Today we woke up very early after a quiet and peaceful night at the Lake Mead Campground. We had 250 miles of driving ahead of us, so we wanted to get out as early as possible. Paola got the kids organized quickly as I untethered the hookups (water, sewer, electricity). By 7:45am we were on the road. After a long 15 minute drive, we stopped at Hoover Dam to let the children run around a bit before the really long drive.
We then started a long and straight drive of 50 miles south on US93, then 150 miles west on US40. Every once in a while we had to stop for on reason or another. In the RV, Paola can’t reach back and hand the kids a pacifier or a bottle of water, their seats are too far away. The plus is that when you do stop, you have everything, including food, toilet, and all your equipment. At 10:30 we stopped at a random exit off of route 40 to snack on avocados, strawberries and oranges. We stopped at Seligman to fuel up in what was once the famous Route 66. Now it’s a back road, because everyone prefers the faster route 40 (speed limit 75 miles per hour = 120 km/hr!!).
The last straight stretch of road was route 64 north 50 miles to the Grand Canyon. We stopped about halfway at an airplane museum called “Planes of Fameâ€, featuring fighter planes of World War 1, 2 and a bit later. But before the museum, yours truly climbed up to the bunk bed for a quick nap, while Paola cooked up a rice and hot dog lunch for us. Ah, the beauty of Rv-ing…
The museum was nice but nothing special. The kids played around in a cockpit for a bit, then ran around trying to touch forbidden things.
We continued the last 20 miles to Grand Canyon National Park and then drove to our campground called Trailer Village. It has full hookups but no shower facilities. The neighbors in the RV next to us had a little fence on the ground holding their miniature pincher dogs, all 7 of them!!! What a treat for Ron Shir and Orr it was to see those little guys bark.
It was still rather early in the afternoon (4pm), so we decided to take a walk to the canyon rim to take in some afternoon views. We are on the south rim of the canyon and at 6600 feet elevation (2200 meter, just like the highest point of the Hermon). Although it was sunny, the air was brisk and we knew it would get even cooler later on, so we took all our jackets and layers just in case. The stroll was nice and passed through the Grand Canyon Village Marketplace. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the rim, but oh what a magnificent sight. Afternoon shades of brown, red, and orange, rock formations, and a deep deep canyon. We walked along the rim trail, carefully watching over the children as they played with rocks and sticks.
We spent a half an hour on the rim and then started to head back. The kids were getting hungry. We had pizza at the marketplace and continued to the campground as the sun was setting. Unfortunately, we had a “Pantcher†just as we got into the campground – One of the wheels on the girls’ stroller got a flat tire. We will have to see tomorrow if they have any bike equipment in the village.
At the RV we turned on the heat and inaugurated the shower. Orr was the first brave soul to shower, followed by Ron, Shir, then myself. Using the water conservatively there was enough hot water for all of us. Paola waited another 30 minutes just to be sure, and she also had a good shower.
The kids fell asleep faster than the previous nights, but it still took an hour. Let’s hope for another quiet night.
Hemi