On our way to Grand Canyon from Zion we stopped to fuel up, and learned that our back right tires were nearly threadbare. We tried to reach the rental company to get authorization to have them replaced, but we couldn't get through to anyone who could make a decision on it. Not having much time and anxious to get a move on, we took photos of the tires and emailed them to El Monte, hoping that by the next day we could get them fixed.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon just in time to catch the last of the day's sunlight. We stopped at the historic watch tower and took in our first views of the canyon and then we were off to find our campground as bellies were grumbling and nerves were becoming frayed. Our campsite didn't have wifi access and I was so exhausted that by the time we got there that I had neither the time nor the ability to post an update.
Drew and Mom slung together a quick dinner for us which hit the spot for everyone. After showers we laughed and reflected on our trip while looking over our photos of the day.
In the morning we only had three hours to experience the Grand Canyon because we had to make it all the way to Albuquerque. Drew, Samuel and I hiked a couple of miles around the canyon rim and met up with Mom, Sidney, and Dick at the visitor's center. It was truly awesome As beautiful as the canyon is, I was just as taken with the variety of vegetation—at times actually upstaged the canyon.
There was a forest fire near Flagstaff that we could see in the distance.
We had some dealings with the rental company and we had the tires replaced today in Williams, Arizona. It didn't cost us any money, but it cost us some time that we didn't have.
We had a long day of driving ahead of us, and we were short on time because of the tire issue, but we made a surprise 30-minute visit to Meteor Crater. Way cool! Click, click, click, back on Monty, haul ass across Arizona. I thought we would never get out of that state.
Finally arrived in Albuquerque at 9:00 p.m. Too late to make dinner in the RV. Ate a late dinner at "our neighborhood" Applebees. Need I say more?
Tomorrow, we will try to make it as far as Oklahoma City.
APPLEBEE"S! OMG! your trip is reminding me of my childhood. My grandparents took me to meteor crater and the grand canyon in their RV when i was 12. I wore a hawaiian shirt and kelly green short shorts that whole trip.
ReplyDeleteOur waitress was in the midst of a cocaine high and made a complete mess of our service—stringing words together like a a blind person might connect the dots in a coloring book—not a pretty picture. Didn't make a lick of sense! Bless her heart.
ReplyDeleteI wore gray short shorts the whole trip. They really work.