Sister's visit, flat tire

My sister Susan came to the North Rim for a visit. We had a good time during her three day stay. Dinner at the Lodge, an evening at the Cookout and an excursion to Point Imperial and Cape Royal highlighted Susan's visit. I am pointing out land marks in the canyon from Bright Angel Point.

While we were having lunch at Cape Royal this storm developed on the South Rim and came our way. We were able to finish eating before it caught up to us.

This past week Anthony, Sherri and I headed out through the forest to hike from Swamp Point to the Powell Plateau. About half way there we heard a hissing noise and sure enough the right front tire was going flat. A pointy rock punctured the tire. Anthony and are finding the best place for the jack.

After changing the tire we didn't want to continue as far as Swamp Point without a spare, so we found a remote side road and bushwhacked up to the ridge-line. It was a good hike near Quaking Aspen Spring.

On the way back to the North Rim we stopped at the entrance station to hike up to a fire lookout tower. It was about a mile and a half up an old road. The tower is a historical site built in the 1930's.

This was the tower where Edward Abbey spent many summers with his dad, girl friends and wives visiting often. He also did a lot of writing in the top of the tower. The house is supposed to be worked on at some point, but now it is in very bad shape.

The climb to the top is a little scary, as the railings aren't much at the landing areas but that wasn't going to stop us from making it to the top. Except the door was locked to get into the observation area, still a nice climb with great views.

Despite the flat tire, we got in a couple of good hikes and enjoyed our day off.

Cape Final and Transept

We haven't ventured far to hike, so in the last two weeks we repeated hikes from last year. Of course the views are still spectacular. Here we are at Cape Final.

Sherri doing a tree pose, I'm glad she has good balance.

A nice spot for lunch with a view.

On Saturday 8-11 the symphony from Kanab UT played at the North Rim on the veranda. I was asked to represent Forever Resorts and introduce Symphony of the Canyons. This is an annual event which Forever Resorts sponsors. There are 45 symphony members and there were 300 people in the audience. The veranda was packed. I am introducing the orchestra.

I think the audience is laughing at my joke, not a bad spot for some music, and the sunset was spectacular!

This past week we hiked the Widforss Trail which we did three times last year. It's an enjoyable five mile hike very close to where we live. The views of Transept Canyon are pretty good.

Also on this day we hiked over to Uncle Jim's Cabin which was really a cave in the side of the rocks. Uncle Jim was an early pioneer with many colorful stories. He was not very tall.

The meadow below is very pretty.

My sister arrives tomorrow for a four day stay, we are looking forward to showing her around where we live, play and work. Also, tomorrow the owner of Forever Resorts is bringing nine buses to the North Rim. I will be a step on guide for one of the buses and Sherri will be welcoming people in the Lodge area. It should be an interesting and busy Monday.

Horseshoe Bend

Two weeks ago Sherri and I went on a shopping trip to Page. We had read and heard about  Horseshoe Bend Overlook just south of Page but had never had time to stop. It's a spot where land is several hundred feet above the Colorado River. We were amazed at the number of people who had parked and hiked the 1/3 of a mile to the overlook, most were not speaking English. The views and the rock formations are very cool. Wind and water can do some amazing things over millions of years. The photos below are river float trips, Sherri looking good and the Horseshoe Bend.

One of the reasons we went to Page was to buy groceries for the Gift Shop Employee Appreciation Picnic. Anthony and I (with Sherri's help) prepared and cooked lunch for our co-workers. The setting is pretty spectacular, right on the rim. We also gave out some prizes and all enjoyed a picnic rather than the another lunch in the Employee Dining Room. Some shots of the Gift Shop Employees having a good time.

Last week Anthony, Sherri, Ryder and I hiked from Saddle Mountain, in the designated wilderness, down to the Nankoweap trail head which is an additional 11 miles to the river. The hike we did is a steep seven mile round trip. We can take Ryder since we are not in the NPS. When we arrived at the trail head the clouds from the previous night's monsoon storms were laying low.

Although the temperature at 8800' never got above 70deg. the humidity was much higher than we are used to and we all worked up a sweat.One of the great things about this hike is we did not see another person all day. Storms did start to brew just east and north of us, fortunately we did not have a storm over head.

Ryder had a good time and he wanted to see what Anthony brought for lunch.

Above we are looking across the canyon. It was a great hike and we felt it coming straight uphill at elevation.
We have now passed the halfway point of the season and most have fallen into a good routine, we are looking forward to a good second half.

