Cool bridge and a move down the road

November 9 (Thursday)

We had a look around the Trading Post at Cameron. There is an old bridge built in 1921 that was used to cross the Little Colorado River. Unfortunately it is closed to pedestrian traffic. It would have been fun to walk across it and get some pictures.

The Little Colorado is completely dry at this point.

There is an underpass under the highway. Not as much fun as dodging cars, but safer!

We looked around the gift shop at the crafts. Very impressive work. We watched a lady using a loom to make a Navajo rug. It was a very intricate pattern. Even though the rugs are expensive to buy, when you see the hours it must take to make one the artist likely makes 50 cents an hour!

After mailing postcards home we packed up and headed toward Flagstaff. Hwy 89 is a great road with lots of passing lanes which means no line-ups of vehicles behind slow moving RV's. It is a long pull up the hill toward Flagstaff. We passed the 7126 foot elevation just north of the City. We set up at Greer's Pine Shadows RV Park, and headed into town sans trailer.

Smoke from prescribed burns in the area.

Flagstaff is just under 7000 feet

It was so interesting following old Route 66 past the 50's and 60's era motels and diners. The stories they could tell! We parked by the Tourist Information building and spent some time collecting brochures and maps. The building is very nicely decorated. 

The main line train tracks go right through town and the gal at the Info place said they get between 80 and 100 trains per day, and no train whistles. They move through town quite quickly which is a good thing as traffic gets backed up pretty quick at the crossings.

We took a stroll through the downtown area and admired the historic old buildings……..

…..and stopped for a beer at The Lumberyard. It's a micro-brewery and they make some pretty good beer!

.....and that was Our View From Here!

More ditch and some ruins

November 8 (Wednesday)

A full day of sightseeing at Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful day with no clouds. A bit cool (39 F/ 4C) when we got up to the Canyon, but it warmed up through the day. Not much wind either. Just right for sightseeing!

We stopped at the Watchtower first as we wanted to get a different perspective with the morning light versus the afternoon light from yesterday. Honestly, regardless of time of day or weather conditions there just are no bad pictures of Grand Canyon.

We bypassed most of the stops we made yesterday as we wanted to get to the Visitor Center at Grand Canyon Village before the crowds got too big. Even at 9:30 the parking lots were filling up. And this is a cool November mid-week day. I can't imagine summer. We looked at the exhibits at the center and then watched a short video on the history, geology, and people of the region. Went to the gift shop, then more of a look-see. Saw a very tame elk in the visitor area, and of course lots of people trying to get pictures and tempting fate by getting a bit too close to the animal.

A quick lunch back at the truck then walked to Mather Point. Another breathtaking view of course. We went back to the truck and drove to Yavapai Point and Geology Museum. Very nice views and the exhibits in the museum were very informative on the geology of the canyon. We also listened to a Ranger do a talk on the geology of the canyon from a less scientific perspective. It was very well done.

We drove into the heart of the village, and had a brief look around, but parking was at a premium and we were getting a bit tired of walking around, so after a quick stop for a coffee we headed out of the touristy part and off towards Cameron.

On the way we stopped at the Tusayan Museum and Ruins. This was a nice distraction away from the Canyon and more about the people that lived near the Canyon thousands of years ago. The site had the remnants of a Puebloan village they believe was built prior to 1200 AD. The stone structures were living quarters, storage rooms and the Kiva or ceremonial circular structure. This reminded me a lot of the villages the Indians of the Pacific Northwest built and that we saw on Vancouver Island.

Yes, I was looking!

Mt Humphries through the smoke. They are doing some prescribed burns in the area.

Museum and gift shop.

It was almost dusk when we got back to the campground in Cameron. We had spent a day and a half at Grand Canyon. Just enough time to see what we wanted to, but not everything which means a repeat visit is in the future! Tomorrow we head to Flagstaff.

That was Our View From Here......