May 16, 2013 Travel to Grand Canyon North Rim

I woke this morning feeling much better and we headed on down the road – first east to Arizona:

Where the road goes on forever:

We turned south at Fredonia and headed up and up into the mountains and the Kaibab National Forest:

Large fire here in 2006:

Beautiful Alpine Meadows at 8000’ feet in elevation:

Snow, oh my:

And herds of mule deer:

This area was just opened yesterday, 15th, and that includes the road, lodges, campgrounds and national park.  We settled into the DeMotte Campground – Kaibab National Forest and then headed to the Grand Canyon North Rim:

We first went to the lodge.

  When you walk in past registration, you come to the overlook of the lounge.  Notice the view thru the windows:

AWESOME!  There is a porch / balcony on each side of this lounge with incredible views.

The auditorium:

Outside view of the lodge:

In the center, the area jutting out is called Bright Angel Point so we headed out that way:

The views from the point:

One of the cabins:

We saw this guy flying:

This is a California Condor.

“Fossil evidence shows that condors have nested in the Grand Canyon area for approximately 50,000 years.  During the Pleistocene, when the canyon had a cooler and wetter climate, the California condor scavenged carcasses of sloth, mammoth, and horse.  A once flourishing bird, the California condor was almost gone by the 1980’s when there were fewer than two dozen left in the world.  Scientists have been working to re-establish their presence in central California and northern Arizona.  One confirmation of a successful reintroduction program is reproduction in the wild.”

This condor is being tracked – notice the number on his wings.

And for another good story:

Here is Brighty and, of course, we rubbed his nose – :

We came back and sat out by the fireplace but it got too windy (there is a front coming thru – ).  So back inside, I took a nap (still not up to par), while Andy read.   This evening we both read!

Tomorrow we are doing the Rim Tour so stay tuned!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 120 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Utah: Old Highway 91; 5300 W Street; SR-9; SR-59

Arizona: SR-389; US-89A; SR-67

May 13–15, 2013 Being Sick is not Fun

So for the last three days, I have been sick with a sore throat and achy everything.  Andy has been a great nurse – taking care of me.

 

Today, 15th,  I have felt a little more human so I know I am on the mend.   Tomorrow we are heading to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon so stay tuned.

 

(There will be a series of blogs published.  We did not have phone or internet access for a few days.  Sorry.)

May 7-12, 2013 Getting Caught Up

Happy Mother’s Day!

So what have we been up to the last six days?

Well, since we live almost full time in our RV, we needed to take time out and get some things done just like we would need to do in a sticks-n-bricks home.   And since we have spent a lot of time in the desert over the last few months, we decided we needed a good clean out and a resupply of goods.   So that was what we worked on every day.   For now, we are done –

One of our shopping trips took us into St. George.  We just rode around a few of the highways – noticed many huge homes and many LDS churches.  We also noticed that many of the homes and condos look the same – strange!  But this area does have all the stores we needed and then some.

On Tuesday, 7th, was our 25th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going to In-n-Out Burger – one of our favorite places. 

On Saturday, we decided we needed a break and went to the movies in Hurricane to see “Oblivion”.  Very good!

My computer is now 7 years old (Windows XP) and getting VERY SLOW.  Andy’s computer (Vista), which he hardly ever uses, is 4 years old but a lot faster. So over the last few days I have transitioned to his.  Sometime in the near future, we hope to truly upgrade and get the latest.  LOL!

And we have made some future plans and some reservations.  I like to just wing it instead of making reservations but we are going to be in touristy areas so I guess I need to just buckle down and do it!  Our plans for now are to leave here on Thursday for the Grand Canyon North Rim for three days, then 2 days in Hatch, then 7-10 days in Bryce National Park.  That is as far as I am planning –

One of the days we decided to take a short road trip:

Beautiful!

Tomorrow we hope to do some sightseeing so stay tuned and enjoy today!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Loretta.

May 6, 2013 - Leaving Zion

We woke to a cloudy day, finished packing up, dumped our black and grey tanks, and away we went – west on SR-9 into the rain:

 

And north on SR-318 past Quail Lake:

To St. George RV Resort where we will be for the next 9-10 days under our RPI Membership.  After setting up, we walked around the campground to see what is available.  They have a nice laundry, pool, hot tub, book sharing library, and clubhouse where they have a few activities.  The sites are a little small but it will do.  We will be taking care of a few things here, getting a mail drop, and maybe even some sightseeing so stay tuned.

Enjoy Today!

Stats:

Miles Traveled:35 Miles (Short Day :-))

Routes Traveled:

Utah: SR-9; Road 318; Highway 91

August 27-28, 2011 – Hurricane and After

The rest of Saturday (27th), we hung out, read, and watched the wind and rain.  The wind stopped about 4 AM on Sunday morning and by 10 AM, the sun was peaking out from the clouds.   And this is what it looked like by 2 PM (this is the view from the lodge):

So today was our trip to the dump to empty tanks that should be emptied and fill those that should be filled.  Since the dump is about 1/2 mile from the campground, we needed to do a complete breakdown and then a complete setup.  Afterwards we walked to the lodge to make a few phone calls – one of the few places where there is Verizon cell service.

On our way back, look who dropped in for a bite to eat – LOL:

I know, I know – I said no more deer pictures but I just could not resist.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying the campfire – :-)).

Tomorrow we scheduled a tour to Herbert Hoover’s Rapidan Camp so stay tuned.

August 27, 2011 – CCC and Hurricane

After watching the morning news we decided to stay in the park.  They are forecasting less than an inch of rain and winds ~ 20 mph (we have had stronger winds in AZ).  So we are now going to stay here until Labor Day (9/5).

Our first stop this morning was the Byrd Visitor Center where we saw a movie on the Civilian Conservation Corps in Shenandoah.  Between 1933 and 1942, 10 CCC camps were established within or near the Park.  During this time more than 10000 young men (18-26) lived in these camps under the supervision of the Army.  They worked on projects directed by the National Park Service and Bureau of Public Roads – building trails, fire roads and towers, log comfort stations, picnic grounds and construction projects.

Here is what they complete in 1938 – Wow!:

And that is just in Shenandoah area only.   There was projects going on all over this country during that time.

During a lot of our travels we have seen many of the projects that the CCC has done and it has always impressed me.  Many, if not most, of those projects are still standing today – over 70 years old – Amazing.

Outside of the visitor center is:

 

This statue is part of a campaign by the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni to erect a statue in every state to commemorate the Corps’ work throughout the US from 1933 – 1942.  This is the 32nd state commemoration. 

Here is the listing of the other states – I may have to check them out:

http://www.ccclegacy.org/statue_list.htm

This afternoon as the rain and wind is rolling in, I am at the lodge getting my e-fix and getting caught up on the blog and emails.   I think I am up to date so if I owe you an email and you have not received an answer, please email me again (sorry).    If I owe you an answer on FB, please let me know.  

So we are planning more hikes and tours for next week so stay tuned and stay safe.