Yesterday, we drove the rental car to the Grand Canyon National Park. We left the RV park around 10am and drove north on US89 to the little town called Cameron. We wanted to make a stop there to poke around in the Cameron Trading Post and also have an early lunch.
Cameron Trading Post
Donna bought a few items, including the book Code Talker for me. This book is a memoir of Chester Nez, the only living member of the Navajo code talkers of World War II. We went to the restaurant to have Navajo tacos. Navajo tacos are made with Indian fry bread. When we saw how large the portion was, we decided to split an order. The fry bread was the size of a large dinner plate – half was more than enough.
Navajo taco
The fresh fry bread was light and crispy. I heartily recommend trying this dish, but you better be hungry!
From Cameron we turned back south and drove a mile to the junction of AZ64, where we turned west. This road takes you through the western end of the Navajo reservation to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. Several miles up the road, there’s a sign for a scenic overlook of the Little Colorado River Gorge. It’s on tribal land and the overlook is operated by the tribe. They ask for a donation at the entrance. We pulled in to take a look.
Little Colorado River Gorge
The view is nice, but it wasn’t worth the stop. The views in the national park blow it away.
Most people enter the Grand Canyon National Park from the south entrance on US180. This is the entrance closest to the village with hotels and restaurants. From there, most tourists never get to the east end of the park. When we entered at the east entrance, there was only one car in front of us. We used our annual National Parks and Recreation pass and didn’t have the pay the $25 per vehicle entrance fee. This pass was a parting gift from my colleagues when I retired. It expires next month. We’re planning to buy another one. It’s well worth the $80 cost.
Our first stop was at the Desert View Watch Tower. I’ve always come into the park from the south entrance and had never seen the tower before.
Desert View Watch Tower
The tower was built in 1932. It wasn’t a replica of anything that existed earlier. It was an original design that was made in the manner of traditional construction found in the area. The tower is a few hundred yards from the parking lot. There are other buildings along the paved path to the tower, including a store, restaurant and public restrooms. The restrooms were modern and clean.
Behind the tower, the view was nothing short of spectacular.
View to the northeast from the tower
View to the northwest from the tower
We went inside the tower and climbed a steep staircase to the second floor. We walked out on an observation deck there. The view was great, but there were tiny black flying insects that were annoying us. We decided to move on.
Our next stop was less than two miles up the road. We stopped at Navajo Point, then Lipan Point and enjoyed more spectacular views of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River below.
You can see a portion of the Colorado River from Lipan Point
Another view from Lipan Point
We continued on along the East Rim Road (AZ64) through the park, stopping at most of the view points. The temperature was in the upper 70s and the air was very dry. We were 7,200 feet above sea level. We could feel the altitude as we walked around the view points. It was easy to run out of breath!
We saw a man painting the landscape in oil on canvas at one view point.
Landscape artist
Donna found a level rock near the edge and struck a yoga pose.
Donna in tree pose
The little black insects were everywhere. We must have timed our visit to coincide with a large hatch. They seemed to be attracted to white. We saw white cars in the parking lots covered with the insects. They continued to annoy us and several would find their way into our car every time we opened the doors.
After awhile, the stunning views become mind numbing. It reminded me of the time we visited the giant redwoods. At first, the ancient old trees caused us to stop and stare in wonder. But after awhile, we just said, “Hey, there’s another big one” and moved on.
After we stopped at Grandview Point, we decided we had seen enough and drove on to the junction of US180 near the village and left the park.
Grandview
Spectacular!
US180 took us over an 8,000′ pass near the Snow Bowl ski area. When we made it into Flagstaff, around 4pm, a stop at the Beaver Street Brewery was in order. I enjoyed their stout while Donna had the del Sol – a Mexican style lager.
When we returned to the RV park, we found that several of the sites had emptied during the day and a few newcomers arrived. We were still feeling full from the Navajo tacos and didn’t have much of an appetite. Later, Donna made a light meal – cumin spiced tilapia and Spanish rice.
This morning, we awoke to unexpected gusty winds. The weather guessers are calling forĀ high of 72 today. A cold front is forecast to hit the area on Wednesday.
