Great Southwest Adventure - 2017: Part II

After our departure from Utah, we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, which is in a beautiful forest, about 45 miles south of the main highway.  Contrary to my assumption that we could easily get a camp site, we were told it was by reservation only and full - so much for that plan! We took a short hike down a very steep, narrow trail to view the canyon, which was beautiful, but very different than the views from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was also a bit hazy, due to air pollution, which was surprising.

Grand Canyon - North Rim 

Another view - North Rim, Grand Canyon

Navajo Bridge, AZ

We did find a RV park for the night near the main highway, spent the night and headed to Page, AZ.  On our way to Page, we stopped at the Navajo Bridge, which was interesting.  The original bridge replaced a ferry that crossed the Colorado River.  We spent two nights in Page and Lynne was able to take a photo tour to the beautiful Antelope Slot Canyon on the Navajo reservation.  Before departing Page, we stopped to look at the Colorado River at Glen Canyon's Horseshoe Bend.  We were surprised at the number of visitors from all over the world.  It was an easy 3/4 mile hike until you get to the edge of the canyon!  Jim stayed back, while Lynne inched about 3 feet from the edge, unable to go closer.  The photo wasn't the perfect view - that would have required more nerve than we could muster.

Glen Canyon Dam, Page, AZ

Hills outside our RV park, Page, AZ

Upper Antelope Canyon 

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon, Page, AZ

From Page, we drove to Monument Valley, AZ, which was yet another beautiful site, one which has provided the background in many films, including 4 or 5 John Wayne movies.   RV's and other large vehicles were restricted from driving around the monuments at the Navajo Park, but we were still able to enjoy great views, including from our RV park that was located about 1 1/2 miles into Utah. 

Views of Monument Valley, AZ

We departed Monument Valley on October 5th and stopped briefly at the Four Corners Monument, run by the Navajo Nation, which marks the meeting point of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.  It was a bit underwhelming, but we didn't want to miss the chance to say we'd been there.  The highway from the Four Corners was lovely and took us into Chama, New Mexico.  What a pleasant surprise.  The Chama Valley was in full fall colors and just lovely.  Our RV park was also excellent, located adjacent to the Chama River.

Buck at our campground in Chama, NM

On October 6, we headed to Santa Fe, driving south on NM Highway 84, which provided even more diverse and beautiful vistas.  Our only complaint was there were no turnouts along the highway, so we didn't get any photos.  When we later visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, we learned the artist lived at the Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu along highway 84.  Much of her art work captured many of the scenes we had admired.  

We spent 3 days in Santa Fe, and rented a car in order to drive up to Taos.  This was another pretty drive along the Rio Grande River (we think?) - but different than along the Chama River on highway 84.  The plaza in Taos was busy with a food event (in which we participated).  We weren't interested in shopping, so we headed to the Taos Pueblo, which was interesting, although we skipped the official tour.  

St. Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe, NM

chili pepers - Taos

View in St. Francis' courtyard, Santa Fe 

One of many dogs at Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo

We departed Santa Fe on October 9th and arrived in Albuquerque.  Our 'blue highway' route on Highway 14 took us through the very small, artsy town of Madrid.  It was really busy!  Not interested in stopping to shop, we did a 'drive-by' and waved at the tourists who flocked to that small town.  

We had booked a space at the RV park operated as part of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (AIBF).  Located on a number of acres just across the street from the Fiesta Park, we learned over 2000 RV's parked there.  Being RV wimps, we paid extra for the privilege of having water and electricity.  The majority of folks 'dry camped' (ran their generators and/or used solar for power and filled their water tank before or during arrival).  We were immediately impressed with the entire logistics of this event - beginning with the RV park, which was run by a slew of friendly and helpful volunteers.  A regular shuttle during event times was available to take us to and from the RV park to the actual launch field.  There were no balloon events on Monday when we arrived, in large part due to weather (too windy).

We learned that all the events slated for the days we would be there occurred in the early morning hours.  Who knew we'd have to get up at "oh-dark-hundred" to see the balloons launch?  Being early risers (usually), it wasn't a problem, but we had to get Fergus up and out for a walk before we left as only service dogs are allowed at the actual balloon fiesta.

