Tuesday, May 18th

Monday was a beautiful day though the scene at NRCS looked more like late winter than mid-May--cloudless blue sky, bright sunshine, snow on the meadows from road to woods.  Strong sun and temperatures in the upper 50s/low 60s made a significant dent in the snowpack by the end of the day, though.

We arrived expecting a site with water, electricity and sewer so we purposely had an empty water tank and what the built-in propane tank contained in order to avoid demanding more of the engine than pulling the heavy RV with the Jeep in tow up long, steep grades.

We were disconcerted to learn that the dirt road leading to the RV site is too muddy to use for a couple of weeks.  Therefore, Betsy and Tyler explained, we'd have to temporarily boondock (camp without hooking to utilities) on the edge of the parking lot.

Sunday night was extremely uncomfortable.  Having heat required running the generator to produce electricity to power the fan AND  burning propane for the furnace.  We could run some lights on battery power but at the risk of draining the battery.  The RV was at an angle so the water tank, filled by garden hose, registered full at 25% capacity.  Long story short:  We were stressed from 5 days and 2100 miles of traveling, cold (despite two blankets and two sleeping bags on the bed), almost out of water and full of misgivings.

Yesterday morning Fred spoke with the owners and they came up with an interim location.  We are still on the parking lot but close enough to the building to connect to a 30 amp extension cord and a sewer pipe.  Water remains problematic, however.  The store has a 5000 gallon tank serviced weekly by a tanker truck.  The dirt road to the tank is inaccessible due to snow and mud so no water has been delivered.  Tyler estimates there is about 1000 gallons left from last year to supply them, us and the store until the road solidifies.

The North Rim Country Store, Mile Post # 605 Highway 67

We get a trickle from the faucets and are worried about not having any water.  Taking a shower and washing clothes (by hand--the closest laundromat, in the national park, is a 36-mile round trip) have to be post-poned for now.

After settling in on the new site yesterday, we drove to the park.  Seeing the canyon again I felt the same overwhelming awe I experienced the very first time.  We took the short trail to Bright Angel Point and remembered how hot it was when we made that same trek in May, 2007.  This time, the weather was cool and extremely windy.  The wind pushed your body so forcefully it was hard to stay still enough to take pictures!

Wandering around the tourist area, we reminisced at a few favorite spots ('our' little cabin, the picnic table in the woods), noticed some changes and possibly recognized a face or two.  After a quick lunch at that special picnic table, we hiked the North Kaibab Trail as far as Coconino Overlook (1.5 mile round-trip). The view down the canyon toward the San Francisco Peaks was spectacular though too hazy for great pictures.  I was excited to notice some early wildflowers and realized that it's just early spring at this elevation.  I'm excited about finding and identifying new-to-me western species!

As clouds gathered and our energy waned, we hopped in the Jeep and returned 'home', satisfied by a good first day on the plateau.