Yesterday was really great! We had plans to ride our bikes into the South Rim of the Grand Canyon from our RV. We stayed about 8 miles away and there was a really great bike path that ran alongside the road into the park. We left at 10am and rode for a little over an hour. The ride in made us tired and we stopped at least 4 times for water breaks. We rode all the way into the Visitor's Center where we watched a movie about the history of the Grand Canyon and also listened to an interactive audio demonstration. We have learned a lot about the first people to live in the Grand Canyon as well as the first explorers and we have had lots of opportunities to brush up on our geology lessons.
We grabbed some sandwiches for lunch and then pointed our bikes to the east to ride out to Yaki Point which is as far east as you are able to go without a car. I loved this ride because there were fewer tourists and for much of the trail we were right next to the rim. Oddly enough, Dagny was the most bothered by our close ride to the edge. I think of her as my most adventurous but that ride made her nervous.
We rode our bikes many miles to the west back across the park to the Village for ice cream. We had visited much of this area the day before when there were fewer weekend visitors. I am again aware of how much more enjoyable it is to travel to our National Parks in the middle of the week. Weekend tourist traffic and congestion are noticeable.
We pointed our bikes for home at about 3:45 and we were pleasantly surprised by the downhill travel. Our ride home was noticeably easier than our ride up hill in the morning. On the ride home we had to stop and ride very slowly past a family of elk sitting just off of our bike path. We estimate our days adventure at just over 21 miles and we all had a really great time. Riding our bikes gives us unlimited opportunity to see the fun parts of nature, get exercise, a little sun, challenge ourselves, and stay away from the crowds. I have loved our biking adventures more than most other days. I am so glad we were able to bring our bikes this sabbatical and that we are all old enough, big enough, and strong enough to make these long bike days so much fun.
We quickly grabbed some drinks
and jumped into the Honda. The only part of the South Rim still to be discovered were the 20 miles to the east ending at Desert View. The girls and I explored the watchtower and Dave smoked a cigar. We caught up on journaling and spent 2 hours of quiet family time waiting for the sun to set. It was a nice way to round out this visit to the Grand Canyon. I feel like we saw every square inch of the South Rim and I think we all voted this one of our favorite stops.
Today was mostly a drive day. We headed east then north toward Page, Arizona. A few years ago David and Alastair had visited the Antelope Slot Canyons in the area and we had plans to check them out. At 1:30 we joined our little tour and walked down the very sandy trail to two different and very pretty canyons. Our guide shared a little information about the area and the Navajo Nation and gave us some good tips for capturing great photos within the Canyons.
Back to the RV for our last bit of driving for the day. We crossed into Utah this afternoon and all feel a little sad to be inside of our last state we will visit before heading home. We just have one more week together on this adventure and we are all feeling a little bit sad about that. I really do love having my children and David with me 24/7. We play games, sing songs, hold hands, and just enjoy being together. This sabbatical is a practice in doing what we want to do, not what we have to do. We all know the "have to do" is necessary but we sure wish the "want to do" could last a little longer.
- Jll
We rode our bikes many miles to the west back across the park to the Village for ice cream. We had visited much of this area the day before when there were fewer weekend visitors. I am again aware of how much more enjoyable it is to travel to our National Parks in the middle of the week. Weekend tourist traffic and congestion are noticeable.We pointed our bikes for home at about 3:45 and we were pleasantly surprised by the downhill travel. Our ride home was noticeably easier than our ride up hill in the morning. On the ride home we had to stop and ride very slowly past a family of elk sitting just off of our bike path. We estimate our days adventure at just over 21 miles and we all had a really great time. Riding our bikes gives us unlimited opportunity to see the fun parts of nature, get exercise, a little sun, challenge ourselves, and stay away from the crowds. I have loved our biking adventures more than most other days. I am so glad we were able to bring our bikes this sabbatical and that we are all old enough, big enough, and strong enough to make these long bike days so much fun.
We quickly grabbed some drinks
and jumped into the Honda. The only part of the South Rim still to be discovered were the 20 miles to the east ending at Desert View. The girls and I explored the watchtower and Dave smoked a cigar. We caught up on journaling and spent 2 hours of quiet family time waiting for the sun to set. It was a nice way to round out this visit to the Grand Canyon. I feel like we saw every square inch of the South Rim and I think we all voted this one of our favorite stops.
Back to the RV for our last bit of driving for the day. We crossed into Utah this afternoon and all feel a little sad to be inside of our last state we will visit before heading home. We just have one more week together on this adventure and we are all feeling a little bit sad about that. I really do love having my children and David with me 24/7. We play games, sing songs, hold hands, and just enjoy being together. This sabbatical is a practice in doing what we want to do, not what we have to do. We all know the "have to do" is necessary but we sure wish the "want to do" could last a little longer.
- Jll
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