Albuquerque

We liked Homolovi Ruins State Park, even with the creepy warning sign and isolation, but it was time to move onto Albuquerqe.  When we stayed at the Grand Canyon, Bob talked to our neighbors in the camp ground and they told him that they were going to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. My friend Sue was there a few years ago, and she really enjoyed it, so we decided to check it out too.

Albuquerqe has an Old Town, and when we were there I had fun shopping. Native Americans had stands along the square selling jewelry and art, and I bought a few things to give Jaime for Christmas.

While we were in Albuquerque we took a trip up the Sandia Peak Aerial Tranway. 2.7 miles. Up.

I hate heights, but again I followed Bob and up we went. We had a beautiful view of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley from the top of 10,378 foot Sandia Peak, and the restaurant at the top had very good food, which made the ride up a little better, but we still had to go back down. I survived.

On to the Balloon Fiesta tomorrow!

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Meteor Crater and Homolovi Ruins State Park

After Bob was discharged from the Marine Corps he went on a cross country trip with a fellow Marine. He told me about going to see Meteor Crater, and I wanted to see it too. He thought I'd be underwhelmed when I saw it, but I thought it was really cool.

Holy cow! That crater is huge! The meteor slammed into earth over 50,000 years ago and left a crater that's nearly a mile across.

The crater is 2.4 miles in circumference and it's 550 feet deep.

Meteor crater is on private land and was once mined, which didn't prove to be very profitable, so now it's a tourist attraction. The little tubes I'm looking through are labeled. You can see an old mine shaft, the road down to the bottom of the crater, and a life sized astronaut figure that looks very tiny from up here.

After we left Meteor Crater we drove through Winshow, Arizona, but I wouldn't let Bob stand on the corner to see a girl in a flatbed Ford. He already had me in his huge Chevy pickup. Instead, we spent the night in Homolovi Ruins State Park in the middle of nowhere Arizona. It really was desolate, and in my opinion, the sign at the entrance station wasn't very welcoming: WARNING: THIS AREA IS INHABITED BY POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS. I kept my shoes on and my eyes on the ground every time we went outside.

There were 330 acres of Hopi pueblo ruins, which were interesting to walk through.  Shards of Hopi pottery was scattered everywhere in the ruins, and were very easy to see. 

Homolovi Ruins State Park was a good place to stay for a day or two, but I was really happy to leave and head on to Albuburque and the Balloon Fiesta.

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The South Rim - One More Day

We spent over a week on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and hiked and biked a bit so I took many more pictures.

One day we looked out the back window of our camper and notice elk wandering around the campground. When we were in Yellowstone a herd of buffalo wandered past our camper, and we were happy to see elk this time.

There weren't any bull elk here, but we I stayed back anyway.

We drove to the laundromat in the campground and just happened upon these bull elk, so Bob borrowed my cellphone to take these pictures. In the last picture you can see me sitting safely in our nice big strong truck. I'm not taking a chance with those huge animals!

Our friends Michael and Robin told us about a nice little road they found on the south rim and we decided to hike it one Saturday morning. At the end of the road we found some people preparing for a wedding. What a beautiful place for a wedding!

Their menu was posted on a sign board, and the pole beside it listed cities that we assumed the guests were from. I checked, but neither Blain or Steelton were listed.

The runner (held down with handy rocks) led to the rim of the canyon.

What a beautiful backdrop for wedding pictures!

Somebody had a sense of humor here!

Bob did mind the gap!

So now you've visited the Grand Canyon with us, and I hope you enjoyed our visit as much as we did.

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The South Rim

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a great place to spend some time relaxing after a hike down to the bottom. There's a road to Hermit's Rest that's only accessible by bus, bike, or on foot, so we took the bus and returned later on our bikes to check out the trail at Hermit's Rest.

A hermit actually lived here way back when, and Bob enjoyed taking a break by the hermit's fireplace.

There are a number of places to stop and enjoy the views of the Canyon from the Hermits Rest Route, and we could see part of the Bright Angel Trail and it's switchbacks from this viewpoint.

You can also see Grand Canyon Village and the hotels and restaurants that are on the south rim, along with the very top of the Bright Angel Trail.

I zoomed my camera and we could see the Bright Angel Trail Three Mile Resthouse. It's a welcomed sight for hikers because there is water available, bathroom facilities, and a little shade.

It looks like we're standing right on the edge of the Canyon, but trust me, this mom will NOT stand close to the edge. Any edge!

The Colorado River can be seen in the middle of this picture.

This route only goes eight miles west of Grand Canyon Village, but it's a great place to see more of the beautiful canyon from the South Rim.

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The Grand Canyon - Up the Bright Angel Trail

Some people hike down to Phantom Ranch and back up the same day, but we didn't do that when we were young, and we certainly don't want to try it now. Mr. Ranger always says you should not do that, and we always listen to Mr. Ranger!

The sun is coming up, and we want to get an early start. They serve breakfast at 5:00 and 6:30, and we've found that the first breakfast is the best option for us    We can eat and get out of there before it gets too hot.

We've crossed the silver bridge and we're looking back towards Phantom Ranch (on the left between the two bridges).

Another way to get down to Phantom Ranch is to ride a raft. We've never tried that and I dont't want to. Riding a raft in rapids on a cold, muddy river does not sound appealing at all.

This doesn't look like fun to me. I think Bob would like to give it a try, and I follow him everywhere, but not down a cold muddy river on an inflated raft.

Now doesn't that look like fun? No!

I forget the name of this flower, but on one of our hikes down to Phantom Ranch Mr. Ranger gave a talk on how poisonous these flowers are, and why you should not touch them. It turns out that my friend Barb has them growing in her flower beds, and they're not poisonous at all! I guess Mr. Ranger just wanted his flowers left alone.

There are a number of places along this trail where you can get water, and that's why it's a good trail for hiking up.  The River Resthouse is not too far from the bottom of the canyon, although it doesn't have water for drinking, it is a good place to stop for a rest.

Doesn't the trail look nice, flat, and easy here? Don't let it fool you. You are hiking UP the Grand Canyon!

It's easy to see the switchbacks on the trail in this picture. The switchbacks make hiking up a steep trail so much easier, but they also add more miles to the trail.

We're pretty happy here because we've come a long way, but we're still not at the top. Just look at the canyon behind us, and you can see that we have a long way to go.

It was a hot hike, and we stopped often and wet our heads at every water station we came to. We celebrated finishing the trail with ice cream, and we agreed that we'd hike down again the next time we come to The Grand Canyon.  We just love it here! 

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