Out West ~ Day Three, Grand Canyon

With two GPS devices, a Road Atlas, and advice from a staffer at the Arizona Welcome Center, you’d think getting off the right exit from the I-40 to drive to the Grand Canyon, would be a breeze. Unfortunately, the GPSs could not agree on the route, and I may have misunderstood the staffer, all of which had us looping back to correct our navigational error and with construction delays, added about a half-hour to our travels.

I don’t know where all the visitors to the Grand Canyon were from the day we were there, but few of them spoke English. We heard, Spanish (expected), Italian (not expected), French, and German, along with some languages we could not identify. Apparently, word of the world’s biggest gully has spread far and wide.

We purchased a Golden Passport at the headquarters/ visitor’s center of the Grand Canyon National Park and received parking instructions. I’m glad Barbara was along to help me navigate to the right parking area and to figure out the color-coded shuttles that would transport us to specific points of interest. She reads brochures better than I do, and what’s often Greek to me she grasps clearly.

The more scenic and grandiose views of the canyon’s South Rim were closed to automobile traffic and accessible only by walking or by shuttle. I doubt I would have enjoyed these to any greater extent than the one at Hermit’s Rest, for even there I could not get within twelve feet of the railing that protects the foolhardy from falling. Believe me; I could see plenty from a much safer vantage point.

Were Barbara and I to have ridden a shuttle to see other sights along the South Rim, we would have waited one or two hours in a line that backed up against the rail for sight sighters, the same rail I could not get close to for fear of falling into the Grand Canyon. Thus, my sweet wife said it was okay with her to go back to the visitor’s center and watch the National Geographic version of the Grand Canyon in the Imax Theater.

Luckily, we made it in time for the 4:30 showing. The man selling tickets stated our total was $27.30, so I gave him thirty dollars. We made small talk about Barbara and I being from Mississippi.

As he was about to tell me the amount of change I would receive, I asked, “Has anyone ever told you to keep the change?”

“No, they haven’t!” he smiled.

“Okay then, keep the change.”

He looked dumbfounded as I reassured him of my intent, but he managed to say he’d use the extra money to help someone else.

I would later tell Barbara, I should have given him one of my “Bodock Post” cards so if someone asked him who that “unmasked man” was, he’d have a ready answer.

I’ve seen a couple of Imax shows before, so I knew I wouldn’t fare much better in a theater versus the real thing. Thank goodness, the film had a lot of historical information about the discovery of the Grand Canyon by explorers and settlers . The filmed reenactment of Powell’s successful navigation of the deadly rapids of the Colorado River that runs along the canyon’s floor added a sense of danger in a new form. Still, the sensation of drifting in a glider over canyon rims was sufficient to make me close my eyes or to look at the nearest wall, rather than endure the stress I feel when exposed to great heights.

Leaving the Grand Canyon we saw a small herd of elk that others were stopping to photograph, and as we crept along we took a few pictures, too.

Each day we had a fairly good idea where we would spend the night based on the amount of distance we planned to cover on a given day. We typically lodged in mid-priced Choice Motels, of which Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and Econo Lodge are members. Each stay is worth so many points toward a free night’s stay or some sort of gift card that can be redeemed whenever a qualifying level of points is reached.

On Wednesday night we found ourselves at the most unusual Quality Inn in Williams, Arizona, which in every aspect but the sign looked like a dude ranch and did seem to function as such. We dined in a plush restaurant on the premises where the food exceeded our expectations.

We were quite tired from the rigors of the day, but with only three days of travel behind us, we still had a long way to go.

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