Road Trip! I love tripping around the country by car, stopping wherever feels good, revisiting favorite places and discovering new ones, taking in the sights, sounds, people, and wonderful food. Generally, we take our travel trailer on the road, but this time we opted for the car as we wanted to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short time.
First stop - the Grand Canyon.
It was lovely to stay at the Maswik Lodge on the South Rim in September. The crowds have thinned somewhat, and the lodge is just a short walk to the rim. Though the lodge is like a Motel 6 at Ritz prices, there's no denying that the LOCATION is what matters. I got great views of the California Condors along the Rim Trail toward Yavapai Point. We took the shuttle out to Hermit's Rest at the west end of the Park, and walked the Rim Trail back to the Village. Unfortunately a lightning storm moved in and cut the hike short at Maricopa Point when the rangers closed the trail. At the Bright Angel trailhead, I was impressed to see the recent renovation project by the Grand Canyon Association. I'm happy to belong to this organization.
Any stay at the Canyon is always too short, but it was time to move on. After a leisurely drive along the East Rim, stopping to enjoy the sun rising on the Canyon with our coffee, we drove north to the Highway 89A cutoff, the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River, the magnificent Vermilion Cliffs and then lunch in the campground at Jacob's Lake.
The next day we pushed on to Boise, Idaho, where we spent a relaxing and enjoyable 3 days with Jay's brother and his family, eating fresh vegetables and fruit from their amazing garden, and cheering on the Boise State Broncos at a football game.
I'll post this half of the trip now, so it doesn't get unbearably long, and so I don't keep putting it off! Thanks to my friends and followers for hanging with me! Next, it's off to the coast.
