G&T's Excellent Adventure

MON., NOV 7, 2022 thru FRI., NOV 11, 2022

We arrived at Trailer Village RV Park in the Grand Canyon (South Rim) on Mon., Nov. 7th! In the afternoon over tea Cheryl & I strategized our first day’s exploration which was to begin tomorrow.

The video below is from Gary’s GoPro that was mounted to the hood of our truck and shows a short snippet of our 147-mile ride from Page, Arizona on Hwy 89 South.

The advantage of this campground is that it’s in the national park. This time of year the campground is half empty, which is great because the sites are rather tight and the campground roads rather narrow. Not so sure I’d want to be here in the summer! Below are some photos of our drive here and last night’s moon with two contrails criss-crossing it. 

Tues., Nov. 8th, was our first day’s exploration of the Grand Canyon! Cheryl had been here before but it was the first time for the other three pod members. Carved over 6 million years ago, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, a vertical mile deep and is easily visible from space. Over half the canyon is preserved in the National Park. The size and scope take your breath away. It is glorious and massive, and none of it would exist without the Colorado River which flows through the National Park. 

We caught the shuttle bus just outside the entrance to the campground and headed first to the Visitors Center. There are several shuttle bus routes that are managed by the park service. They are narrated, run often, and make frequent stops so are quite helpful for getting around. For our first day’s exploration we walked 4 miles of the 14-mile Rim Trail stopping every few feet for photos. Thankfully we’re here for several more days because we’ve only just scratched the surface. There’s lots more to see!

A short video to capture some of the Grand Canyon’s splendor…

On Wed., Nov. 9th we had morning snow, wind and a gray day. Thankfully it wasn’t a travel day! The boys waited until the snow had abated then headed out for a supply run to work on a project over at the Hannaford’s Tiny Home. C&J had rear cabinets that came loose above their sofa while traveling here. Another fine example of the condition of our roads in this country! The guys worked their magic and got the cabinets back up on the wall, stronger and more stable than ever before. Cheryl & I had scheduled a playdate while they tackled that. We played Qwirkle then Rummikub over at our tiny home. 

The weather was much better on Thursday if a bit chilly… temps in the 30s but sunny and no wind! We’ll take it. We headed into the park again with C&J. This time we took the shuttle to the furthest point… Hermit’s Rest and also visited Pima Point and Hopi Point. Constructed in 1914, “Hermit’s Rest was built to provide modern comforts garbed in primitive quaintness for the convenience of the traveler.” Love that! It was built by Mary Colter who was a full-time architect/designer/decorator for the Fred Harvey Company. She designed and oversaw the construction of 8 buildings on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon NP. Her work is everywhere! Hermit’s Rest is now a “curio shop” but it has a great fireplace and interesting architecture. On this day we hiked various parts of the Rim Trail and enjoyed beautiful views once again! It’s hard to over estimate the size of the Grand Canyon. It’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island and absolutely takes your breath away! 

Because you haven’t seen enough photos of the Grand Canyon, here’s a few more from our hike on Friday, Nov. 11th around Yaki Point, South Kaibab Trailhead and Pipe Creek Vista. We only walked about 1 1/2 miles. It was cold … 37 degrees but with a strong wind!

Without the Colorado River none of this would exist. It carved the Grand Canyon over the course of millions of years. It’s humbling to be here and gratifying to know that this will be preserved for decades and centuries going forward.

Tomorrow we move on to the town of Williams, about an hour away, where we’ll catch a vintage train to ride back into the Grand Canyon for a final visit and lunch at a historic hotel. The girls are very excited about the train!

P.S. Regarding the photos, I don’t say it often enough but thank you to Cheryl & Joe for taking photos that capture Gary & I… both posed and candids. This is a team sport!