Here I go!

It is hard to believe that I survived the week at school and am on my way to Arizona via Las Vegas. Sun Country was a busy place but I made it to the gate with time to spare. \240Something on me set off the security machine so I had to get a thorough pat down. \240Now that I think about it, I am wondering if it could have been the metallic trim on my Alaska kuspuk. Note to self: \240not a great travel shirt, if that was what did it!

I made the mistake of checking the weather before leaving for the airport and noticed that the temperature at the Grand Canyon tomorrow night and Sunday night will be 23 and 24. \240Perfect camping weather if you like it cold!

Meet Apollo!

I made it to Las Vegas and got to the hotel in Henderson a little before midnight. \240The kids and Apollo were sleeping, and Laila had requested that his crate be covered so they could “reveal” him to me in the morning.

I woke up before everyone and went to to eat breakfast in the lobby. I went for a walk outside and ran into Liz walking Apollo. He sure is cute! \240I babysat him in the room so the rest of the crew could eat breakfast. Now we are Grand Canyon bound!

Road Trip Puppy Style!

We got the van packed, made a not-so-quick stop at Walmart for last minute supplies and were on the road to the Grand Canyon by 10:00. \240Lucky for us Apollo is an excellent travel puppy. \240He slept most of the time in the \240car and did not bark or whine!

We made it!

We almost missed taking the obligatory picture by the park sign, but Liz made a quick turn around.

A Grand Canyon Sunset

We wanted to see the Sunset at Mather Point so we drove to the Visitor Center and parked. \240It is a short walk to the point. We didn’t have any idea how crowded it would be, but it really was not all that bad. \240Some people in our party were a little less than enthusiastic about the natural beauty and kept asking when it would be over. \240We had to remind them that you can’t rush nature!

More views

Needless to say, we couldn’t stop taking pictures of the views!

Apollo the star!🌟

What we didn’t realize was that Apollo would be the star of the show. \240Everyone loves him and wanted to stop to pet him. One lady kissed him on the lips, and a few people took pictures of him!

Shuttle bus \240mania

We nearly froze to death in the tent overnight. \240We don’t know the actual temperature, but the forecast was for 23. It has to have been at least that cold. I wore long underwear, fleece pajamas, a wool shirt, a fleece jacket, my down jacket, two pairs of wool socks, a hat and mittens.

Apollo woke us up bright and early so we had time to get ready and bring him to the kennel for the day. \240Our game plan was to take the shuttle bus all the way to Hermit’s Rest, \240the last stop and to get off at each viewpoint along the way.

The buses weren’t too crowded in the morning, and we were very glad we didn’t wait to do this part in the afternoon when it was busier.

Hiking the Bright Angel Trail

We took the shuttle back to the village area and had a quick sandwich before heading down the trail inside the rim. \240It was a short hike but enough for us. \240I can’t imagine going much farthher down. It was bad enough looking down into the canyon from up there. \240We were amazed by some people’s stupidy. \240One lady was standing on a wall posing like a maniac. Another couple climbed over the barrier and were perched on the edge. \240Then they brought their young children out there with them. Yikes!

Dangerous views

These pictures are proof of just how dangerous people can be at the Grand Canyon. \240We were sure we would see someone fall or hear about it in the news. We were most worried about the family with young kids. We were safe at all times when we took our pictures!

Safe posing

Here is proof that we’re were completely smart and safe when taking our pictures!

Elk and a campfire

On our way back to the kennel to pick up Apollo we saw lots of elk walking through the area. They were right close the the lodges and the roads and didn’t seem to mind people.

Spending the morning in the village

Liz has some work she needed to upload for work, so we packed up the tent and went over to the park headquarters building which supposedly had WiFi. \240They did not have it, so we continued down to the village. The Grand Canyon Visitor complex is quite extensive. Not only is there the main visitor center, but there is a market plaza with a huge store and deli, and then the old village which has several buildings designed by Mary Colter. \240We knew that some of the lodges there had WiFi for a fee so we went there.

