Eastern Europe Trip

Following the excitement of yesterday, or perhaps just in order to sleep off the lemon meringue pie and cheesecake, we had a bit of a lie-in, getting up close to 9am… With another full day in the Grand Canyon area, we planned to do a bit more hiking, learning our lesson from yesterday’s adventure and sticking to the rim walk heading from the start of the Bright Angel trail towards Hermit’s Rest. Well, at least that was the plan until we looked at the Grand Canyon guide we were given on entering the park. Currently, the road to Hermit’s Rest, on which we hoped to return via the free shuttle, was closed to all road traffic, which meant the round-trip would be far too long. Never mind, we reasoned, we’d simply head half-way, to a viewpoint called Maricopa Point or Hopi Point (2.9miles and 4miles each way respectfully).

So, with our plans sorted, we went to the “breakfast room” to run the gauntlet with the mass of ‘mercans and this time were able to get some bread to toast and a sachet or two of “grape jelly” which is like Bramble Jam and actually quite nice. With a decaf in hand, we went back to our room to eat, in order to avoid the overbearing crush and noise of hungry ‘mercans stuffing themselves ready for a days wobble about on the trails…

With one final piece of preparation to do before our long hike, we once again hit the shops. I’d noticed that Tracy’s only headgear was a baseball cap, which left her ears flapping in the breeze. Now, whilst she’s lucky to have ears like a normal person, not an elephant like me, they were still subject to the sun’s intense rays and in danger of turning crimson. So we searched for a proper trekker’s hat like mine (see earlier pics for how fetching it looks). But we couldn’t find one, so we had to settle for a floppier version with “Grand Canyon” written on the front (something Tracy was keen to avoid for fear of looking like a tourist… quite what she thought we looked like was beyond me…). With yet more dollars spent, we parked the car near Bright Angel Lodge and set off on our walk… only to get about 2 miles in and find the trail closed along with the road… Damn. Still, at least the views were good, so we took some more pics and sat and admired the view before turning round and heading back the way we’d come…










In fact, the views were so spectacular, even the local wildlife stops to admire it from time to time…






By now though, it’s fair to say we were getting a little “canyoned out”. Having the helicopter ride yesterday gave us such wonderful views of the canyon, that walking round the rim, or driving to other viewpoints along it, simply didn’t provide anything new, and so we reasoned it was time to move on. Good job we’re planning something very different for tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, showered and changed, we made our way to the Steakhouse for tea. Here we were served with a good sized, and reasonable quality, steak, and washed it down with a half-decent bottle of “Cowboy Cabernet” (I kid you not) and for appetizer “Rattlesnake Ale” – which was served, for some obscure reason, in a jam-jar with a handle!






Once again having eaten our full, we headed back to the motel and another night in a bed large enough for all Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear, Baby Bear and all their Bear relatives…