3: Grand Canyon

Dear Friend,

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last post. How are you doing? Of course, we hope that all is well in your world and that you and yours have been staying healthy and just ornery enough.

A couple of weeks ago, while standing in the sunshine at our campground near Wikieup, AZ, we were talking with another camper about our plans to travel north.

She practically screamed, “Are you crazy? No! You can’t! It’s too cold!” She then listed several more reasons that it would be a bad idea, and said that even in a four-seasons trailer, we’d be miserable. We were quiet and thanked her. We appreciated her advice.

But we aren’t out here to be comfy, it’s about the photos and adventure, we don’t know when we’ll have another opportunity like this.

So, we left the sunny skies of Wikieup, AZ, said, ‘Good bye, for now,’ to the saguaros, and headed northward. As we drove through Williams, AZ, we doubted our northward decision for just a moment. The town wasn’t thawing out from its last snow, and there was still a lot of ice in the shadows and, most concerning, there was deep, sludgy mud along the roadsides. We’d planned to stop further up the highway at a BLM campground and wondered if the dirt roads would be sound enough to pull our trailer through. The sun would be going down soon and we wanted to find a place to stop before dark.

The first forestry road we took off of Highway 64 seemed ok for a bit but then became very squishy and full of deep puddles and ultimately became a small, round pond. There could have been drama, but Frank was able to turn us around on a narrow, solid spot. He made it look easy, (well done, Frankie), and back onto the highway we pulled. Whew!

We camped within a maze of Forestry roads off of Highway 64 for two nights. Our days there were sunny and were spent exploring the labyrinth of roads on foot, working and writing, painting, guitaring, and processing photos. The cell signal was good (AT&T), and our solar panels soaked in the sunshine. The night temps were chilly, but that was expected. 

We saw bunnies, coyotes, deer and birds, like this hawk friend.

We then headed a short drive to Mather Campground, Grand Canyon, still in sunshine, high temp of 62• F.  The campground is in a nice forest of fairly tall pine trees. Unbeknownst to us, we’d reserved a campsite with an open canopy, our solar panels did a jig. There is a dumpster for garbage, the bathrooms have flushing toilets and cold-water sinks, and there are potable water pumps next to each bathroom. There is also a laundry / shower room located about ½ a mile away. And, due to the time of year, the campground has been nearly empty, there may be five other occupied campsites on any particular day.

An iconic National Park wasn’t in our budget, but we have a ‘Sr Lifetime Pass’ that allows us to enter the park, free of charge, and the campsites are ½ price. So, for over a week, we’ve stayed planted, less than a mile walk from the rim of Grand Canyon.

To say that the canyon is whelming is an understatement; it is big. The rim trail is an easy stroll with stunning, ever-changing views.

The sense of gravity can be dizzying for some.

Vast open-sky floats over limitless expanses of textures, colors and heights, visually melding together countless rock formations of unfathomable sizes and depths. It is incredible.

There are challenging trails into the canyon to walk/hike/run if you wish and there are signs posted, warning that going down is an option but coming back up is mandatory.

There is so much beauty here to explore!

We were careful to pace ourselves when hiking down into the canyon, it’s not an easy trek back up.

As far as weather goes during our visit, the snow didn’t come until yesterday. What a treat! (More about snow next week).

Even without taking your body on a hike down into the canyon, just being in its presence with eyes closed is a unique adventure for the heart, mind and soul.

During warmer seasons, this is a place to look for California Condors. Ravens are full-timers.

As are deer.

And, whenever you’re alone but feel like someone’s watching you, you’re probably right, it might be an elk.

So much personality!

This letter is just a short postcard of what you’ll find here. Geological and historical information and creative education is posted all along the Rim Trail, you can learn a ton without even entering a Visitor Center or the Geology Museum.

Scientists and geologists are still discovering clues as to how the Grand Canyon came to be.

I found a YouTube video that will help explain: How Lava Flow Shapes the Grand Canyon. And, another, in case you’d like to prep for your visit here, How to Hike Smart in the Grand Canyon. (Both links follow this letter).

Thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post! We’re grateful, every day, for you and for your willingness to check-in to see what’s up with us. If you’d like, please Write to Us, we sincerely enjoy hearing from you.

Wishing you and yours plenty of warmth and abundant good health!

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank

Here are the links to the two YouTube videos I mentioned:

How Lava Flow Shapes the Grand Canyon

Hike Smart in the Grand Canyon