Road Trip Past: Out West - September 2007, Part 2

Owl decoy for hawk count, Yaki Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2007.

Part 2: On a 2007 solo road trip out west from Missouri, I kept a journal of sorts. Mostly random notes that included both the mundane and the glorious. Part 2 spans September 26 through 29. Sadly, it appears the 29th was the last day I journaled. Damn, there were some good stories to follow; hard to believe I didn't capture them. Maybe I've stashed the notebook somewhere.

Go here for Part 1, Sept 23 through 25.

Campsite, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2017.

Sept 26

Sedona to Grand Canyon via Jerome.

Did not even go to rim to see the GC today! Devoted my afternoon to laundry, a shower, and making a comfortable camp.

Snug and warm in tent.



Expenses

• Shower: 2.00
• Laundry: 3.00
• Gas: 15.00
• Groceries: 32.00
• Park pass: 25.00
• Chips: 2.00
• Total = $79.00

Campground flowers, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2007.

Sept 27

First full day @ GC.
Postcards to several people.
Saw a tarantula on the rim. It moved out of the way before I could get a photo.


Expenses

• Stocking cap: 6.00
• Coffee: 2.00
• Nuts: 3.00
• Ice cream cone: 3.00
• Postcards: 6.00
• Total = $20.00

Deer at campsite, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2007.

Sept 28

Today I took a vacation from my vacation, staying "at home" all day til attending an AA meeting in the evening. [I am a member of a couple of 12-step fellowships, neither of which is AA. But open AA meetings are helpful to members of any fellowship.]

Oh, I did drive up to the market plaza for ice, propane, and a nail file.

In the afternoon, deer started coming through the campground. Here, there were three bucks. Later, as I left to attend meeting (and see sunset), I saw many more deer, mostly does.

When I left the AA meeting (Kachina Lodge), the coyotes were loudly announcing that their time for activity had come.

It was windy all day!

I got out the charcoal about noon and grilled burgers + red peppers/potatoes/onions. Also roasted some marshmallows.

Another lone woman camper arrived today. She's from Colorado; has a nice pick-up with a camper top. We only talked briefly. She said she'd been here two years ago. Looks to be in her 60s.

It was remarkable today that the campground seems so empty - so quiet - given the millions of people who come here every year. I thought perhaps the campground would fill up this evening as people rolled in for the weekend, but that hasn't been the case. I have no neighbors on either side of me since the bird/cat-owners left early this morning.

My thrift store sweatshirts are serving me well.

Expenses

• Market Plaza: ice, propane, mirror, nail file, popcorn: $14.00

Sunrise gathering, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2007.

Sept 29

Got up before 5:00 a.m. to prepare to see sunrise over the canyon.

While in the bathroom, I encountered a woman who, in 5 minutes, shared with me that she and her husband .... were going down to the canyon floor today, that they live in ...... ; she is [from another country] and her husband is American. They met during [a] war when she served as a nurse and he was fighting.

She's lost two babies. They're trying to get pregnant - have been for a long while - in vitro has failed. They visited Sedona, fell in love with some property, will move there next year, in the hopes that a Native American woman on the reservation will help them become pregnant. The [woman] is 37, so time is slipping away from her. I wished her well. [Note: Even though the woman chose to tell a complete stranger - me - this story, it's so intimate I have chosen not to disclose some identifying details.]

So I went to the sunrise. Not as spectacular as I'd thought it would be, according to the hype. And cold. And windy. Same holds true for last night's sunset. But perhaps I chose the wrong sites.

Grand Canyon, between Yaki and Desert View. Arizona. September 2007.

Today I'll go out to Yaki Point where Hawk Watch International is in the process of counting hawks. Then I'll take the shuttle to another point and walk the rim to Mather Point. Then lunch, which I'll pack.

Hawk count at Yaki Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. September 2007.

For sunset, I'll go to Yavapei Point.

Almost all the car plates are from Arizona, Nevada, and California. I assume many are rentals.

I just felt a featherweight touch on my socked foot under the table. I looked underneath: a small bird was sitting on my foot. These small birds check out my table regularly for scraps.

Thus far, I have 'released' two pairs of jeans and two shirts 'to the wild.' I've also handed off four magazines. Threw away one pair of hole-y socks.

Expenses

GC Association Shop: postcards/notecards: $14.00


A slide show of my 2007 Grand Canyon visit below: