Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon



Farview Point




Lunch, my favorite time of the day




Bryce Point



Larry just standing there looking out over the rim



Rainbow Point



Remember to double click the pictures to see a larger version

Date: Monday, June 7th
Day: 24
RV Miles: 2,670
Location: Ruby's Inn, UT
Elevation: 8,024 ft

Humans are nuts. Larry and Marsha put us in the car and we spent the day visiting Bryce Canyon. We must have stopped 20 times so they could get out and take pictures. They were going ga-ga over a big hole in the ground and a bunch of rocks. I don’t get it.

Two or three times during the day Sasha and I got to get out of the car to check things out and see what was really going on. What is really going on is rocks. Rocks smell like rocks and the dust gets up your nose and makes you sneeze. Sasha and I agree that the only thing interesting was the picnic lunch. The effect this place has on humans is quite remarkable. Several times I notices humans just standing at the rim for 10 or 15 minutes gazing out over the rim without moving. Just standing there looking.

Larry and Marsha kept playing this stupid game rating the scenic views on a 1 to 10 scale. They started out at 11 and as the day wore on they got more and more jaded. Apparently, to humans the scenery there is so spectacular and there is so much of it after a few minutes you become jaded and begin to consider a view that is absolutely breathtaking as merely average 5 of 6 on their 1 to 10 scale. Larry and Marsha came back with over 200 photographs between them. Good grief!

Remember their vacation to Utah a few years ago and they brought back over 600 pictures of rocks. Well they are at it again . . . . groan. And then both Marsha and Larry say, “Bryce Canyon is beyond words and the scenery is beyond capturing on film.” And they bring back over 200 photo’s. I can’t understand why the human race hasn’t gone extinct.

At dusk they went back into the canyon to see the stars. Bryce Canyon is one of the best places in the US to see the stars because of its elevation and the absence of surrounding lights from cities. They went to Sunrise Point where you can see for at least 40 miles in all directions and after the sun went down they spent several minutes trying to find a light somewhere. All they saw during that time was three cars going down a highway over 15 miles away. Now, that is what is known as being “away from civilization.”

They didn’t get too far from civilization though. Here they were sitting in the car with the moon roof open and the seats reclined so they could just sit there and watch the stars. Ok, think back to your teenage days. What happens when a guy and a girl are parked in a very remote dark place at night. Right, they get rousted by the local police, just like the park ranger did to Larry and Marsha. Oh well there always is tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will travel to Glendale, Utah to get us into position to see Zion. The road to the Eastern entrance to Zion is under construction and is closed 8 hours a day so we need to get some information on that.

On the Road to Bryce Canyon, UT

The decent into Page, AZ. From Flagstaff to about 10 miles from Page you are constantly climbing, then you top the mountain and the decent into Page is spectular.




Leaving Page . . .




The Dam




Entering Utah - The scenery was spectacular - a photo will never captture it. Double click on the photo to see a bigger version.



The Road to Bryce Canyon. Beautiful and mountainous




Date: Sunday, June 6th
Day: 23
RV Miles: 2,670
Location: Ruby’s Inn, Bryce City, UT
Elevation: 8024 ft

Sorry for the blog black-out – been places with no phone service or Internet service.

We finished up our visit in Williams, AZ with a lazy rest day and then proceeded on to Page. Saturday when we got up Sasha was not feeling her normal chipper stuff and didn’t want to eat. And let me tell you, when she doesn’t want to eat she is sick. Larry found a vet that was right on the highway we needed to take to Page, AZ so we stopped there for about an hour to get her checked out. Doc gave her some pills and we were on our way again.

At first I figured, “It figures, I told you she was going to be a pain.” But, Larry gives her pills with peanut butter and that means I get some peanut butter as well. So this isn’t so bad.

When we got to Page (elevation 4273 feet), it was hotter than heck so we hunkered down in the air-conditioned RV. Sunday we moved on to Bryce Canyon. It was only about 150 miles but it took over four hours to get here due to the hills and the road. The roads were twisty-windy AND rough in places. Glad that is behind us.

Tomorrow Larry said we would all get to go see Bryce Canyon. The Canyon is about 18 miles long, the national park is about 20 miles long, and it seems like it is only 3 or 4 miles wide. There is one road that follows the rim on the canyon all the way to the end and that is it.

