The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Days 4 & 5

I know I said in my last post that I was gonna cram all of our Grand Canyon doings into one post.  I lied.  There was just too much going on.  So - I decided to cover two days at a time.  Here are the first two: days 4 and 5.

The Petrified Forest National Park, AZ to the Grand Canyon, AZ: 198 miles (RV)

It was a great day.  Before I get to the highlights, let me thank the State of Arizona.  Not just any state will go to the trouble of posting a sign along the road proclaiming, “Rough Road Next 6 Miles.”  But Arizona did, by golly.  And they weren’t kidding.  When I saw the sign I anticipated bad sections of pavement with potholes, etc.  No, no, no... not here in Arizona.  Here they made a road with waves.  Think gentle ocean swells.  Nothing big mind you, but regularly recurring.  Some on the right half of our lane, some on the left, some running perpendicular to the road for the entire width of our lane - for six miles. The net effect of this on The Rig (which wallows like a pig in the best of circumstances) was to make us bob about like a lobster boat on the Atlantic during a hurricane.  I was driving at the time and found it unnerving in the extreme.  Susan laughed at me, having apparently been thru similar conditions several times previously while I was riding my bike and she was flying solo; she already had her sea legs.  We were not amused.  But enough of my incessant carping and on with the show.

The early highlight was Winslow, AZ - where I was standing on a corner when this happened...

Me kissing Glen Frey.

Having received only one (thanks Spedteacher - you were close but omitted any reference to kissing) prediction concerning my assertion in the Day 3 post that Internet Bonus Points were in play for predicting this pic, said points shall be thrown into the pot until the next round in accord with IBP rule 46, section 2, paragraph B.  Sorta like Powerball.

But there was tons more fun to be had in Winslow.  See below...

The eagle eyed reader will note that I'm standing in the intersection adjacent to the famed corner In Winslow, AZ.  Turns out that Winslow isn't actually a bustling place...

Susan was thirsty so we stopped in this little shop on the corner.  They had a pic on the wall of what the building looked like "way back when".

That, ladies and gentlemen, constitutes "tons of fun" in Winslow.

When we left headed toward Flagstaff, the scenery picked up.  Turns out that Flagstaff is located at the base of the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.  It pretty much dominated the horizon for miles when approaching Flagstaff from the East.

This is sunset Crater Volcano.  Things were jumping in these parts millions of years ago.

Once past Flagstaff it was on to the Grand Canyon.  One would think that what with 6.38 MILLION (Yes, you read that right.) visitors in 2018, and with visitor numbers increasing regularly, the guys running the place could talk the state of Arizona into re-paving the road up here from I-40, but apparently not.  And they weren't even kind enough to warn us with the obligatory sign.  Clearly the Park Guys here at the Canyon need to talk to the Park Guys where they keep the petrified trees.  I don't want to be unreasonable, but maybe relocate the trees to the Grand Canyon so everybody could see em both with one stop.  They can't move the Canyon, after all.  And as an added bonus, they'd only have to maintain the highway leading into one National Park.  In my book that's a win/win.  Maybe I'll mention it to a Ranger and let him run with it.  I hate to take the credit.

That said, here was the first thing we saw when pulling into the campground...

We would later learn that these things were pretty much the camp pets.  They've apparently become accustomed to all the creature comforts.  A local told us he had seen video of them turning on water faucets in order to drink.  Oh - AND turning them off.  Hmmm...  Apparently the elk have bought into the Park Service's emphasis on being environmentally friendly and have become conservationists.. 

We were in our space and hadn’t even had time to set up when Daron stopped by.  Turns out he’s a recently retired officer from Arapahoe County, CO (Denver area) and was interested in the swivel-wheel trailer - who isn’t?  We were in the middle of an excellent conversation when Toby walked over and asked about The Thin Blue Ride.  Turns out that Toby is also recently retired - from Phoenix PD.  He was parked right beside us and had a thin blue line across the back window of his 5th wheel.  More subtle than the logos on The Rig, I must admit. He was a motor officer there.  He then called over two ladies traveling with him.  One was his wife, Marie, and the other was a friend from work named  Timaree.  The two ladies are both active Phoenix PD Officers and had just thru hiked the canyon from North rim to South.  Yowza!  Quite the feat – dunno that I’d be able to do it.  Marie is testing for LT soon - good luck and God bless.

