Desert View - Day 21 - Out of the Grand Canyon

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8:33 am - Friday - December 1st - Grand Canyon - 37º F, 55 % humidity, wind 1 mph out of the southwest.....partly cloudy with a forecast high of 59º F.

We wanted to get an early start on our drive down to Flagstaff, but didn't get away until after 9:30 am......we haven't been outside the friendly confines of the GC since we arrived 3 weeks ago.  As we cruised southward on SR-64 the skies had this leaden quality to them as clouds covered them from horizon to horizon.  It is essentially all down hill from the eastern entrance to the Grand Canyon.....in a little over 27 miles you descend from approximately 7,400' elevation all the way to just over 4,200' elevation in Cameron, AZ where we made a right hand turn on to US-89 for the final 50+ miles into Flagstaff where we would again find ourselves over 7,000' elevation.

We arrived in Flagstaff after an uneventful drive around 11 am where our first stop was at the local 'Savers Thrift Store'.....we previously visited another 'Savers' in Salt Lake City in mid October, and were very impressed with the quality of their merchandise.....we were not disappointed in this branch of the same store.  TLE and I found a few things without which we believed we could not live, and then it was on to the local Goodwill where TLE found a nice pair of pants......in all we spent less than $17.

TLE's sister, Phyllis, happened to be in Flagstaff visiting her daughter and grand daughter so we arranged to meet her for lunch around 12 pm at a local craft beer place called 'The Lumberyard' (Yelp gives them 4 stars on over 900 reviews) which is just off Route 66 on San Francisco Street.  Phyllis and I ordered their BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Bacon) sandwich, and for TLE I cannot remember.  We all had a pint of their Pumphouse Porter, which was exquisite.  The conversation flowed for almost two hours before we decided we needed to get on with our shopping spree in Flagstaff....we still had to do a major grocery shopping at Walmart and the local Safeway....it's been over a month since we really stocked up and our pantry was beginning to look pretty bare.....

 Left to right: Moi, Phyllis & TLE in front of 'The Lumberyard'

.....Phyllis had taken advantage of free parking a couple of blocks away, so we walked with her in that direction.....on our way I noticed some building murals......

Some building murals just around the corner

.......soon we reached the intersection where Phyllis' car was parked on a side street and said our 'until next times' before heading back to our car where we had paid $2 for two hours of parking.

It was a short drive over to the local Walmart Supercenter where we spent close to $200 on groceries, and then another few blocks over to Safeway were we spent another $150+.  From there we merged into US-89 headed back north to the Grand Canyon......it was about 2:45 pm at that time, and by 4 pm we were passing back through the eastern gate and back at the Newell by 4:05 pm.

We both commented what a great day it had been......we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Phyllis, and look forward to seeing her again next month when she again will be visiting her daughter and grand daughter, and we will again be stocking up on groceries again.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Desert View - Day 20 - Rim Trail

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8:05 am - Thursday - November 30th - Grand Canyon - 32º F, humidity 58%, wind 1 mph out of the southwest.....partly cloudy with a forecast high of 60º F......another nice day, and another reprieve from winter. In fact, we have three consecutive days with temps still in the 60's!

So, what about Wednesday?  Our last exploration was the previous Friday when we hiked, or I should say, I hiked the first 3.2 miles of the Grandview Trail.  For this hike I let TLE chose the trail and she settled in pretty quickly on the Rim Trail which runs from Yaki Point to Hermit's Rest.....about 10 miles in all.  We decided to hike from Yaki Point along the GC to the fork in the trail which would take us down to the 'Marketplace' store where we would have a lunch and then hike back to Yaki Point.....about 6.9 miles round trip.

You cannot park in the parking lot at Yaki Point......it is reserved for shuttle and tour buses only.  You have to park out on SR-64 and walk about 1/2 mile into the trail head.  Yaki Point is also the trailhead for the Kaibab Trail which is the shortest route, at just over 7 miles, to the bottom of the GC.

Upon our arrival at Yaki we found a small herd of elk cows......this one was right off the trail by about 5 feet....she just went about her business ignoring us for the most part.....

......since we plan to hike the Kaibab Trail in the near future we decided to walk down the trail about 300 yards to get a feel for it.  This trail is also used by mule trains going to the bottom so it is much wider than Grandview by a factor of 4, or 5.  This trail is much more to TLE's liking to say the absolute least.

A lot of switchbacks to begin the trail

......the colors in the Canyon this day were a little muted due to the heavy overcast, but I thought they were breathtaking, nevertheless.

 Some info on the Kaibab Trail

.....when we do hike the Kaibab Trail we will aim for Skeleton Point, about 3 miles down the trail.  We won't go to the bottom our first time.

Then it was on to the Rim Trail.....we took an 'usie' to memorialize the start of our hike and then headed out the paved Rim Trail.....

.....as you walk west you do not realize you are gradually heading downhill the grade is so subtle, and that is probably because you are walking, most of the time, right along the edge of the GC and spending all your time enjoying the views.....

I think this is the only fencing we encountered on our walk along the Rim Trail

......we reached the Marketplace General Store just before 2 pm.  You will recall we have eaten in their Deli once before and enjoyed the pizza we ordered.  This time TLE ordered a Rueben, and I their French Dip......would I normally pay almost $9 for each of these sandwiches?  Probably not.....but at 50% off (employee discount) they are perfect, and delicious!

We were back on the trail by 2:45 pm walking uphill......according to the final report on my Strava program we had elevation gain on the way back.....about 3.45 miles in all.....of 488'!!!  We felt everyone of those 488' feet in our legs and lungs.....

....I guess it just goes to show you that there are not really any flat trails here at the GC.....even if they seem to have that appearance......beware!

We were back at the car by 3:40 and on our way back home shortly thereafter.....we stopped off at the Desert View store to pick up a few packages which had arrived at the P.O. Box over the past few days.  Amazon Prime stuff gets here pretty fast......must faster than when we were in Gardiner, MT.  We next stopped at the on site fuel station to fill up our tank at $3.18/gallon for premium gasoline.....not too bad when you only take on 9 gallons.  It's expensive, but handy.  No doubt gasoline is cheaper in Flagstaff, or Williams, but we spend 95% of our time inside the GC .  TLE put about 5 gallons in a week ago, so since we arrived 3 weeks ago we've gone through less than one tank of gas.....not bad.

Okay, it's time to get ready to drive into Flagstaff (Thursday morning now), so I'll bid you all adieu, get something to eat, get dressed and in the VW for another adventure......thanks for stopping by!

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