We started at El Tovar hotel where Soren was on a mission to buy an arrow. There were none there, but they told us to go to the Hopi House across the street. \240Success! And the Hopi House was a really neat building. \240It was another Mary Colter design. \240All of the buildings she made were meant to blend in to the natural beauty of the canyon. We stopped at the Verkamp Visitor Center nearby where we learned about the mining community, and then we drove a little further to another lodge that ended up having free WiFi. The kids and I ate breakfast at the picnic table which was meant for the employees’s smoking break. The lodge had a nice cafeteria where we picked up some sides of bacon and sausage (and coffee of course!) to accompany our bagels while Liz worked.

Heading out

After Liz finished her work and we had finished breakfast, we started driving towards the Desert Watch Tower Park exit. \240We stopped at a few viewpoints on the way out, and once again Apollo was VERY popular. Of course he made another dog friend.

Tusayan Ruins

We made a stop to see the Tusayan Indian ruins. As usual, Soren read every single word on the displays while Laila waited outside with Apollo. The walk around the ruins was short but interesting. \240They were built over 800 years ago!

Desert Watch Tower

The Desert Watch Tower was also designed by Mary Colter. \240We took turns going up to enjoy the views while one of us stayed outside with Apollo, the Wonder Dog. \240He attracted a lot of attention once again. \240The tower was really unique, and the views from this end of the canyon were different from the ones we had already seen by the visitor center and Hermit´s Rest. \240

The Haven

We drove a few hours to the town of Winslow, Arizona. It is a little town on Route 66. \240Along the way we stopped at a rest area, and Liz found a sign by the pet exercise area warning of poisonous insects and snakes. \240I was not thrilled about that!

We had reserved an Airbnb called The Haven in Winslow that was in an old church. \240It was a good sign when we pulled up to park and saw a little gray cat peeking through the fence at us. We never did figure out where the cat lived, but she snuck around the corner to get a peek at Apollo!

Sondra, the owner of the property greeted us and showed us around. \240She is an elderly lady who seems to have lived a very interesting life. \240She mentioned something about when they lived in Asia, and the furnishings and decorations all had a very unique feel. \240She lives in part of the church and there are two units that she rents out. \240She took us up to see the other unit, and it was just as interesting as ours but a little smaller.

There was a picture of FDR in the living room, and I think she maybe knew him personally. It wouldn´t surprise me. \240She is that kind of person!

Before supper Liz and I took Apollo for a short walk downtown to see the Standin´On the Corner statues and Route 66. \240One thing we know for sure. \240While the Airbnb was absolutely beautiful, the town of Winslow itself is super creepy. \240Very rundown with questionable characters walking around. \240Not somewhere I would want to live at all.

Liz made chili for supper, and we enjoyed sleeping indoors for the nights without having to worry about being cold!

Petrified Forest National Park

We got up bright and early to start our trek to Petrified Forest National Park. \240Of course we had to stop for a picture by the park sign. \240It was going to be a big day because this was the day that Apollo would become a Bark Ranger!

Wood and more wood

We went through the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center so Liz, Laila and Soren could get their Junior Ranger booklets to work on. \240Then we took a short hike behind the visitor center to see the petrified wood. \240The colors were beautiful and each piece was unique. It was hard to choose a favorite!

Plants of the Petrified Forest

There was a gorgeous cactus behind the visitor center, and we found some other pretty flowers while we were walking.

Painted Desert and Route 66

We continued driving through the park and made stops at several points to get out and walk or take pictures. \240The road through the park is 28 miles long, but it takes a couple hours to drive it with the stops. \240The kids were perfectly happy playing cards in the backseat while Liz and I got out to look. \240There is a really cool rock called Newspaper Rock with petroglyphs that you can see with binoculars.

Route 66 also crosses through the park, and there is a cool rusty old car on that end.

Setting up camp

We kept driving a few more hours in order to get to our campsite to set up before dark. \240None of us were very excited to set up a tent again, and it was very windy and kind of cold when we got there. \240But we powered through and got the tent up before it blew away. \240Our effort was worth it because we had a view of Monument Valley from our tent site! We got to watch the sunset and the sunrise right from the site.