They're all in the pics below…

Me and Daron

Marie, Toby, Me and Timaree.

They seemed just like most of the cops I knew during my career - interested in right outcomes and willing to serve.  Nice folks one and all.  So – we had our own little cop reunion.  (Author’s note: no bad guys were arrested or injured during the course of this event.  Just sayin….)

Tomorrow is our first look at The Grand Canyon.

Till Next time.

(THE NEXT DAY)

The Grand Canyon, AZ: 0 miles (It was a pure tourist day.)

I knew last night that today was gonna be a good day.  Turns out I was right.  It started off waking up next to the same woman I married 40 years ago today.  And that’s a very good thing indeed.

(Author's note: the pic below may not be suitable for young children as it makes apparent that youth is fleeting.  The reader is warned.)

Let me remind the reader that I threatened to post it in an earlier blog.  My God, but we were young.

We spent the day doing the Grand Canyon tourist thing.  Which is to say: walking the rim trail, looking thru tourist shops, eating bad food that cost too much, dodging Chinese tourists with cameras – you know the drill.  Interestingly we bumped into a bride and groom still in their finery, who had just been married out on a point overlooking the canyon.  They were kinda held up by foot traffic waiting to leave and we had a chance to chat em up.  We congratulated them and told them to enjoy their time together and appreciate each other.  During the course of the conversation we told them we were celebrating our 40^th anniversary today and it was their turn to congratulate us.  We wished them well and both went our separate ways.  It was an enjoyable thing, seeing where we had come from.  I hope we were able to plant in them the seed of anticipation.

Here’s photo evidence of the morning’s action…

Our first view of The Canyon from Rim Trail  Stunning!

Note the cool hat.  Susan's idea.  She tried to claim the backdrop.  I dunno....

How many ways can one say "amazing"? Not enough.

The observation deck at Lookout Studio, designed by Mary Coulter - as were many of the buildings original to the Park.  She figured prominently in early development of The Canyon.

Hopi House: Many/much Native American art for sale inside.  See previous reference to Mary Coulter.

This brass plaque has some of the Canyon's prominent geological features notes on it and points tourists at them.  Very useful.

In the afternoon we broke the scooter out and headed to the (far) East end of the park – known as Desert View.  There’s an interesting tower there with amazing views of the Canyon and the plains to its East.  Highway 64 runs right along the canyon rim that direction, so there are also a good number of pull-outs along the way where one can get an excellent view of the Canyon.  In our experience viewing pretty much the same section of the Canyon from a slightly different angle changes the entire viewing experience.  It was well worth the trip.  Check out the pics below…

Yup - with a sign like that, we must be in the right place.

Susan and I standing in front of The Desert View Watch Tower.  From here we could see where the Canyon began out in the plains.  But by the time the river had made it this far the Canyon was clearly well developed.  The observant reader will note the Colorado River in the background.  Yup - Mary Coulter again.  She was a busy lady.

The plan for the evening was dinner at the El Tovar restaurant.  Hey, this is a high class place.  When I made the reservations I noted on the web site that they encouraged upscale attire.  Hmmm - I haven't worn a tie since I retired.  I hope a button down shirt will suffice.  I didn't bring any ties.  It was a fantastic evening.  The company was good...

 

This is what forty years gets ya.  A great evening with your best friend and smiles all around.

The foot was great...

Just look at that pork chop.  I'm a firm believer in the maxim that, "If it came off a pig, eat it."  But this was over the top.  VERY good.  It was the Chef's special - I love that guy...

Till next time...