North Rim: Day 2

Rarely do we spend so much time in a National Park.  But the North Rim is different.  Kaibab NF offers so many different vantage points to see various parts of this geological wonder.

We left the trailer for the day and wandered to the end of the NF road we were camping on to see the valley.

After a quick refuel, we headed back into the park proper to see the Rim from the other vantage points the NPS offered.  I've been told by many that the South Rim doesn't compare to the North, but you don't fully appreciate how wildly different and breathtaking the North Rim is until you make it there yourself.

At Angel Window, dogs weren't permitted on trail, so Mike set up a chair in the shade of the Jeep and read while I wandered down to see the canyon.

Sometimes when something is so vast, so large, you need to change perspective and remember to look for the little things.

I took a turn in the shade with the girls so Mike could go see the window.  

After leaving Angel Window, we hit a few side viewpoints on our way down.  And saw a beggar on our way too.

We made it back to camp, cooked up dinner and squeezed into bed for our last night in Arizona.

North Rim via Dirt

We woke to find that the ant situation we experienced the night prior didn't get any better in the morning.

While they weren't bitey, they were annoying.  So we packed up and headed along NF roads to Fire Point.  It was quite the jaunt to get there, but once at the canyon's edge, we had the place all to ourselves.  We set up our chairs, I made lunch and we spent an enjoyable mid morning relaxing in the breeze.

One dirt road to a canyon edge not being enough, Mike decided we needed to get to Sublime Point.  It was a haul.  Towing the pig of a teardrop behind us, we slugged along roads that required 4 low until finally reaching our destination.

The overlook was amazing.  Storms were rolling in, so the trio of dirt bike riders that followed us up left just prior to us.  It took us just as long to get out as it did in, via a different route that dropped us back into the park.  Just prior to pavement, we paused in a grassy clearing to get the 4 low rattle out of our bones.

On our way out of the park, we finally spotted a herd of bison.  We stopped along the road to watch them graze, cross the road for water, and run back to the west side to join up with the rest of the herd. It was the highlight of the afternoon.

Deciding to try NF roads on the east side this evening, we again lucked out with a disused alfa offshoot and hid in the trees, away from the road.

It was a long day, but sometimes the best ones are.

The Grand Canyon to the Manti-LaSal National Forest

When in Rome....

We went continued on NF-302 to NF-310 and hit pavement still in the park.  Since we were already there, we stopped at a few overlooks.

(I know better than to ask Pete to smile, so I accepted just the dogs peering at the camera)

We made our way eastbound through the park.  The tall pines gave way to scrub and finally to the vast nothingness that is the desert.  And it went on for hours.  And hours. 

We stopped in Blanding, Utah at a public park. Grass was enjoyed and there was even high powered water pump to top off our water supply.  After that stop, we hit the Utah BDR into the Manti-LaSal National Forest.

 
We climbed out of the low desert, through a bizarre Star Trek-like scene and into the pines.  Storm clouds were rolling in, so we stopped for the night.

We ate dinner under the Foxwing to escape the rain. Mandy made Paella and it was a really good dinner for the middle of the woods.  We tucked the dogs in and climbed into the tear drop for a another night.