Jacob Lake

We are approaching the halfway point in the season. Some are settling into a good routine while others are getting restless. It's a challenge to keep everyone satisfied in a seasonal position in a remote location. I have been fortunate in the Gift Shop to have very little turnover.
Two weeks ago Sherri and I hiked a portion of the Arizona Trail which goes through the National Park. This part of the trail is mostly flat and stays in the forest. The trees and clouds made for a comfortable hike of about 8 miles.

Last week we took the back road to Jacob Lake. Jacob Lake is 47 miles from the North Rim and it is the last outpost of civilization before entering the Kaibab Plateau in the Coconino National Forest. Forest road 22 is a good gravel road with few other vehicles. Our first stop was a turnoff to Dry Park Lookout. The tower rises out of the forest close to two hundred feet.

At the bottom is a very nice cabin where the fire observer lives. He was manning the tower when we got to the top and we had a nice conversation with him. He pointed out the landmarks which we could see and talked about living in such a unique location. He also said that Ed Abbey had manned this tower one year. The author Ed Abbey had also been a seasonal ranger at Organ Pipe Cactus national Monument where we spent the winter.
Here is a photo of the old cabin which is now used as storage. The next photo is north toward Kanab, the red hills around Kanab are visible.

We were glad we stopped and had a nice visit with fire watcher Bill. Driving on a few miles north we stopped at Lookout Canyon and took a short hike. We did not plan on hiking so we did not have gear, nor were we dressed for hiking, but we did have a nice walk in the woods.
After a beautiful drive we reached Jacob Lake. We have been through Jacob Lake many times and stopped for gas or their famous cookies. However, we have never been to the lake. The lake was named after Jacob Hamblin who was a late 1800's Mormon pioneer. These days the lake is no more than puddle in the middle of a meadow.

From where I took the picture of the "lake" is one of the earliest Forest Service buildings ever built.

This building was typical of the times, one half was used as a residence and the other side was the office. The caretakers were not in today but we did see the entire Ranger Station through the windows. It was a very enjoyable day and we did partake in the Jacob Lake cookies after we were back home.

Point Sublime

Tuesday 7/3 we were fortunate to have Jon and Diana take Sherri and I out to Point Sublime in their Jeep. Last year we tried to get out there in our truck but the road is too tight and rough for a full length pickup. We left mid-afternoon for the 17 mile drive, which turned out to be a great time of day to arrive at the point. It takes about two hours to go through the meadows and forests.
The monsoons are starting to get going, although we haven't had any decent rain yet, the clouds are forming every afternoon. The clouds and forest made for a very pleasant bumpy ride. When we arrived at the point, the clouds were thick and photos looked washed out.

Jon and Diana taking in the views.

Sherri and I under a wind swept gnarly old pine.

The sun started peeking out through the clouds and I shot some nice photos.

Thanks to Jon and Diana for taking us out to Point Sublime, it's been on our Grand Canyon bucket list for a year. The Fourth was a blast. The parade led by the mules passes in front of the Lodge and water fights are the order of the day. Unfortunately I forgot the camera, I will try to find photos to post from other sources.

Uncle Jim and Walhalla Plateau

As the post title indicates we/I have been on a couple of hikes in the past two weeks. A week ago Wednesday Sherri and I hiked the Uncle Jim Trail. Just as we started out, near the parking lot we encountered this creature crossing the trail.

Think it's a Bull Snake, not positive. Uncle Jim is a nice trail along the rim. The warm winds from the canyon blow up to the rim and the warm air allows for such plants as Cliff Rose to grow. Here is Sherri stopping to smell the roses.

We stopped to have lunch on the rim and enjoy the views.

This past Wednesday Anthony and I set out to hike the Komo Trail on the Walhalla Plateau. Well, we parked in the wrong spot and never did find the trail out. So we wound up bushwhacking for 6 miles through the forest. Most of the hike wasn't bad but we did encounter some areas of heavy brush. This ravine we skirted...no sense in going up and down when you can go around.

 After being lost for three hours we managed to navigate well enough to find the rim and some amazing views over a canyon. I think it is the Clear Creek Canyon.

Anthony is enjoying the views.

We figured out where we were and found the missing trail. Following the trail back was much easier but when we got to the road we had no idea which way the car was. We walked about 1/2 mile the wrong way and came across a nice tourist parked along side of the road. He gladly gave us a ride to the car. We were glad he did since we had already hiked 13 miles.
The fire danger is now at the highest level. Thunderstorms are predicted for this week. Let's hope we get more rain than lightning or parts of the forest could end up like sections we hiked through. This fire was six years ago and created some eerie landscape.

 Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!!! A parade is scheduled near the Lodge, we are hoping to get rain on our parade.