Grand Canyon, Arizona 3/28/2014

MARCH 28, 2014 (Friday)

Beautiful skies. We were up and out of the Bell Rock Inn by 9:30 AM. We stopped in Flagstaff at Coco’s Restaurant for breakfast. It was really flavorful and good. We all enjoyed our food. After breakfast we stopped at the Chevron nearby for gas ($3.54 gallon).

I am fascinated by Crows ever since watching "A Murder of Crows" on PBS. — I am fascinated by crows ever since watching “A Murder of Crows” on PBS.

Lex had an omelette with fruit and 2 pancakes.

Edie's omelette with hash browns and an english muffin. — Edie’s omelette with hash browns and an english muffin.

Today we drove up Highway 89 to take the South way into the Grand Canyon. On our way up Highway 89, we saw a National Park sign for the Wupatki National Monument. Singing “We May Never Pass This Way Again” (again), we turned and went to the Visitor’s Center. The cost was $5.00 per person, but because of Michael’s old person’s pass, we got in for free. We drove on down to the lava flow. Huge. There are lots of trails and things to do (maybe next time). After that we drove approximately ten more miles to the next part of it – the ruins. There were several types of ruins. Michael and I went up to the Citadel and the one below it, then we drove on down to another one at Box Canyon. All fascinating and you can just imagine people living there almost a thousand years ago. Glad we spent the time and energy to see this off the beaten path park.

Really nice at the visitors center and smart. It was a thirsty day.

Interesting tree growing along the lava beds.

The sign said we could see 8 settlements from here, we counted 5.

Driving out we felt like we were driving across the Serengeti. Looked for a Cheetah laying in the grass.

The drive to the Grand Canyon from Sedona is approximately 125 miles and normally would take about three hours. We stopped at most outlooks and just took our time. Once we got into the actual Grand Canyon Park (normally $25.00 but free with Michael’s pass), we stopped at each of the outlooks. Especially enjoyed the Watchtower. The Grand Canyon was very crowded. Must be because of Spring break, not sure. While Michael was out at one of the outlooks, taking pictures, he ran into some people who had just come up from the bottom of the canyon after three days. To me, that just doesn’t sound like fun. Glad they enjoyed themselves though. We went all the way down to the Lodges and Village of Grand Canyon before heading to our hotel in Tusayan. While we were driving, we saw two beautiful elk. Too fun. They didn’t seem to mind all the cars stopping to take their pictures.

Gift shop ceiling was like a giant Hogan.

I asked if they'd been out two nights. The woman said, "3 nights." The man added, "We smell like 6 nights." — I asked if they’d been out two nights. The woman said, “3 nights.” The man added, “We smell like 6 nights.”

Huge lodge area full of people staying at the park.

We got to Tusayan (about a mile or so outside the Park entrance off 64) around 4:30 PM. We were hungry so we went to a local pizza place and each got salads. OK food, filled us up. Drove to our hotel and checked in very quickly. The room is nice but we are sure excited about getting back to a timeshare tomorrow. We’re tired of moving day to day.

Anyway, that was our day. Hope yours was great!