Eric and I are both feeling better, but are still suffering from the hot, dry change in climate. Eric actually got a bloody nose this morning! His headache is gone and the Drixoral, which Dr. Larry recommended, really helped me. Nevertheless, we decided we definitely didn’t want to go further south in Arizona, because it would just get hotter and drier and we are already suffering from the effects of this drastic change in climate.
We had planned to go to the Grand Canyon for over a week, but hadn’t made it yet. We were clearly procrastinating. I don’t know why, but Eric was not very enthusiastic about going. Part of it was the fact that he felt riding down the mountain in Moab was more spectacular, because he was actually IN the canyon, not just on the edge looking over. Since they don’t let you mountain bike the Grand Canyon, and Eric’s not into hiking, we were just going to look over the edge. I told him it would impress him, because it is SO huge – after all, GRAND is in its name!
My problem is: I’m afraid of heights. It’s not the kind of fear that makes me afraid to go up to the top of the Empire State Building. I feel safe there. It’s the kind of fear that makes me nervous standing at the edge of a balcony, or if people walk too close to the edge of a cliff. You know what I mean. I’m afraid of falling off (or someone else falling off).
The combination of his being kind of blasé and me being more than a little afraid made us keep putting it off. We went to Sedona for a few days, then Flagstaff, then back to Williams. But I was determined that I wasn’t going to finish this trip without seeing the Grand Canyon, and Eric agreed that it was worth doing. So, today we finally went.
We were already in Williams, so we went to Route 66 (our new favorite hangout) and had breakfast at the TYPHOON SALOON AND RESTAURANT in WILD WEST JUNCTION. It had the feeling of an old west saloon (although they don’t serve liquor), and had lots of great western memorabilia.
Eric, and a few others, making me EXTREMELY nervous:
It was a fast trip from Williams to Tusayan, Arizona, where the Grand Canyon is located – less than an hour away. We parked the car on the side of the road and went to see some of the views. Spectacular! It’s really just so much bigger than you can imagine. We walked around a bit, took some pictures, then got back in the RV, drove a couple more miles, parked the car in the RV lot, got on the shuttle bus, and went to the GRAND CANYON VISITOR CENTER, on the South Rim.
We walked to the view from there, and ended up being just about a half mile up from where we originally stopped, but the views seem to be the same all around. There are miles and miles of beautiful mountains with tiers of color, occasional trees and shrubs, and a LONG way down. I guess the views would differ depending on the time of day, time of year and weather conditions, but I guess I was as blasé as Eric, because we only walked about a mile altogether and I had seen quite enough. There were just too many people standing out on rocks, posing for pictures, or taking pictures, and it made me so nervous!
We took the shuttle bus back to the RV and, in less than 4 hours, were back on the road to Williams. We came, we saw, we photographed. I’m glad we went. It was definitely worth the trip. If you’re interested, you can take a jeep, helicopter, airplane, bus, mule, horse, raft, or hike the canyon, but none of that is my cup of tea, and Eric felt the same way.
The thing that amazed Eric the most is that all of the canyon was under water millions of years ago. Boy, have things changed!
Listening to the people as we passed, we heard so many different languages. People from all over the world come to see the Grand Canyon!
Seeing the size of the people in relation to the canyon, really puts it all in perspective!
After the short drive back to Williams, we registered at RAILSIDE RV RESORT and talked about our day. The truth is, we were glad we went, but we both had a better time visiting our friends in New Orleans and Chicago, visiting Graceland, or seeing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Those days were much more memorable for us.
Having decided that we don’t want to go further south in Arizona, we decided to head West on I-40 and see where it takes us. We will probably head into California, before meeting our friends in Las Vegas on the 22nd. After that, we’re heading to San Diego, and this dream vacation will come to an end. I’m really not happy about it, and neither is Eric.
We could easily do this for a year!