8/20 North Rim Grand Canyon National Park

 Most tourists visit the South Rim because it has the most hotels, campgrounds, museums, restaurants, gift shops, bike rentals, and a lot of other things.  The north rim has only one lodge, which is really just a gift shop, restaurant, and a couple of lovely patios with great views.  People staying at the lodge actually stay in one of the dozens of rustic cabins in the area.  

The advantage of the north rim is the lack of visitors and the resulting quiet.  Hardly any buses full of tourists ever show up, and there is only one road in and out, and a single parking lot, so no need for shuttles.  Disadvantages are a long drive in and not very many choices of places to stay or eat.   

My drive in was pretty rainy, but at least there was very little traffic.

When you see this sign, you still have several miles before you get to the campground and visitor center.

There are only 11 sites in this north rim campground big enough for my motorhome.  And because the campground is very old, the sites that are deemed big enough are very likely to be hard to get into and unlevel.  You can see how I have my wheels on this side propped up on boards. There are also no electrical hookups and limited hours when you can use your generator, so you need to be careful about using up too much of your battery capacity before morning.  Nice place, however, with huge trees!

 

 

This is the view of one of the side canyons across the road from my site.  

There is a fairly decent camp store with a few souvenirs and some food items for sale.  I was happy to also see some recycling bins, so I got rid of a lot of the bottles I have been carrying around.

 

 

This map shows how the North Rim tourist area is on a long peninsula that juts into the canyon, with the visitor center and lodge at the very tip, where Bright Angel Trail meets the north rim.  The campground is about a third of the way up on the western side.  There is a 1.5 mile trail from the campground to the visitor center, so I foolishly thought I could walk it.

 

The trail tends to be not too busy and follows the side canyon, so there are lots of good views along the way.  Unfortunately, it is windy and goes up and down a lot, so not easy in this very high altitude.

 

I have not got the slightest idea what this round thing is.  I guess it must be a flat rock, but I have no idea how it was formed.  Any ideas???

More path.

Some ruins along the way. 

This was as far as I got on my hike.  There was a picnic table there and a good view of the main canyon, but I had walked a mile and had a half-mile to go, but decided it was too far in this high altitude.  Chatted with some folks and headed back to the campground.

So the next day, I drove the couple of miles to the visitor center and was lucky to find easy parking.  This is the overlook to Roaring Springs, which is where both sides of the canyon get their water.  The main pipe to the North Rim was broken for almost two years, so while you could drive in for the day, the cabins at the lodge and the campground were closed.  

These are some of the lodge cabins.  I don't know what they are like inside, but they are definitely old. Think I like my motorhome instead. 

Yes, it has been raining again. The visitor's center is to the left and the lodge

 

 

You don't have to stay at the lodge to spend the day sitting on one of these two balconies.

 

 

 

 

 

Great views!! 

 

 

If it is cold or rainy outside, you can sit in this large indoor porch. 

 

 

The dining room. 

 

 

I had noticed a lot of trees in the campground and along the walk I took that had scars from lightning.  Can you see the scar running from the ground upwards on this old tree? 

Tomorrow, I am driving to Bryce Canyon to get my wheel bearings checked and packed on Monday morning.  There is a gas station there that does mechanical work on buses, trucks, and RVs,  I discovered this place a couple of years ago when I had a "Check Engine" light come on and discovered I needed all new spark plugs and some new coils on my v10 engine.  They had it done in less than five hours while I rode the shuttle through the national park.  

However, this time, I will be meeting a couple of RVing friends who will drive me around and maybe join me for lunch somewhere. 

 

8/17 Brief Drive Past Monument Valley & Forrest Gump Site

I have been through Monument Valley NavajoTribal Park a couple of times, but this time, I was headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, so I just drove past and spent a quick night at a local campground.  The views, however, are always worth capturing, even if you do not stop.

McPhee Recreation Area and the Canyon of the Ancients Museum are in southwest Colorado, so close to the Four Corners area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet.  You drive through Navajo, Ute, and Hopi Indian land, with some spectacular scenery.  Here is just some of it as you approach the Monument Valley area. 

So why are all those people pulled over in the middle of nowhere?? 

 

 

Remember the Forrest Gump movie when he has been running back and forth across the country, but then stops and decides he has had enough??  This is the place!!  

 

And a whole bunch of people are standing in the middle of the road taking photos.  Unfortunately, I missed taking a photo of the guy who was literally lying on his stomach on the yellow line so he could get the perfect photo.  Way down the road, you can see another group of cars and people taking photographs.  I, of course, had to drive around these guys without hitting any of them!  

Ah, a nice empty road!

This was taken the next morning on the way to Kayenta, a tiny town in northern Arizona that has not only a grocery store, but a McDonald's, Taco Bell, and a Burger King!  Ah, civilization!! 

The summer monsoons have hit these Four Corners states this year with a vengeance.  It seems to rain somewhere nearby several times a day, although you may not be in the direct path, one of these little storms will eventually hit where you are.  The result over the past week has been flooding and puddles in the desert.

All the rain has also resulted in a very green desert!!  Unfortunately, while the rain has increased inflow to Lake Mead, the outflow has still been exceeding the inflow, so the lake is not recovering. 

Next stop will be the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

8/16 Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center & Museum

This very nice museum is located next to McPhee Recreation Area, near Dolores, CO.  I had been here several years ago, but it had changed its name in the meantime.  It was worth seeing again, however.  It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management along with the Navajo and other peoples of the area.  

I highly recommend stopping by here if you are near Mesa Verde, which is only a few miles away.  There are good hiking trails in the area and the museum staff will direct you to ruins and other native sites and provide booklets on other things to see in the area.  https://www.blm.gov/learn/interpretive-centers/CANM-visitor-center-museum

I like this ceramic cat! 

Just some photos of the inside:

One interesting exhibit was this reconstruction of a pit house.

By the way, the weather has been sunny and cool at these high altitudes, so it was pleasant for camping and for just walking around.