Go West Old Men: A Travel Memoir. Part 11

We made it.

“It is a vast wilderness of rocks in a sea of light, colored and glowing like oak
and maple woods in autumn, when the sun gold is richest.”

John Muir, Scottish-American naturalist

This is Part 10 of the story, follow these links to see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Ah, There You Are

In the morning, after a chilly night at Kaibab National Forest. Did I mention it was cold? We packed up once again and made our way to the South Rim Campground at the Grand Canyon.
Before setting up camp, we spent some time talking to the rangers about upcoming plans. That included plans for off-roading to Point Sublime and our two-day trek into Tuweep.

But for now, we were establishing our base at Mather Campground at the South Rim. We had a canyon to see.

This was our first set up of the full camp experience.

Scott’s tent presumably slept eight people…who would have had to be very close friends…it also came with a

Our first view.

screened in porch which came in handy. Next to that we put the canopy I brought, and we had ourselves a home away from home.

After lunch we set out to find the canyon.

Santa Fe Railway brought the first steam-powered train to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1901. The area began to develop into Grand Canyon Village. Today the area includes historic buildings along with modern gift shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. This would be our home for the next couple of days.

Grand Canyon National Park at the South Rim has a great series of trails and buses. You can literally take a bus to all of the ooh and ah spots and not have to do very much walking at all.
But we were prepared to do a lot of walking. Well, until I wasn’t.

We had plenty of neighbors in the campsite. This is Elk Summer (IYKYK). We often heard the males “bugling” in the night.

We caught the blue line from our campsite and rode to the village.

And there it was, just where I’d left it some forty-three years ago. It took that long to make it back. I wanted to find the path I’d walked for about a mile back then. Likewise, I was looking for a particular gift shop. Not because there was anything I needed. It was just stuck in my memory.

After an initial look we changed from the blue line to the red line and went all the way out to Hermit’s Rest. There are multiple stops along the way, and you never have to wait more than twenty minutes for the next bus.

We decided to hike our way back. But the air is thinner there and I am not.

Even with the knee braces and the hiking poles, I could only do so much. We mapped out a plan. Scott would

The three-year-old on the trail who asked his mama “why are there old people here?” will be getting a healthy ration of coal this Christmas.

hike from a certain point. I would ride the bus a little further back toward the village and hike from there.

In the end, I did about a mile’s worth of hiking that day. Not too bad considering.

And the view, oh the view. I was able to see the trail where I’d walked in 1980 and watch the line of burros taking visitors down to the bottom.

I still didn’t have a handle on the gift shop.

Back at the village, I waited a bit for Scott, then we had a nice dinner in the more casual side of the Lodge.

Day one at the Canyon was complete.

It had literally taken me forty-three years to make it back. A young man’s dream of coming back to hiking the canyon turned into an old man’s dream to come back and stir up some memories.

Those memories are stirred again as I’m writing this.

I have to wonder what would have been different if I’d not taken so long to make that left turn in Albuquerque.

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Go West Old Men: A Travel Memoir. Part 10

The Painted Desert

This is Part 10 of the story, follow these links to see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

We got some kicks on Route 66.

In Just 17 Days, I Can Make You A Man

Dr. Frank. N. Furter, paraphrased.

I am not a camper. But I played one for two weeks.

We got up early with our plans to hit the canyon and set up camp before nightfall.

Those were the plans anyway.

At the Albuquerque Walmart we shopped for bottled water, Gatorade, and a few more staples for cooking at the campsite. Then we were back on the road heading west.

Throughout the planning process, we agreed that we would be flexible in terms of scheduling, and we’d be flexible in things we wanted to see. That way if we realized we were close to something worth checking out, we’d do it. That’s how we ended up in the Painted Desert. Traveling along Route 66, we agreed that we should stop.

In the 1540s Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado called the multi-hued expanse of pigmented rock “El Desierto Pintado.” Today, when you travel along 1-40 (which is also Route 66) you drive by or through an area where the mesas climb up in stratified layers pigmented by ping, orange, and purple mineral deposits. Much of the area to the north lies in the Navajo Nation where tribal regulations are in force.

Relic Road Brewing Company, Winslow, Arizona

We drove through to the highway on northern side making several scenic stops along the way. About mid-day we got back on the highway heading west.

We had a corner to stand on.

In the Town of Winslow, we had lunch at the Relic Road Brewing Company before shopping and taking the requisite picture in “Standin’ on the Corner” Park.

This corner inspired the Eagles’ song “Take it Easy.”

Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me

This was, I believe, the very first of our “we have to do this” stops along the way.

We left Winslow and headed toward the South Rim of the Grand Canyon where we had reservations to set up camp for the next three nights. We were looking forward to getting settled in, having our first camp meal, and finally seeing the canyon.

Editor’s Note: That’s not what happened.

A few miles out of Grand Canyon Village traffic came to a dead stop. We soon learned that recent rains had caused flash flooding and that the roads to the village were impassable.

Grand Canyon, straight ahead?

We had options. One was to wait and spend most of the night in the Jeep waiting for the roads to clear. After we’d been sitting for over an hour, word came up the line that authorities were projecting the road to be clear in about three hours.

‘Rare’ Grand Canyon flooding forces 100 to evacuate near park (The Washington Post)

A three hour tour. So to speak.

We punted.

Scott went online quickly and found that we were near Kaibab National Forest. Kaibab is a Paiute Indian word meaning “mountain lying down.”

Fortunately there were several available campsites. We quickly set up the tent and settled in for the night.

Well, we sort of settled. I was convinced that I would never be warm again.

I knew that temperatures would drop on the North Rim, but I was caught a bit off guard by how cold it was to the South.

Chalk it up to inexperience and to the fact that I live very close to sea level.

We weren’t there yet. But we were close.