AND TO THINK, YEARS AGO I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE GRAND CANYON WAS…….:((

KELLY AT THE GRAND CANYON’S NORTH RIM ON NOVEMBER 21RST 2007…ALL OF TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM THE NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON

Reading Chinle’s SPOTTED DOG RANCH post this morning about Geography, I was reminded of the time I couldn’t find Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Yep, it’s true, I just didn’t know where it was.

A BEAUTIFUL DRIVE TO THE NORTH RIM

KEEP IN MIND THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN SIXTEEN & HALF YEARS AFTER TODAY’S STORY

The year was 1992 & the month was May. My Dad had just died a few months earlier & I had it my head to get away from it all to see & do something totally different for a bit. My wife at the time, Susan, worked for an accounting firm & tax season wasn’t over until the end of April. Can’t remember where I was working at the time but it probably wasn’t anywhere too important. Earliest we could get away was the second week in May. Had always wanted to see the Grand Canyon so that was the destination.

 
IT WAS LATE IN THE SEASON SO NOBODY WAS AROUND

No internet in those days & I’m not even sure we had a map of the Southwest. Threw a bunch of stuff into the back of our little white Mazda pick-up truck & we were off. The truck did have a cap on the back by the way. My mind is sketchy on all the trip details but I do know we made it to Moab Utah somehow, sleeping in the back of the pick up truck most nights. Remember, it’s May & still cold through Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, etc. Can’t imagine now how we did that but of course that was 20 years ago when we were still young enough to be kind of foolishly hardy.

As I recount this story now I have memories coming back from parts of the trip I hadn’t thought about in years but I’ll just concentrate on the Grand Canyon story for now. We did get to see the ‘Arches’ in Moab & the memories of those canyons & rock formations have always stayed with me. In fact, Moab & that whole surrounding area still remains in my heart as a very special place.  I don’t know how or why I didn’t know where the Grand Canyon was & it seems so ridiculous now all these years later. Maybe I was expecting to see a big flashing neon sign along the road somewhere saying, ‘This Way To The Grand Canyon’. I think I might have known it was in Arizona somewhere so that is where we headed. I remember leaving Moab & heading down highway 191 through the towns of Mexican Hat & Kayenta. I remember the hot, hot, days & the cold, cold, nights sleeping in the back of that pick up truck.

 
NORTH RIM LODGE WITH WINDOWS BOARDED UP FOR THE WINTER

Didn’t realize it but we were heading right for the Grand Canyon on highway 160 when for some unknown reason I got it in my head to head northwest & see if it was up there someplace. Would have been so easy to pay more attention to a map or ask directions but you have to remember….I’m a man, so the second part of the above 2 options didn’t apply. Kind of remember going through Page Az. & crossing the Glen Canyon dam still looking for that big flashing neon Grand Canyon sign.

 
I DID TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS IN 92 BUT THEY ARE ALL KODACHROME SLIDES

It was somewhere shortly after the dam crossing that I decided on a bumpy little dusty road heading back up into Utah towards Bryce Canyon. Bryce must have rang some kind of bell in my head but I’m sure the sound would have echoed all around the empty travel information chambers I had up there. Did get to see some great scenery along that road though. Cotton Canyon, Grosvenor’s Arch, & Kodachrome Basin come to mind. Anyway, to shorten this up a bit, we did end up in the little town of Panquitch in an RV Park somewhere while we had ourselves a look at Bryce Canyon. It was round about this time that I was finally able to connect a few travel brain cells together long enough to realize just where the Grand Canyon actually was. Turns out it was about 150 miles south of us.

 

SO MUCH TO SEE HERE & WE SAW SO LITTLE BECAUSE OF OUR BRIEF VISIT

Now, why I made the next decision I have no idea but we were up early on the morning of May 15th & drove the 3 plus hours to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. At this point I don’t even think I knew there was a south rim. Turns out it was opening day at the North Rim so we were in a line of cars to get in. I remember how impressed I was with forests along the way & the lodge & cabins there. Walking the paths & peering down into the Grand Canyon was like nothing I had seen before & it made a lasting impression on me. Spent the day & then drove the 3 plus hours back to Panquitch….most of it in the dark. It had turned out to be a long & tiring day. Next morning we headed for Zion Canyon which of course made no sense in the traveling scheme of things when you consider the proximities of the Grand Canyon & Zion to where we were in Panquitch, Utah. Oh the anguish of an unseasoned traveler:((

 

HOPE TO RETURN TO THE NORTH RIM SOME DAY & TAKE SOME MUCH BETTER PHOTOS

In a nutshell I guess it was this trip in 92 that really opened my eyes to the importance of travel planning & getting things right the first time around. Well, kinda opened my eyes anyway. Still have a habit of winging it a lot of times. The fact we got to see as much as we did still amazes me. For basically flying blind we did get to see Buffalo Bill’s house in Nebraska, Estes’ State Park, Colorado, Moab & the Arches, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Salt Lake City, Utah, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone Park, the Custer Battlefield & Devil’s Tower in Wyoming & Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. By the looks of it I may have stopped to ask directions along the way after the Grand Canyon fiasco. I may not quite know the American Southwest like the back of my hand yet but I sure do know where the Grand Canyon is now…..both rims:))

  

Cloudy start to the day & it stayed that way with rain in the afternoon.  Kelly arrived home about 12 noon & totally surprised me & the Pheebs.  We had both fallen asleep.  Pheebs on the couch & me in my recliner.  Morning play time can kind of do that to a couple best Pals.  Nice to have Kelly home again & no, I will not miss my Hungry Man dinners.  You really didn't think I liked those things did you:))

 

FRIENDS MAUREEN, MIKE & MOLLY….ALSO FROM CANADA

Kelly had a great couple days in Cambridge visiting with her Mother, Brother, two Sons & one daughter plus all the other family members & Grand Kids.  Met some new folks, made some new friends & visited with old friends.  A busy couple days & she's glad to be home.

Had a comment question from Pat B today wondering how to join our Blog.  Just under our top header photo you will see a bunch of thumbnail photos on our Blog Followers list.  Top left of those photos you will see a Google tag that says, 'Join this site.'  Click that & follow the prompts.  I know Google has a habit of changing things so I'm not sure what barrels & hoops you will have to jump over or go through.  Maybe none:))  I do know it is easier to join for folks who already have Google accounts & I assume most do.  Also want to mention again that there are no obligations of any kind for a reader to join anyone's Blog Follower list.

Have to be at the Goderich Hospital for 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.  X-rays & Ultra-Sound for my lower back, legs & right knee.  Both painless procedures so I will not have to be put in a straight jacket & forced to go.  Next week the medical appointments begin to ramp up as we head for my Kidney Stone surgery on May 28th.  Straight jacket & brute force definitely required for that one..........

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources person asked a young applicant fresh out of Business School, "And what starting salary are you looking for?"
The applicant said, "In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."
The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every two years - say, a red Corvette?"
The applicant sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?"
And the interviewer replied, "Yeah, but you started it." 

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

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