Fourth of July Eve

Day 17, July 3rd, and up early at the Canyon to see the sun rise. How often will that happen in a lifetime? When planning the vacation, getting up at 5:00 am for such a special moment seemed like a splendid idea, and I was all for it. On the morning of the big day, only Bonnie was willing to make the effort, because the rest of us decided sleep was more important. Bonnie surprised a mule deer near the South Rim, and followed it to the car, getting some great photos. Once I got up, the wildlife had moved on, but I got a few shots of the South Rim.

After a fantastic breakfast, same table, different server, we checked out and headed for some more South Rim sights. The mule deer appeared a couple more times during the morning, and we also saw some pack mules on their way to carry heavy loads of the human variety down, down into the Canyon. We stopped at Mather Point, Grand View Point, Desert View and Watchtower. The sky was blue, the clouds pretty and puffy white, and the tourists were few. It was a perfect day. And the Grand Canyon stays still for every single photograph. There wasn't a single blurry photo the whole visit.

We were sorry to say goodbye to the Grand Canyon, but it was getting ever closer to our next meal. Bonnie had found Cameron Trading Post for lunch. Fantastic gift shop, fantastic restaurant, fantastic service. Bonnie and I split a side order of Navajo Fry Bread, which is identical twins with Fried Dough. Only somehow better. The piece the server brought us, accompanied by sugar, cinnamon, and honey, was as large as a dinner plate. The burger I ordered did not come on a bun. It came sandwiched between two more dinner-plate-sized Fry Breads. I did not eat every last bite, but came very close. The beverages were handled by a separate server, and this system worked very well. No one went thirsty. After that fabulous lunch, I waddled out to the gift shop to burn off some calories walking up and down the aisles, occasionally power lifting attractive items. The whole place was part tourist attraction, part local favorite, and I gave it my highest endorsement. Make the effort to stop if you are in the area.

Once we all had our fill of the Trading Post, we headed for the Wapatki Monument, which we repeatedly had trouble pronouncing. The amount of lava in the area is mind boggling, and I was really fascinated by the black lava, which looked as if asphalt had been spread on the hillsides. Occasionally there would be a tiny sprout of green vegetation poking through it. Sorry, I got no photos of the lava either. Wapatki Monument was on a meandering 38 mile desert road, and included pueblo ruins. The highlight was a 100 room pueblo. Unfortunately, a lightning storm cut our visit short.

We reached Flagstaff, our destination for the evening, and checked into the Sleep Inn. We learned the hard way to be careful where to book a room in Flagstaff. Hearing the trains go through, whistles blowing, every hour on the hour all night wasn't so much fun the first time it happened to us, two years ago, although the desk clerk at that particular Quality Inn said she "loved the trains". The Sleep Inn was far enough away so that we would not be sleep-deprived in the morning. We made a visit to a laundromat, named Just Like Home (not), and there Donald won a free wash & dry the next time he returned by answering the question of the week, "What was the first breakfast cereal to be manufactured in the US?" (Shredded Wheat). I committed a landromat faux-pas when I tossed a used dryer sheet into what I thought was a trash barrel but was actually someone's laundry basket. I took it out as soon as I realized, but still got dirty looks. All the other laundromat clients seemed to be related.

After that enjoyable hour, we brought all our newly washed clothes back to our rooms, then went to Cracker Barrel for supper. Comfort food was what I needed. I don't remember what was on my plate, but I'm sure it's still on my hips. Afterward we took a scenic little ride around Flagstaff, for it was July 3rd and things could really get popping later. Clyde cruised us by the Quality Inn we stayed at two years ago, still near the tracks, and the parking lot was full of college students of the male variety. I could only imagine the hi jinks that would go on all night long. If we had booked here the train whistles would have been the least of our problems.

Thank you, Bonnie, for booking us far from the kegging crowd.