Total Sensory Overload!!Chapter Six; The Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park. (May 25)
We left Zion after riding through the park both ways. What a rush! We headed back south on 89. The scenery was mostly
open plains with scrub and gently rolling hills. As we headed farther south, it became more wooded.
Departing Zion
pass from plains through forest
Jacobs Lake Inn
Rustic setting - Reasonable rates
Mickey and Dad
enjoying the trip of a lifetime
We headed down 67 on the 45 mile ride to the “North Rim of the Grand Canyon”. This was a beautiful winding road through
woods, open meadows, and small lakes. It was surprising, but we saw few cars on the road. We arrived at the entrance to
the park and showed them our park passes. We were told that our National Park passes from Zion were not good for the
Grand Canyon, so we had to do it again! Now we began to see a few cars within the park. When we arrived at the center,
we parked very close to the front. (Motorcycles will fit into those little spaces that are too narrow for a car to park.)
The vistas available from the top of the canyon are endless . . .
They had many cabins to rent right at the canyon, I'll have to remember to check into that next time. Ron and Jim headed south while I and Mickey went S/W toward the canyon.
The visitor area runs along the edge of a side canyon and treats you to an ever increasing view of the canyon. What can I say about the Grand Canyon? You have to go there to appreciate it. The scale just boggles the mind. Mickey and I went out on one of the overlooks, and the view was tremendous! Of course it is required that you have someone take your picture at times like these. You cannot see the river from the north side, but the intermingling of all of the canyons coming together is awesome. You just can’t take it all in. We walked and looked for over an hour. I just seemed to be shaking my head and saying “Wow!” all of that time. It’s incredible.
We rode back to our cabin with a total sensory overload. We put the bikes away, caught a shower to wash away the road dirt, and walked up to the Inn. It was pretty neat. Nice restaurant, and lots of western flavor to the souvenir shop. I know what you are thinking; all souvenir shops are the same, only different. But I find I still have to walk through and look at everything!
We had a wonderful, relaxing meal. After the meal, Ron went to the cashier to pay for his supper. He gave her a $100 dollar bill, and she gave him back change for a $20! It was an honest mistake and they quickly corrected it. Ron had this problem a couple more times on the trip and those did not appear to be mistakes. Jim, nor I, nor Mickey, were ever shortchanged. (Ron must just look easy!)
We walked back to the cabin and turned in. It was hard to sleep with all the visions of the Grand Canyon dancing through your head, but we finally drifted off. The cabin was the most rustic place we stayed on the trip, but was only $50. Split four ways, that wasn’t bad! In the morning we head for the south rim!
-LC
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Travel Tip: It's a time thing! Be sure to confirm check-in and check-out times...there are areas here that do not conform to daylight savings time and some that do. The confusion can cost you a days rent!