Nov 4 - Grand Canyon South Rim & sad news.

Nov 4 - cont.
We left you at the turnoff for highway 64 west to the south side of the Grand Canyon. We're super excited to see the Canyon, it's one of the seven wonders of the world, right? We missed out seeing Horseshoe Bend because of fuel and time restrictions but we'll get there some other day. 
It's a short drive from the junction to the Park gate and soon we will see the Grand Canyon! 

We made it!

We got glimpses of the Canyon from the road and we stopped at the first viewpoint we saw. Luckily lots of room for our rig with RV parking on the left at Navajo Point Lookout.

First look is mind boggling.

Leslie didn't want me too close to the edge.

Leslie soon got close to the rail and we both stood and stared at this amazing place. There were quite a few people at this stop obviously because it was the first one. We are anxious to move on but I waited for the group of rental Corvettes and Mustangs with California plates on them to go first. They sounded British and they were having fun with those rentals. They didn't need to be following a big ol' fifth wheel through those nice curves ahead of us. We stopped briefly for another look at Moran Point and then continued into the park to find our site for tonight before dark. Leslie found a few spots on freecampsites.net where we can stay for free. Bonus! The campground in the park couldn't fit the longer rigs and they actually direct you to the Forestry Service sites. You can take on potable water and dump tanks in the park for free with your park pass. With a full fresh water tank we headed out the south gate of the Park to FS328 about 2-3 miles south of the gate. Signage was good and we found the right turn easily on 328. It is a good gravel road and it was really dusty but it is plenty wide enough with easy turns. Within a minute we noticed some sites on the left but decided to get further off the highway. We found a large site with room for probably 3-4 large RV's. The biggest issue was getting level. The site had all kinds of slopes in all different directions. We decided to go back and grab the other one we saw closer to the highway. A little more road noise but more level and about 40 yards from a bike path to the south gate of the park.

Got backed in and getting set up, unhooked the truck.

We did a quick setup and I hooked up the small gas generator so we could have power and lights. Got done just in time.

Les took this shot just after we set up.

Nov 5

We were up fairly early mostly due to traffic on the gravel road beside the rig. Seems 328 is a busy connection to the park. We want to find another site. We turned south on the highway and drove to Tusayan, a small town about 5 miles south of the park gate. We grabbed breakfast at McDonalds and, using their free wifi, we checked again on freecampsites.net. One of the sites listed was at the National Geographic Imax Theatre about a block away here in town.

Imax and Pizza Hut!!

We drove over and took a quick look and then went inside to inquire about overnight parking. They have a very large parking lot for RV's on the north side of the building right next to the bike path! There wasn't another rig there and when I talked to the young ranger at the Imax desk he said we could camp there for a few days if we like! He just said to make sure we parked so other RV's could still get in and out easily. Super bonus!! We'll definitely move here. We quickly went and grabbed the rig and pulled it back into town. The parking area is gravel but not dusty with the base material they have. The IGA grocery is across the road and there is a steakhouse beside it. There is also a Pizza Hut right in the building beside us. All this and it's free, plus an open wifi network that had speed enough to stream Highway Thru Hell on Discovery that night!!

Our spot for a couple days.

Shows more of the lot, the Airstream didn't stay.

We got all this done by 11:00 so we went inside and watched the Imax movie about the Canyon. It's $12.50 per person and we thought it was great. Imax films are so cool. I was leaning back and forth in my chair while they were flying a chopper down the river. It's a really good film and had some fantastic footage of the Canyon and the rapids in the Colorado River. Worth a look if you're there.

We grabbed Margaret from the rig and headed into the park to finally see the Grand Canyon! We walked the path from the Visitor Centre to the Trailview Overlook which gave us many different overlooks and different views of the Canyon. What an absolutely amazing place this is.

Sometimes people need to tempt fate.

I was not allowed too close, thank you Leslie :)

One of my fave pics, huge !!

Of course the selfie.

Spectacular place to see. Our walk took over 3 hours and by that time I was carrying Margaret. We stopped in the village on the walk back and grabbed a sandwich and a drink at the grocery store. Much more selection than the grocery in Tusayan if you go there.

We drove back to the rig in Tusayan and enjoyed a cold beer beside the rig in the sun. Great day. Leslie made a big pot of soup for supper that should last us a couple days for lunches as well. Just us in the lot tonight and the town is super quiet by 10 pm. This is a good find.

Nov 6

When I woke up this morning I could hear a popping sound when the fridge would light on propane. I googled it and several people had the same issue which is a dirty orifice in the burner. It still lights but makes the weird sound. I don't have the right wrench to get at the nut to remove it so I just cleaned everything I could reach and called it good for now. I'll buy some brake line wrenches somewhere down the road.

Clean the burner for now.

Leslie did a cleanup on the inside of the rig and we had a good breakfast so we decided to ride our bikes on the path to the Canyon. It's a beautiful day again with full sun, a perfect day for a ride. We left Margaret in the rig and headed for the Park entrance about 4-5 miles away. Great ride on a paved path through the tall pines right past our first site and into the Park. It was busy yesterday when we walked the overlooks and there are way more buses in the lot ahead of us so we decided to head back. We saw lots of great sites yesterday and I hate crowds of people. We wanted to grab lunch somewhere and there is a nice looking Mexican restaurant a couple blocks away. We loaded Margaret in the truck and drove over there. Should have walked but Margaret likes being in the truck anyway.

Very colorful and good food too.

