Tourists on the North Rim

Yet another beautiful morning breaks in the North Rim campground. We really have been quite fortunate throughout this trip...it is more like summer than spring. Everywhere we have gone, the locals or park staff have told us that the winter was unusually mild and the current weather "unseasonably warm". Today we decided to see the North Rim like tourists, but without the sports team t-shirt and white sneakers. Early in the morning, Sue and Fletcher drove out to hike the Widforss trail while we stayed behind to enjoy our big cups of coffee and avail ourselves of the not-so-fast wi-fi on the front porch of fhe General Store. On her way to the store, Patty catches a deer in our campground...and some four-legged campers waiting for their staff to present their breakfasts..these canines are clearly well fed...big boys...

Gentlemen, your breakfast is served...

The porch of the General Store has wi-fi (even slow is better than none at all...the waits for photos to upload allow us to sip our Cafe Bustelo instant coffee, which, by the way, is fantastic, requires less muss and fuss, and tastes good enough for us coffee snobs to drink and enjoy...!) so we sit in comfy chairs on the porch and catch up on our photos and blog before hiking the 1.2 miles down to the Lodge and Visitor Center area.

While working on our iPads, an older gentleman sat down near us and asked "would it bother you if I talk?"... we assured him it would be no bother...we thought he meant he would be making a call on his cell phone. But then he started by telling us that the General Store coffee was not good at all, and asking us small-talk questions like "Where are you from?" We answered his questions best we could as we were creating photo albums, uploading them to our blogging app, reworking text for our next post, and sharing thoughts we wanted to include. We didn't want to seem rude, so we explained that we are on sabbatical and are blogging about our travels, and that's why we both had our eyes and fingers on our iPads. Before too long, we were simply waiting for the wi-fi to catch up to our fingers, and we turned our chairs to face our new friend, and we had a very enjoyable conversation. Our new porch-friend's name is Ron and he is from Oxnard, California. We learned from Ron that the weather in Ventura County California is fantastic, not too hot in the summer, and not too cool in the winter. Ron is 79 years old, and he too hiked the North Kaibab trail yesterday. He got to the Redwall Bridge and decided it was the right point to turn back. He said that on the return trip up to the rim of the canyon he had to stop about every 100 feet to rest. He also commented on the "young people" hiking up and down the trail at a fast pace with far more weight in their packs...we assure Ron that we too were feeling that same sentiment and we are only 50(ish)! We assured him that we would be ecstatic if we could do that hike (even the downhill...!) at his age, and that he had set the bar for us at age 79! Here's our friend (and inspiration) Ron from Oxnard...

After catching up in the blogosphere, we hit the trail and headed toward the Grand Canyon Lodge and Visitors Center. We took the same Transept Trail we walked on Sunday evening to catch the eclipse, but this morning we took our time to enjoy the views...

Michael just had to go out on the rock outcropping for this photo...

When we arrived at the lodge, it was much less crowded than on Sunday evening when both the trail and lodge patios were filled with people watching the eclipse. It was also the clearest day we have had at the Grand Canyon, so it was a great day to get some photos. There are two outlooks just down the stairs from the lodge...

We took a stroll through the Grand Canyon Lodge, and it looks like it would be a great place to stay...it has the look and feel of an old national park lodge...rustic and at the same time gracious and grand. In addition to the lodge, there are several dozen small log cabins for guests...very quaint and rustic, with rocking chairs on each cabin porch. The lodge is perched on the edge of the canyon and has two patios...one on each side of a large sitting room with soft leather couches and chairs, and a huge bay window with glass nearly from floor to ceiling that looks out over the canyon facing south. Along the covered walks around the lodge's circle drive lie the north rim post office, the Roughrider Saloon, a deli and the gift shop. An extremely rare sighting...phone booths!! We took some shots of it all and then did a little souvenir shopping.

One of the cabins closest to the lodge...

We shall return later to check out the Roughrider Saloon...

And we spotted a rare sight indeed...the last of a soon-to-be-extinct species...the pay phone booth...complete with phone books!!

After wandering through the lodge and grounds, we decided to take the short hike to Bright Angel Point. This narrow rock point juts out into the canyon with breathtaking views in almost 360 degreees...

This time, Patty climbed out to the ledge hanging over the canyon below...

Michael reaches the highest point on Bright Angel Point...and confirms it with a photo of the geological survey marker...

Boy, a 0.2 mile walk on pavement to Bright Angel Point can really work up a thirst, and how better to quench that thirst than by having a local brew at the Roughrider Saloon...named after the man who decided to make the Grand Canyon a national park, Teddy Roosevelt.

Looks like this may not be Michael's first beer...

Hey! Look who else decided to play tourist at the visitors center today...our three favorite canine campers! Someone's getting sleeeeppeeee....

After browsing through both the visitors center, book store and gift shop we decided to return to camp by a different route, the Bridle Path. Despite the name, we saw no brides or horses...but it did lead us along the forested canyon rim and afforded us more great views. We promised you a photo of the amazing water stations here at the park...and this one is right behind the Visitors Center. We topped off our water bottles before hitting the trail.

As we walked along the Bridal Path, we discoved the "backstage" of the North Rim...this is where all the employees live in large dorms, and the park machinery is kept and serviced.

This is the new Forest Service symbol for "high voltage"...

Once we returned to our campsite, we cleaned up, caught up on organizing our photos, and prepared for cocktail hour. As the afternoon progressed, the wind grew steadily so that by the time we were ready for our glass of white wine we had to move our chairs to the leeward side of the RV to get some relief. The winds were gusting up to 40mph, and are supposed to be even stronger tomorrow...good thing we did our ledge photos today!

As we enjoyed our wine and snacks watching people and campers come and go, this large RV pulled up across the road. We were amused by the fact that this camper decided to raise three of his four wheels up on blocks to try to make it level...not your typical approach. This made an already tall RV even more imposing...and we discussed whether or not the wind would knock it off its blocks...

After cocktails, it was off to the lodge for dinner and sunset in the main dining room. The dining room was full as it typically is, reservations are required months in advance because both lodge guests and campers alike can enjoy a hot meal served in the historic dining room. To be honest, the food is just OK, but that's really not why folks come to the dining room...it's really for the spectacular views from nearly every table. While we waited a few minutes for our table, Michael struck up a conversation with the young host...Ryan, this was his first season working at the lodge, his training consisted of being told to ask names, look on the list, signal the guy who seats guests, then put a line through the guest name. Michael assured young Ryan that he was doing a fine job...

By the time we finished our meal the sun had set and the canyon was getting darker. As we walked through the sitting room overlooking the canyon we spotted Brighty the Mule, a pack animal who must have been something special since he has been immoralized in bronze, and his inspirational story posted on the wall for all visitors to appreciate. We followed tradition and rubbed Brighty's nose for luck...

Out on the patio, we watched the stars emerge as the light faded from the western sky. The sliver of the new moon is accompanied by Venus as it rises above the horizon the the west...

Tomorrow we hit the road for our return drive to home. Due to the fact that we have added some miles by going to the North Rim, this trip will be completed in three segments...we learned from our consecutive long days of driving on our way south...

Miles hiked: a mere 3 miles. Travel time: 3 hours (including shopping and beers). Bugs killed: Zero