What happened to summer vacations? During the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s…most of our lifetime, folks took vacations in the summer when the weather was warm and the kids were out of school. Today, it seems as though “anytime” is a “good time” for a vacation or holiday. In all of our chosen destinations, the crowds were large and vacancies were scarce. Therefore, we were not surprised to discover that Page, AZ would be the same…no vacancies. We decided to by-pass Page and the Antelope Canyon Tour and move on to Plan B…Jacob Lake and the Grand Canyon North Rim.
As we were preparing to leave the Willow Wind RV Park in Hurricane, UT, we began talking to a nice German couple that were touring the USA and our National Parks. As always, w were amazed at how knowledgeable the foreign tourists are about our country and how well they speak English. Many of the tourists that we encountered on this trip were foreigners.
We left Hurricane, UT at 10;15 AM and took highway 89 A to Jacob Lake. Jacob Lake is at the crossroad to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We pulled into the Jacob Lake Forest Service Campground, and discovered that it was slightly more crowded than last year. Ken selected a nice space and we decided to stay for two nights. With our “senior” national park pass, the cost per night was only $9! Old age is not so bad!
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From our campsite, we had a view of the town(if you can call it that) of Jacob Lake; The Jacob Lake Inn, a restaurant, lunch counter, gift shop, bakery, and general store; a gas station/garage; and visitors center. It was a very busy place! Everyone making the 44 mile trip south to the North Rim seemed make a quick stop for something!
On Friday, we packed our lunch and made the drive to the Grand Canyon North Rim. The rain had stopped and the weather was perfect for the trip! At the Rim, we visited the Lodge and absorbed the views from the indoor and outdoor seating areas. We also walked down the paved trail to Bright Angel Point Overlook. From this location we could view one of the North Rim’s most spectacular views. At the overlook we met a nice couple from Charlotte, NC and had a friendly visit comparing our travels. During our lunch, we met a woman from South Bend, In…a math professor at Notre Dame. She was concluding her travels and offered us a bottle of Dijon Mustard…folks are really nice on the rim of the Grand Canyon!
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The Grand Canyon North Rim is more remote than the south rim and requires more effort to visit, therefore, fewer visitors make it to the North Side, but, none the less it was a busy place.
On Saturday morning we packed up and pulled out of the campground and started our drive towards home. Our route, highway 89A, took us through many scenic areas: Kaibab Plateau, House Rock Valley, Colorado River, The Navajo Bridge, Lees Ferry, and Marble Canyon. The scenery on our homestretch was beautiful!
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After six hours on the road, We made it home to Tempe, AZ. It was sunny and hot as we hurriedly unloaded the RV.
We had a great 18 day trip, exploring amazing things in this fabulous country. As always, we look forward to our next adventure!