September 6, 2017 The Big Ditch

September 6, 2017

MEOWT!  MEOWT!  Wait…  I don’t like the smell around here… I think something will try and eat me.

We both woke up early and decided to take a sunrise walk along the Riverwalk.  The geese and ducks serenaded us along the way.  It is cool, so Spouse is walking at a decent pace.  Since things were ok at the park, we are going to hit the road today.

After our walk, we picked up a few groceries and fueled up and were back at Hannah by 7:30.  There are a couple of ways we can head towards home.  We could go down 461 from Shiprock to Gallup.  This is a 4 lane highway for the most part and pegs the yawn-o-meter.  We chose to cut across the reservation and head to the Grand Canyon.  This road is a two lane road, and it is not in the best condition.  It is pretty boring for the first 30 miles or so, but once we cross into Arizona, the red rocks start showing up.  There are buttes, and even the ‘Baby Rocks’ which are little hoodoos.

Spouse stopped in the town of Cayenta to get something out of Hannah.  We pulled into a Burger King where there are signs warning about panhandlers.  You are barely out of your car when you are approached by some pretty skeevy characters.  Spouse did what he had to do and we split real quick.  There is a turnout by the Anasazi Inn about 10 miles down the road that is pretty.  We stopped there and ate some lunch in peace.  Then on to the ‘Big Ditch’. 

We have been to the Grand Canyon several times, and it never gets old.  It was warm – 94, but the clouds came in and the temperature dropped into the 70s.  Thunder rolled, and drops fell, but it never let loose.  Although going home is usually a two day thing, we decided to take our time since we didn’t have to spend so much time in Farmington.  So, why not stay at the Grand Canyon. 

Sounds easy, right?  It is after Labor Day… the kids are back at school…  As we are driving to the RV park, we saw a herd of elk.  There was no place to stop, but best that we didn’t… they may have smelled their kindred spirit in our freezer…

We get to the RV park, and just as the lady is telling Spouse that there are no vacancies, someone called and cancelled their reservation.  Had we been 5 minutes sooner, or 5 minutes later, we would not have had a spot.  Such is luck!  A little more thunder, a little rain…  All is good.