagstaff. By the time we got there, it was after noon, so we didn't have enough time to do the South Rim today. Instead, we decided to drive down to Sedona, about 50 minutes south, and walk around for the afternoon. We decided that one two-hour stint was not nearly enough time to spend in Sedona, so, we will return for the day on Saturday to spend more time there, and maybe do a "Jeep Tour". The web album has photos of the drive down to, in, and returning from, Sedona. Be sure to check out, as the scenery is amazing.

Tomorrow, we hope to get out early and get up to the South Rim for a few hours, or so. Check back tomorrow for all the details.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay57SedonaArizona?authkey=whvrnIHt8Oo#

Movin' East - Day 56

Wednesday, October 29, (Happy Birthday to John Borsetti) Day 56 - the Grand Canyon, North Rim. Another beautiful day out here in Arizona for driving out to the Grand Canyon. We departed Page, AZ shortly after 10AM, destination, Bitter Springs, AZ. Our plan was to park the motor home somewhere in Bitter Springs, but when we got there, we discovered that there was no place to park this behemoth! So, we drove the motor home as far as Jacob Lake, where we found a place to park. We loaded the doggies into the car (against their wishes), and made the drive, some 45 miles, into the National Park. As the sign below will attest, we made it!

As we drove the last few miles into the park, we decided that it reminded us of Yellowstone, because of all the trees and open meadows we passed on the way in. However, once we arrived at the North Rim Visitor Center, and began to walk out to the Bright Angels viewpoint, we knew we weren't in Yellowstone. Be sure to check out the web album to see what I mean.

After leaving the North Rim, we headed south toward Flagstaff, AZ. We hoped to find a campground along the way, before we got to Flagstaff, which was still 110 miles south from Bitter Springs. We began calling several different campgrounds, but they were either full, or closed for the season. We could not find a campground along the road, so we had to settle for one in Flagstaff. We found the Woodlands RV Park, just west of Flagstaff, on "Route 66!". We programmed the GPS to take us there, knowing that it would probably be dark when we got there. The manager told us that he would leave the information on the door if we arrived after 6PM. We finally arrived at 7:15, and it was pitch dark. There were no lights in the park, so finding our site was going to be a chore. I got the information (a map of the park, showing where our site was) off the office door when we arrived, and we entered the campground. After trying, for at least 30 minutes, to find the site we were assigned, we both decided that even Wal-Mart would be a better choice than this place, because it was all DIRT! There was NO GRASS, nothing but DIRT! So, we reprogrammed the GPS to find us the nearest Wal-Mart, which she did. It was only 1.7 miles from the campground. So, we are camping out at Wal-Mart in Flagstaff, AZ tonight. Tomorrow, we'll find a better campground and head out to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the photos and details of our trip out to the South Rim. We actually took 97 pictures today, but I only uploaded the best 28. Enjoy!

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay56TheGrandCanyonNorthRim?authkey=in43FMjyQns#

Movin' East - Day 55

Tuesday, October 28, Day 55 - beautiful Lake Powell at Page, Arizona. As the photo, above, shows, this is truly a beautiful, majestic lake. "Impounded behind the Bureau of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Dam, waters of the Colorado River and tributaries are backed up about 185 miles, forming Lake Powell." The only unfortunate thing about being here is that we can only see a very small portion of this lake. The only way to truly explore the wonders of Lake Powell is by boat, since there are no roads which completely surround the area. We happened to visit the area during the "off season", so we were unable to take a boat tour. Of course, the tours only give you a small taste of the beauty of this area, since they only last four hours (1/2 day tour), or over 8 hours on the all-day tour. Since the lake stretches 185 miles between Arizona and Utah, with many smaller "fingers" protruding into the landscape all along the way, it would take many weeks by boat to truly explore the whole area. That is why houseboat rentals here are so popular. Just in the area we are in, alone, there must be about one thousand houseboats available to rent, ranging in size from small boats to huge "mansions on water". Be sure to view the web album for more pictures of the lake and surrounding sights.

Tomorrow, we will be heading south, and west, to the north rim of the Grand Canyon for our first look. We hope to have some pictures of the Canyon from the North Rim for you in the next web album. Until then....

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay55LakePowellAZ?authkey=mq_cgj5Cc-8#

Movin' East - Day 54

Monday, October 27, Day 54 - leaving Hurricane, Utah for Page, Arizona. As usual, another beautiful day in Utah, with clear blue, sunny skies. A great day to travel.

The picture above is the site we were staying on in Hurricane, UT, at the Willow Wind RV Park. Except for the palm trees, this place reminded us of Outdoor Resorts in Port St. Lucie, FL, as it had concrete pads to park on, with grass on each side. This has been one of the best parks we have had the pleasure to stay at since we left. And leave we did, driving east to Page, Arizona, in the Lake Powell area. Again, the scenery along the way was fantastic (see the web album).

