Grand Canyon

Heading south through Monument valley there were a couple of route options to consider.  Straight to the south west would take us to Flagstaff, and then perhaps Sedona.  But at Kayenta, the right turn option won out and up to Page, Arizona we went – hoping a bit of lower elevation would result in a rise in temperatures.  While there we drove down towards Lone Rock (actually across the line back in Utah), and found a couple of promising boondocking sites for next time.  Heading south out of Page, I thought there would be another choice of heading across southern Utah and northern Arizona, but the road was blocked (I think RV Sue commented on this a few weeks ago?), which resulted in a rather long detour on the way down towards Flagstaff.

I hadn’t really intended to go near the Grand Canyon this time (it is November, you know), but the small strip of national forest land between the Navajo reservation and the park looked like it might provide some good camping.  It did, but the elevation was getting up there again, so it was just a quick overnight before heading into the park.  First thing in the morning, the fog was rather thick, and I wondered if they had moved the canyon to somewhere else!

But even as it was clearing, the local wildlife was putting on a show of their own.  Two young bull elk were having a test of strength and will as they pushed back and forth, squealing all the time.

A bigger, older bull watched the show from the sidelines, but neither he or the local bunny seemed to concerned.

Part way along the south rim drive we exited the park into the Kaibab national forest again to visit a fire lookout tower I had seen in the past.  There were good boondocking spots there as well, so we spent the night.  Thoughts of perhaps having a campfire were drowned a bit later when sheets of rain, blasts of hail and gusts of wind greeted us.

Carrying on in the morning, we took in some of the usual tourist view points and joined the crowds for a bit.

They must have heard that Hailey was in the area, as they put up a sign to announce her arrival.

She doesn’t like the crowds, but I made sure she could have a good look into the canyon as well.