Grand Canyon by Rail

Williams Train Station



The Road to the Canyon



Marsha at the Grand Canyon



Larry at the Grand Canyon



Date: Thursday, June 3rd
Day: 20
RV Miles: 2,355
Location: Williams, AZ
Elevation: 6948 ft

Sasha thinks this place is “way cool” and I like it because it is not too hot. Part of the reason she thinks it is way cool is that we had some high school kids look in on us today.

Marsha and Larry headed off to take a train ride to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, leaving about 9AM and returning about 6PM. They arranged to have some kids look in on us ever few hours and give us a walk. Sasha just went gaga over them partly because they gave us dog biscuits each time they came in. I haven’t broke the news to her yet that this is not a “standard feature” of this campground, just an arrangement for the day. When I tell her she will be miffed and give me a good sound “whatever.”

My humans seemed to like the train ride and the canyon. While they were there they took a hike along the canyon rim. They said the sun was pretty hot although the air was reasonably cool with a slight breeze. Larry said they didn’t finish the hike because Marsha wore out and was panting due to the altitude. Larry was fine, probably because I take him on a 1 to 2 mile patrol every morning. I think I might need to start taking both of them on patrol. Problem is there is no way Sasha, Larry and/or I are going to get her up in the morning to go on patrol. Maybe I will need to institute a night patrol schedule so Marsha can get some more exercise.

After they got back from the canyon, we all got into a discussion about how we liked the places we had been to so far and here is the scorecard.

1. Huachuca City, AZ where we visited Tombstone, wine country and Sagauro National Park. Tombstone was the best because of the historical element and the western legends (Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral) element of the visit.
2. Williams, AZ where you can cool off and get a neat train ride to the Grand Canyon.
3. Carlsbad, NM with one of the most fantastic caverns you will ever see
4. White Sands, NM site of the world’s largest beach without an ocean and the visit to the quaint mountain town of Cloudcroft
5. Lake Havasu City, AZ finished last and will probably stay there. Hot miserable and a really bad campground. Everything is overpriced because the town is right on the lake and its only industry is supporting the weekenders who come up to visit with their boats.

Tomorrow we are hitting the road again and the debate is on about where and how we should go. With the heat to the South and West, I bet we head North.

Escape from Lake Havasu City and Happy Landing in Williams, AZ

An Arizona Desert Sunrise Near Tombstone



London Bridge











Our Campground




















Date: Wednesday, June 2nd
Day: 19
RV Miles: 2,355
Location: Williams, AZ
Elevation: 6948 ft

Hello from Williams, AZ. When Larry said we weren’t going to stop until we were above 6,000 feet he meant it. He beat that mark by almost another 1,000 feet! Before blowing Lake Havasu and the opportunity to see London Bridge, we drove into town and got a picture of it – see above. Then it was good riddance. At 5AM, when Sasha got Larry up it was 83 degrees and when we left town about 11AM it was 95 degrees.

Ok, let’s take inventory; what did we gain by leaving Lake Havasu City? Well when we arrived the temperature here was a very pleasant 82 degrees with a slight breeze. The campground floor is pine needles, not blacktop and for the first time in almost three weeks, we have shade. And, in addition to dumping a place we didn’t like we wound up with a bonus. Tomorrow Larry and Marsha are going to take the train to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. This will be OK with me even if I have to baby sit Sasha because in this quiet pine forest I will be able to nap very comfortably all day.

Marsha and Larry have all the camper windows open and the air conditioner is off for the first time in over two weeks. Sasha and I are very comfortable and neither of us panting. My tongue really appreciates the rest. Larry and Marsha look pretty happy as well.

Lake Havasu City and Headn' for the Hills

Date: Wednesday, June 2nd
Day: 19
RV Miles: 2,175
Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Elevation: 524 ft

Hello from Lake Havasu City – Goodbye Lake Havasu City.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we drove into Lake Havasu City. The purpose of the visit was to see London Bridge. Not really a visit just a photo-op so Marsha could say she had been to see the real original London Bridge.

When we got here the temperature was 104 and Larry checked the weather for today and it said 100 but they only predicted 94 degrees for Tuesday and it hit 104. To top it off we landed in the RV camp from hell. Actually it is more like the parking lot from hell: almost no space between sites and the entire campground was blacktopped. There is only one thing worse than being in a campground when the temperature is above 90 degrees and that is being in a campground that has been blacktopped. It just traps the heat from the sun (which they have no shortage of here in Arizona) and cooks you from below while the sun cooks you from above. The temperature on the blacktop is a good 10 to 15 degrees higher than the ambient temperature.