We arrived in Page, AZ in time for lunch, which gave us the opportunity to pinpoint the directions to the RV park we will be staying at, since our GPS didn't recognize the address. A quick call got us the exact directions, so we finished our lunch and proceeded to the park.

The picture, above, will give you an idea of what this park is like. Although the sites are not paved, the roads are, and we have a nice shade-tree on our site. The motor home is looking great, as we had it washed in Las Vegas (it was FILTHY!). And the rates here are very reasonable, even though it's not a Passport America (1/2 price) member park.

After getting settled here, we drove back to the Glen Canyon Dam, which we passed on our way into Page. This dam was finished in 1963, and its completion formed Lake Powell, which is fed by the Colorado River, which continues from here into the Grand Canyon. The water level in Lake Powell is down at this time, due to the lack of rainfall in the area. The distance from the dam to the Hite Marina, where the Colorado empties into Lake Powell, is 127 miles! This is, to say the least, a very impressive lake. Tomorrow we will try to take a cruise on the lake to take some photographs and videos, as the scenery surrounding this lake is, in a word, breathtaking.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the details of our cruise on Lake Powell.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay54DrivingFromHurricaneUTToPageAZ?authkey=Vv1Dl8ak2kQ#

Movin' East - Day 53

Sunday, October 25, another gorgeous day for sightseeing in Utah! The picture above is the entrance to Zion National Park from the east. We took a scenic drive around Zion, through Colorado City and Fredonia, AZ, into Kanab, UT, and finally into Zion on Rt. 9. The first 40 pictures were taken just on the way to Zion, on Rt. 59, then Rt. 89A. I will apologize before-hand, for all of the pictures (165) in the web album, but we just couldn't help ourselves, the scenerey was just so beautiful. I only captioned a few of the pictures, just for reference. The rest will speak for themselves, because this place is just soooo majestic! As you will see, in some of the pictures, the sky was clear blue. The temperatures today reached the mid-80s by mid-afternoon, with just enough of a breeze to keep it comfortable.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but, as this was Sunday, we did not begin the day at Mass. That is because the only churches within reach from here are Mormon (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Keep in mind that we are in Utah, where the Mormon Church pervades every walk of life. Here, if you are not Mormon, you are in the minority.

Tomorrow, we will leave Utah for Arizona and Lake Powell. We have been told that this is another gorgeous area, so we will probably be there for a couple of days. Be sure to check the blog again tomorrow night, as we will probably have pictures of the drive to Lake Powell.

Here's the link to today's voluminous web album (165 pictures):

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay53DrivingIntoAndInZionNationalParkUT?authkey=zNTCtBu7ybw#

Movin' East - Day 52

Saturday, October 25, Day 52 - Leaving Las Vegas, destination Hurricane, UT. Another beautiful day out west, a great day to travel. Although we hated to leave Vegas (Kathy wanted to stay another night and try to get into the Donny and Marie Osmond show at the Flamingo), we decided to head east into Utah. As we traveled east into Arizona, the scenery changed from desert landscape to mountains, canyons and mesas, as captured in the photo below.

As we crossed into Arizona from Nevada, we were amazed at how much the scenery changes at almost every turn. The trip through Arizona was short, but beautiful. We can hardly wait to get to the Grand Canyon.

The picture, above, was supposed to be the sign reading "Utah State Line", but I think I grabbed the wrong one. I think this one is when we entered St. George, UT, a few miles beyond the state line. Anyway, it shows the contrast between the cities and the wide-open spaces out here. We are simply awe-struck with all the beautiful places we have seen, so far. The best part of all of this is that we have been able to take the time to appreciate all the places we have seen so far on our trip.

The photo, above, shows the entrance to the park where we will be staying for the next two days (or more, should we decide to stay longer). This park is a lot like our Resort Park at Port St. Lucie, in that the sites are all concrete pads, surrounded by grass and shade trees, and the roads are all paved. We have already met several new people here who spend the winter at this park. All the sites are rentals, only. Nothing here is for sale. The rates here are quite reasonable for such a beautiful park. The monthly rate is $300, and the daily rate is $30. From the information I have been able to gather in speaking with our next-door neighbor, there are other places which have even lower monthly rates! I suggested to Kathy that perhaps we should sell our lot in Florida and come out here for the winter. She was not very receptive to that idea.

Tomorrow, we will explore Zion National Park and Kolob Canyon. We will travel south into Arizona, through Colorado City (a mormon community), and Fredonia, before heading north into Kanab, UT, and finally into Zion from the East Entrance to the park. This will a 75 mile loop, returning to Hurricane. Later, we will travel north to Kolob Canyon to explore that park. Be sure to check back tomorrow for pictures of that adventure.

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay52DrivingToUtah?authkey=FUjQTlbwtGE#