There and back again......

 

We returned from out trip to the Grand Canyon North Rim yesterday.  This photo was taken from the Navajo Bridge, which is at the "bend" of the drive through the Vermillion Cliffs, pictured below....

This photo does no justice to them at all.  It was a beautiful drive though!  The drive was longer than it should have been.  It was raining when we left, and unfortunately there were two quite terrible wrecks that created a long back up of stand-still traffic.  We creeped forward a few feet at a time.  It took 90 minutes to get back on the road, only to be delayed again to another accident.  So, it took us 2 hours to drive 70 miles.  

Luckily we didn't experienced any more.  It was smooth sailing for the rest of the drive.  Which was long.  Did I mention that?  At least we arrived before dark, and checked in to our cabin.  I had forgotten how tiny they are.  You really can't do too much in the bathroom...it was difficult to use a hair dryer, since the plugs are old enough that your plug won't stay in if you jiggle them at all.  Still, it was a nice break from tv, and cell phones (since they rarely worked).  We went on some long hikes, and saw some pretty amazing things. If you go, keep in mind there were only two (yep, count em) plugs in the whole of the cabin.  Trying to keep phones charged was a bit of a challenge. 

It has been 30 years since we've been to the north rim.  There are many more cabins than there used to be!  I estimated that they've built at least 60-75 more.  But they did do a great job, because if you had never been before, you would never know.  They do have larger cabins (the one we had slept 3), so if your family wants to do a trip together, they can handle it. 

Pros to staying in the park:  It's a long drive into the park ~ probably about 45 min to an hour.  Probably not terribly cheaper, although I did not check into that.  If you're staying for more than a day (and there were quite a few day-trippers) that long drive into the park is annoying.  

Cons to staying in the park: If you didn't make reservations for dinner dining, it's a toss of the dice if you'll be able to eat in the dining room.  Of course there are options, there's the deli which has pre-made refrigerated sandwiches (yuck), yogurt parfaits, etc.  They do have a selection of sandwiches or pizza you can order.  They are edible, especially if you're starving because you've been hiking and walking all day.  We ate there 3 out of the 4 days.  I vote the chicken salad sandwich as the best of the bunch.  The pizza smelled vile, we never gave that an option, but great for kids who aren't as picky.

Trick to scoring a dining reservation if you didn't do it in advance (which I only discovered by accident): Get on your phone and make a reservation....I lucked out on our last night and scored one.  Do not count on the people at the reservation desk telling you to do that, they just simply tell you they have  no open spots.  Which really annoyed me.  Why not tell people to go online and schedule?  I guess they would be too busy 😡.

And now for the photos:

The north rim has a small herd (at least from what I saw, probably 50-80 animals) of bison.

This is Harry, unofficially name horned toad.  Doesn't it look like a teeny tiny dinosaur?  And they are tiny, much smaller than the horned toads I'm used to seeing...probably a little bigger than a quarter...

They do have weight limits for riders!  It is expensive to take these rides these days too, I believe the average ride costs about $100.

Rain off in the distance....

Point Final....well worth the hike.

Ok, maybe that's enough for now!  You have no idea how many photos I took.  Lots and lots, lol.  How can you not, with all of that scenery in front of you.  

Romeo had started to feel tired and not great on our last full day, and not well at all on the drive home.  We tested when we were home, and it was negative for Covid until the next day....positive on the next, with me following day.  Isn't that awesome?  I had to cancel baking at church, dinner with friends, happy hour with ex-coworkers.  I do have an appointment on Tuesday, which will be day 6.  I am going to call them today to see if they want me to reschedule.  We were able to start the anti-viral medications within a day or two of the positive result.  Romeo's doc prescribed them with no problems, but my doc wanted to do a video visit before doing so.  She seemed rather reluctant to give them to me, and asked me to sign an "I understand the risks" form.  I think her main reluctance was that a percentage of people have rebound symptoms a week or so after finishing the 5 day regimen.  We do feel much better.  Romeo has one day left, and I have 2.  Just like the vaccine, this medication was made available without a lot of testing.  The only side effect that I've experienced is a nasty taste in my mouth, which is more noticeable on the evening dose than the morning dose.  But hey, I feel better, and the percentage of people who experience the rebound of symptoms (and again testing positive) is less than 5-10 percent.  I think that's worth the risk.

Have a fun long weekend!  

Love, 365