I had Larry check the weather forecast for Las Vegas, our next intended stop, and it seems they are having a weeklong heat wave there with temperatures over 100 degrees. At this point, I had a heart-to-heart talk with Larry and Marsha. We have been in the desert heat for over two weeks and my tongue is just plain worn out from panting. If there is something called heat-fatigue I think we all have it. They agreed, so rather than stay today at Lake Havasu City where getting the heck out of town and heading for the Hills.

Don’t know where we will land but Larry said something about not stopping until we were at an elevation above 6,000 feet where it should be 10 to 20 degrees cooler.

Saguaro Natioinal Park

Date: Monday May 31
Day: 17
RV Miles: 1,585
Location: Huachuca City, AZ
Elevation: 4,412

Sasha definitely has Larry beat on it comes to get-up time in the morning. She went off at 5AM just like clockwork and Larry rolled right out of bed cussing about something to do with “Sasha Standard Time.” I don’t mean to toot my own horn but if you have been following this blog from the beginning you will remember that I introduced Sasha as “The Boss.” I think I need to give those blog entries to Larry to re-read. It may make the transition to “Sasha Standard Time” a little easier on him.

Well we have been on the road a little over two weeks now and I think we have finally settled into the space and the routine. The first week to ten days was a bit rough on Larry and Marsha. They were always looking for something ‘cause they couldn’t remember where they put it. Part of the problem was what they were looking for was hidden behind something they brought along that they don’t need. Well it looks like most of that is sorted out now and importan stuff is handy and in a known location and the other stuff is out of the way.

The other adjustment they had to make was how to set the agenda or routine for the day and who would do what chores when and so forth. This seems to have stressed them out the first week because neither one wanted usurp the other’s prerogative. Turns out they seem to have that settled and they settled it by not worrying about it and just going with the flow. Dumb humans. That was the whole point of the vacation and it took them a week to figure it out.

Anyway, Sasha and I piled in the back seat of the car and we went to Saguaro National Park just East of Tucson today. This park is very different from other National Parks because it is almost an urban park with housing coming right up to the boundaries of the park. The desert in the park looked very harsh and it is amazing that anything can live in such conditions – and the heat. The pictures they took look almost washed out, but they are not. The sun is so bright and the land and everything else seems to have a pale sun-bleached color to it.

Tomorrow we are headed farther West. Next on the “schedule “ is Organ Pipes National Park on the Mexican border. Larry found an article about the park on the internet. Seems the park rangers wear camouflage and carry assault rifles so they can deal with the drug smugglers that transit the park every day. The US park service estimates that at any one time there are about 1,000 people in the park and about 800 are involved in some type of illegal activity.

I think the humans have enough smarts to bypass that park. If they don’t I’ll just have to have a chat with them.

Boothill

Date: Sunday May 27
Day: 16
RV Miles: 1,585
Location: Huachuca City, AZ
Elevation: 4,412

Well not much happened Saturday. I think the humans decided to take a day off and take a vacation from the vacation. The standoff between Larry and Sasha is over – Sasha won. Saturday, Sasha went off at 5AM on schedule, Larry let her out of her cage and went back to bed. Sounds OK right? Wrong. When Larry slept in it crimped our morning patrol time. When that happened Sasha got wild and went pretty much out of control. Today Larry bounced out of bed at 5AM WITH Sasha and he then told me that we were going on patrol and that we wouldn’t come back until Sasha dropped from exhaustion. She pulled at her leash for two full miles before she settled down. We covered somewhere between 2.5 to 3 miles before she really got tired.

I told you that the humans might go back to Tombstone and they did. As it turns out every year over Memorial Day they have Wyatt Earp Days where the whole town turns out in period costumes and they have gunfights in the street and everything.

According to Larry, the highlight was Boot Hill, a cemetery with probably 200 to 300 graves. In the 1880 to 1882 period, (the peak of the Tombstone silver rush boom time) there was a noticeable spike in the number of violent deaths.

Don’t know what is on for tomorrow, but they are talking about taking Sasha and I to a national park up by Tucson. We’ll see.