Grand Canyon and Zion

Well I’ve been without wifi for several days so I missed blogging from the GRAND CANYON, whoo hoo and whip hop!  We found a gorgeous free campsite in the pines about 2 miles from the park entrance, with plenty of space for our 4 campers.   We were supposed to stay here just 2 nights and then move to Page & Lake Powell, but the temps in Page were very high so we stayed there for 3 nights, then one night at a pretty campsite in the pines near Jacob Lake, and today have arrived at Zion National Park! What a gorgeous drive we had these past two days, through the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and entering Zion from the east! Here’s the view from my campsite in the Watchman Campground inside Zion. We all agree that having electricity is really nice, but we don’t like the “subdivision” atmosphere of a campground anymore.  

Last night’s campsite just outside of Jacob Lake:    

We saw lots of elk and mule deer in the Grand Canyon, so many in fact, that they became almost a non-event. “Oh there are some more elk”, ho hum! I think the mule deer have beautiful faces.

And here are some elk parts (we think) that were scattered around our Grand Canyon campsite.

Oh we also saw a very long snake I think is a Gopher Snake.  

Back in Sedona, Deb and Jeanne saw a big king snake. We could do without seeing any more snakes up close and personal.    

We went to the Imax theater and really enjoyed the show, though I did have to close my eyes several times to keep from getting motion sickness!

One evening we went to watch the sunset over the canyon….nice!   

I have a new (to me) camera! Bless my generous friends! My friend Martha in CT sent me her Nikon 8800 camera!! And what good timing, since I broke my own little Nikon S8100. So sad, I loved that little camera. I had put it in the pocket of my sweatshirt and it hung down on that side, so when I sat down, I sat on the camera. It did not survive.  It looks fine but I guess the lens is jammed because it won’t retract or focus.  I’m hoping I can get it fixed fairly inexpensively some day. The new camera is not at all compact so it’s not in any danger of being stuck in a pocket and sat upon. Anyway I’m still learning the new camera so the photos may not be quite as good as usual, but I’m sure soon they’ll be even better!

One day I decided to leave Roxie in the camper while we went sightseeing and when I returned, I opened the door to look eye to eye with her….she was standing on the stove!!  She must have jumped on the bed and then climbed onto the kitchen counter & stove…..I didn’t know she COULD jump up on the bed!

Here are our three girls….Roxie, Annie (Toy Schnauzer) and Partly (Yorkie). Annie and Roxie regularly hang out in the exercise pen but not Partly; this was just for a minute to get a photo. Partly’s attitude is “We don’t need no stinkin’ ex-pens”!!  If Roxie is a princess, Partly is the QUEEN.   

Here are more photos from the Grand Canyon. It sure is a beautiful big hole in the ground! We ate lunch one day at El Tovar Lodge. Someone said (I won’t mention any names) there was a cafeteria in the hotel but there wasn’t. I nearly died when I saw the menu; I got the cheapest thing which was a little cup of soup for $9.50 including the tip!!  Even the desserts were $7.50 and up.

As always, thank you so much for using my Amazon Associates and/or PayPalMe links at top right!!

Directions to our campsite near the Grand Canyon:  As you are coming into Tusayan, you’ll go through a traffic circle. The moment you exit the circle onto Hwy. 64, turn right onto Forest Road 302. There are many sites along this road but try to go at least a mile back to escape the noise from flyovers! Our huge nice site was 1.6 miles back.

Directions to our campsite near Jacob Lake:  On Hwy. 89A about 3.2 mi. east of town, turn North on FR257 near MM 576. There’s no sign for FR257 but there is a sign for FR225 which is directly opposite. It is a trailhead for part of the Great Western Trail which runs from Mexico to Canada. Very large area right at the junction.