The Rod and the Ring: Arizona to Utah

August 18

We got our act together today really early for a change. We were on the road as the first rays of sunshine were brightening the otherwise desolate landscape around our motel. The trucks were still parked as they had been the night before; their workday had yet to begin. We had the access road to the Grand Canyon all to ourselves. Because the park is not on daylight savings time, there wasn't anyone at the gate to collect the fee. We drove right in, unhindered (we wouldn't have had to pay had anyone been there anyway). We drove to the first overlook of the Grand Canyon at the watchtower. Only three other vehicles were in the parking lot ahead of us.

Razelle and I walked to the edge of the canyon and sat down. For Razelle this was a religious experience. She was moved to tears by the sight of this monumental canyon. It was a Zen moment for her, so I left her to meditate in silence and solitude while I went back to the van to get "no-evil," our stuffed toy monkey, for the photo ops. These were the best moments of the day. The general store opened ahead of schedule, so we bought some ice cream sandwiches and some well-chosen souvenirs.

Continuing onward to the far reaches of the village on the south rim we came to where all the over-night visitors were. They had already taken up most of the parking spots here. We circled the area of the lodges till a spot came into view; then we walked to the shuttle station for the shuttle that would take us to Hermit's Rest. We got off a few times along the way and admired the canyon from different vantage points. Each stop had a very informative sign explaining a different aspect of the phenomenon that IS the Grand Canyon. We learned much from these signs. We also met a man with a directional antenna who was tracking California Condors. Some 86 individuals had been released in northern Arizona and southern Utah and they were successfully taking up residence there. Later in the morning we saw a pair of condors gliding on the currents above Hermit's Rest. It was a special sighting indeed of these rare birds.

Each time we got back on the shuttle there were more and more people waiting for it with us. We met an Italian family who were intrigued by our travels in Australia. We gave them extensive information on how we went about preparing for and carrying out the trip. The park was getting crowded (not to mention warm – even hot) by now. At Hermit's Rest we had to compete with honey bees for the rootbeers we had purchased there at the refreshment stand.

How much of a good thing is too much? We had been in this National Park long enough. We felt there was no point in trying to do more here so we returned directly by shuttle to our van. While riding the shuttle back we heard Hebrew spoken candidly for the first time by a pair of young Israeli women. They told us they were enrolled for studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva this fall. We gave them instructions how to contact us when we're all there. We drove from the village to the same exit we'd entered earlier and left the park to drive as far in the direction of Bryce Canyon in Utah as we could get.

The weather was different now. The sky was heavy with leaden clouds trailing curtains of rain. When these curtains reached us, or we reached them, we briefly found ourselves under rain that came down too hard for the wipers to handle, then none at all came down, then further along there was more of the same. We called ahead to the KOA in Panguitch, Utah. We saw from the GPS that we would only reach there by about 10:00 PM. We paid in advance over the phone. So, committed to reaching our paid-for parking spot, I drove through the dark in a state (Utah) I'd have so preferred to see during daylight hours. By 10:00 PM I was very very grateful to be finally able to shut off the engine and shut my eyes. An envelope was waiting for me in the night arrivals box. It had instructions and a map to show me which was my pull-in slot. As I read it, the proprietor materialized out of the darkness and took us to it. He had waited up for us. That made our day complete. We were asleep shortly thereafter, snug in our van, which has finally begun to feel like our home.

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RAZELLE'S PHOTOS OF THIS DAY