We didn´t feel like setting up the camp stove and cooking, and it was much too windy for a fire so we drove over to the lodge to eat in the restaurant. \240The Gouldings have a great deal of property right across the border from Monument Valley in Utah. It is almost like a small town. They have a laundromat, grocery store and gas station besides the campground and lodge. \240At the lodge they have a museum with artefacts from the John Wayne film days. The sign said ¨John Wayne´s cabin¨. \240We don´t know if he really lived there or it was just part of movie. \240Anyway, it is quite the place.

Horse Crossing

In the morning we got our tent and gear packed up and drove a few miles back to Arizona to drive the loop through Monument Valley. \240Yesterday we saw more roadkill in a short stretch than is usual. We even saw a pig that had been hit on the side of the road. There were several free range cattle signs, and horses and cows were frequently spotted right next to the road. \240On the way into the valley, a horse crossed our path.

Monument Valley

We started at the Visitor Center where Soren got another chance to read a bunch of informative signs, and then we started driving around the loop.

The Valley is made up of mesas, buttes and spires, all of which have been formed through erosion.

It took a few hours to drive around the entire loop. \240We stopped to take pictures on a horse at one spot, and the owner lent me his cowboy hat!

Lower Antelope Canyon

We made it to our Airbnb in Page, Arizona with just enough time to get Apollo in his crate before leaving for our late afternoon tour of Lower Antelope Canyon. \240There are only two companies that offer tours of this canyon, Kens and Dixies. \240And they just happen to be brother and sister. \240The lower canyon is the less visited of the two, but we had an excellent guide, and it was well worth our time and money.

We had to go down 6 flights of steps to get to the bottom of the canyon and then crawl back up through a crack at the end.

The light and colors were amazing, and our guide showed us where and how to get the best photos. \240One spot was the photo used for Apple desktop pictures!

Photos of us!

Our guide knew all kinds of tricks to get fancy pictures. \240We have no idea how he did some of them. \240He also knew all of the perfect spots to take pictures of us.

More canyons

We got up early to go on a tour of three more slot canyons. \240This tour was with a different company that owns some private canyons. \240Our first stop was Owl Canyon. \240 Horned Owls live in the canyon, but we didn’t see any of them, just some feathers on the ground. \240This canyon was completely above ground and very open. \240It was nice because there was just one other group there.

Our next stop was Rattlesnake Canyon. \240This one was similar to Lower Antelope Canyon in that we had to climb up and down some stairs to get in and out. \240Again, it was nice because it was so quiet.

The last canyon was Upper Antelope Canyon, which is the most popular one. \240Our guide told us that 3,000 people go through every day, and he warned us how crowded it would be. \240I sure was packed solid with people. \240It was still beautiful, but it was not at all peaceful.

Still more slot canyon photos!

We couldn´t stop taking pictures because around every corner was a view better than the last!

Horseshoe Bend

We had a few hours to relax at the house in the afternoon. \240The kids watched some movies, Liz took a nap, and I took Apollo out for two walks in the neighborhood. \240Before supper we took the shuttle bus to see Horshoe Bend .This is a curve in the Colorado River. \240Every year 4 or 5 people die there because they try to get too close to the edge. \240It is 1,000 feet down, and the sides go straight down. \240The shuttle bus driver warned us that if someone falls it is a recovery not a rescue. \240It was a mile walk to the bend. \240We were happy to see that there was a fienced area where we could view the bend. \240Liz thinks that this is a new feature because all of the travel blogs we read mentioned that there was no fence or barrier.

Once again we were amazed by people´s pure stupidity. \240There were several who were very close to the edge and others who sat with their legs dangling off the edge. \240We were very safe the entire time, and luckily we didn’t see anyone fall over.

Walking with Apollo

Afterwards we went back to the house for pizza and ice cream sandwiches. \240The house was perfect for us with three bedrooms and a walled yard for Apollo. He made himself right at home and even learned out how to use the pet door! He really came a long way on this trip in learning how to walk like a dog.

Back to Las Vegas

We got packed up on Friday morning and drove the four hours back to Las Vegas. \240We ate lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and then they dropped me off on the strip. I dropped off my suitcase and spent the afternoon walking. \240The people on the strip were very annoying, but there were some beautiful hotels. \240The Bellagio and Paris were my favorites. \240I headed to the airport and waited for my midnight flight and by 6 a.m. I was back in St. Paul