We took a little driving tour of Tusayan after lunch. The airport is very close and it is super busy place with all the tour choppers and airplanes during the day. We watched a couple helicopters take off.

Two bus loads of people at the airport.

We went back to the rig and talked to a couple that were parked in the lot briefly. Their suspension on the large Grand Design they were towing had broken a spring. They had another spring fixed in Texas on their way here also. Luckily Grand Design stands behind their rigs and they were sending a mobile repair truck from Flagstaff with 4 new springs to get them fixed up and back on the road. They were going back to the RV Park in Tusayan with full hookups for the night and get the springs done this afternoon. We rode the bikes over to check out the repair later on and chat with them. Totally forget their names but they were from Texas and were super nice people. He retired in March from Valero Oil, same time as me from Mother Esso. We waved the next morning as we saw them pull out and head south.

Nov 7

We got a decently early start to our travel day today. We wanted to check out more spots along the canyon but didn't get there after our visits yesterday. Unfortunate but we'll likely stop here again sometime. We were on the road by 10:00 heading south and then east to Flagstaff! I am excited to see the "Standing on the Corner" monument in Flagstaff. As we were driving Leslie brought out Margaret's water dish to give her a drink and we found out that it was chilly last night.

Frozen water dish!

We took a picture of Coconino County for our friends Barry & Ailsa. Last summer at Western States race there was group of highly competitive runners calling themselves the Coconino Cowboys. It just reminded us of the race.

Cowboy up !

We pulled into a mall parking lot in Flagstaff to grab some lunch and I drove through an RV place to see if they had a new burner tube for my fridge. Nope, not the right one. Quick bite at the food court and back on the road to Winslow. Singing Eagles tunes of course ;)  I found another mall with a large parking lot and it had a Safeway for Les to grab some groceries and a Napa Auto store so I could buy wrenches for the fridge. Finally we get to see Standing on the Corner! The freakin' GPS took us on a big loop west on the freeway and back on another exit when we really could have gone through town which was shorter. Whatever, we made it and found a parking spot a short walk away.

Leslie plays a big guitar.

Had to send this to my buddy Scott.

She stopped to take a look at me!

This is a cool stop.

We spent some time taking in the Corner and sadly had to get back on the road. We plan on spending the night in Show Low somewhere. We got a little chuckle as we drove through Snowflake, Arizona. The irony of Snowflake in Arizona?? Sometimes the small things amuse you on the road lol.

Canadians in Snowflake??

Passed this big power plant. 

Big old boiler stacks. 

We ended up at Walmart in Show Low for one night. Kind of a tight lot to get in and out of but we made it alright. We checked with customer service and were directed to park basically where we were. Bonus. Only one other RV so far. We stayed hooked up and only pushed out the kitchen and bedroom slides. Grabbed supper at a Panda Express beside us and called it an early night.

Nov 8 

We have been messaging our friends Steve & Diane from Living the Dream blog and they are heading west while we are going east. They left another RV Dreamers place in Arkansas where they spent some time having too much fun and we have decided to meet in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Looking forward to meeting up with them, they have been full time for almost 9 years and we can definitely learn from them. Plus they are just great people and we like hanging out with them! We still have lots of miles to cover. We have to diagonally cross New Mexico. We left Show Low by 9am and pointed south and east. We are taking highway 60 across New Mexico from Springerville, Az. We are in high country and will pass through more mountain passes today for sure. More incredible travel day sights to see. I never get tired of cresting a mountain and seeing another beautiful valley on the other side.

During my road search I had noticed a place called Pie Town in New Mexico. Well if you know me then you know I love pie (and cake and well). I like most sweets in moderation. Leslie was not against it either but she always worries about calories and fat. Whatever!!! We stopped at the one place that looked open in Pie Town.

This and 2 other pie places is all there is in Pie Town.

Well let me tell you when you open that front door and walk in it is absolute heaven. There was two ladies there making pies right in front of you. A turn to the left and you enter the seating area and in the back of that area are the ovens. OMG!

The pie lady, she's so sweet lol.

There isn't a lot of room, just find a chair.

Leslie with Almond Joy pie, I chose New Mexico spicy apple. Mmm.

With happy tummies we continued our travels east on 60 to I25 for a short bit then east on 380 until we join highway 70 south towards Tularosa. 

Here's the hard part. Around 3:30 in the afternoon we get a call from my nephew Bryon. Sadly my sister Margi has been struggling with cancer and she passed away this afternoon after several really bad days. We found a place to pull over and finish the call. So sad to hear that she passed but I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore. We are so fortunate to have been able to spend time in Penticton and enjoy time with her before she got really bad. We feel so bad for her kids Bryon and Terryn and everyone in Penticton. Such a sad day.

I'm done. I just want to park for the night and think about how good our visit was. Leslie too. Her and Margi got along great. We happened to find a Pistachio farm not far up the road that had RV sites. Twelve sites in total, 3 with full hookup, 3 electric only and 6 dry camping. We pulled into site #1 and did a quick set up. I want to have a drink and cheers my sister.

Decent site for $20 cash

Leslie and I sat inside and shed some tears and called some family in B.C.  She was too young at only 58 to have suffered with this horrible disease. We'll miss you Margi and hopefully see you in heaven later on. Leslie wanted to get some air and she went outside around sunset. We haven't seen clouds in many days but Les called me out for today's sunset. We both felt like it was Margi saying good bye even though we are thousands of miles away. We'll miss you Margi, love you.

Love you Margi, looks like her wings to heaven.