We enjoyed three mornings of launches - each different.  The first day was great; the second day was awesome, with a larger number of balloons going up; and the third day (our last) even better.  It was "Children's Day" and also "Special Shapes" day, with some amazing and beautifully designed balloons.  Some of these special shape balloons didn't actually launch, but most of them did and the sky was filled with Smokey the Bear; a peg-legged pirate parrot; an armadillo, a couple of frogs, an octopus, a beautiful fish, and many more.  Our favorite balloon that morning was a little boy in a wheelchair, holding and gazing at a star in his hand.  What a thoughtful and inclusive balloon!  This was a huge balloon - located next to the largest balloon of a motorcycle and rider and although  neither launched that day, they stayed inflated for the morning events.

Attending the AIBF was on our 'bucket list' and we were so happy to be able to see it.  We'd encourage you to try to attend if/when you have an opportunity.  Even one of the balloon pilots (our RV park neighbor) told us the AIBF was the best organized/well run events he'd flown in.  

We departed Albuquerque on October 12th and headed to Gallup, NM.  Enroute, we stopped by the visitor center for El Malpais National Monument, which was interesting and informative.  This is a large area of NM full of old lava flows and lava tubes.  We opted not to go into the park, but got a sense of its unique beauty through photo displays in the visitors center.  

We stayed in Gallup for two days, giving us an opportunity to tidy up the RV, shower and do some laundry.  At this point in our journey, all our stops are starting to run together, but  it was a nice KOA campground, with a fenced dog run.

We headed to Flagstaff - some of it on old Route 66 (as was Gallup, etc) - and drove through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Park.  We had stopped here in 2008, but couldn't recall seeing the entire park, so we enjoyed seeing both of these sites.  

Painted Desert

Portion of petrified tree in Petrified Forest NP

Painted Desert Inn - (old Harvey House)

Rusted out car on Historic Route 66, in Painted Desert

   We spent just one night in Flagstaff prior to driving up to the east rim of the Grand Canyon.  We stopped at the Cameron Trading Post and enjoyed brunch (finally got to eat a Navajo taco!) - before heading into the Grand Canyon.  We were able to camp inside the National Park this visit.  The park's amazing shuttle system enabled us to get from the campground to the rim of the canyon to take both sunset and sunrise photos of the canyon.  Totally awesome! We would like to return again to the Grand Canyon as there's so much more to see and do in this beautiful park. 

View of the Colorado River from east rim of Grand Canyon 

Desert View Watch tower - east rim, Grand Canyon

Sunset at Mather Point, Grand Canyon

Sunrise at Grand Canyon - Mather Point

Another sunrise photo

Elk calf in our RV campground - Grand Canyon

Raven at Grand Canyon

 We departed the Grand Canyon on October 16 and headed to Kingman, AZ, where we spent the night.  From there, we drove into Nevada, stopping by Hoover Dam, which was impressive.  We had no desire to visit Las Vegas, but as we drove by, we silently thought of the deadly mass shooting that left 58 dead - and hoped that some day soon (our lifetime???), this country's leaders would ban assault weapons.  That would be the best way to honor these dead and injured victims - not to mention the victims of all the other mass shootings in the USA.

We decided to stay in Pahrump, as it was an easy distance from there to Death Valley National Park - and, because we liked its name.  We stopped by one of their 3 casinos the next morning, ate breakfast and Jim gambled a whopping $5.00 before we hit the road to Death Valley on October 19th.  

Death Valley NP is the last of the National Parks we plan to visit on our Great Southwest Adventure - and it was also amazing.  So vast, hot and starkly beautiful.  We kept thinking of the Shoshone tribe who live there and the early pioneers, miners, and others who ventured into this seemingly uninhabitable environment.  We enjoyed our stop at Zabriskie Point and camped overnight at Stovepipe Wells, that enabled us to have the luxury of hookups to run the air conditioning (it was 95 degrees when we set up camp).   It cooled off nicely in the evening and morning - and we set out of the NP through the Panamint Valley to Tehachapi.  The change in weather was startling!  We encountered strong winds that seemed determined to tip Tiny Tin over as we drove - and much colder temperatures.  A real shock to our systems, but perhaps good preparation for getting home.   

We're pretty much like 'barn sour' horses and are now anxious to get home.  We have about 10 days left on our journey and will meander our way back to Seattle.  In spite of our running joke about our house sitters (and the envisioned empty house) - we know they have done an amazing job of taking excellent care of our home.  

Not sure if we'll post any more about this trip - but we're both happy with how many beautiful places we were able to visit and family and friends we were able to see.  Happy Trails to all.  

Amargosa Opera House & Hotel, Death Valley Junction, CA  

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley

Sunset at Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley NP

Sunrise at Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley NP (above & below)

Looking down the pass into Panamint Valley, Death Valley NP

More desert at Death Valley

Backside of Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam