Day 10 - Monument Valley and onto the Grand Canyon

We packed up early and were on the road by 8:00am this morning. Our destination is Monument Valley. We have a tour booked with Simpsons Trailhandlers at 11:30 that will include lunch. The drive to Monument Valley only took two and half hours - so we arrived early. I was thrilled as we entered the valley and started to see the familiar mesas and buttes (familiar to me only through car commercials and movies - this was my first time here!) I've been wanting to come here for so long. We've always missed it on past trips to Arizona so I was beside myself to finally be here!

We got to the visitor center and shopped a bit before our tour began. They have a very nice gift shop although it seemed a bit pricey to me. We got the kids some snacks since it would be a while until lunch. Richard and Jamie (our tour guide and driver) arrived in their truck-turned-tourmobile a bit late but we got loaded up quickly and were off! The beautiful scenery was everywhere we looked and Richard was doing a great job at telling us all about what we were seeing. He referenced many of the movies and commercials that had been shot on location here. The kids were fascinated by it all.

Along the way, we would stop at various spots for photos and of course they were selling jewelry. I didn't buy anything but really wish I had. Up at John Ford Point, there was even a horse that they were chargin a dollar to sit on and get your picture taken. (You take the picture yourself.) We were happy to pay for the kids to sit on the horse - the photos I took were worth it - especially with our boys and their cap guns! It was cheesy but fun.

Our tour continued and Richard told us many things about being a Navajo. It is amazing to see the little ranches with the hogans all around Monument Valley. Many of the Navajo still live in hogans. This was the best "field trip" our kids could ever go on! They were learning first hand about Native American Indians!

At one point Jamie stopped our truck and gave out a loud Navajo yell. It echoed three times all around the valley. We were all impressed as they did it several times!

We saw petroglyphs and many outstanding arches. At one point the kids got to climb a sand dune up to an arch and then Richard said, "OK, I want you to run back down this sand dune as fast as you can." Well, the boys loved that! They ran so fast that they almost tumbled down. Jamie and Richard were wonderful with the kids!

Our next stop was a beautiful cove with no one in sight. It was very quiet here as they made us lean back against the sloping rock and look up. There at the top was an opening in the rock - a stunning little arch where the blue sky and bright sun were shining through. As we enjoyed the view, our ears were filled with the sweet sounds of the Navajo flute. Jamie and Richard were playing the most beautiful music for us. It brought Monument Valley and its history alive with its melody. I could cry right now just thinking about it. It was truly a special moment. When they had finished, Jamie (our driver) wanted to play one more song - he dedicated it to little Jamie. She danced around in the cool shaded sand as he played his flute. What a memory!

After that very serene and memorable stop, we were off to lunch. They took us to a picnic area where Richard's aunt and uncle had prepared a Navajo lunch for us. Fry bread, delicious beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and salsa combined to be one of the best lunches of the trip. That warm fry bread was to die for! Even the kids could not stop raving about how good the lunch was. After the kids got done eating they entertained themselves by playing with their cap guns (of course they were not shooting the caps - too loud!) We watched them and I thought to myself, "Does it get any better than pretending you're a cowboy in the middle of Monument Valley?!"

Jamie and Richard took us back to the visitor center and we reluctantly said goodbye. I highly recommend them if you are going to Monument Valley - they brought the whole place alive for us during the several hours we were with them. And again, I would've never know about them if it weren't for this board and people sharing information about them - thank you!

Our final destination today is the Grand Canyon and we needed to get on the road if we were ever going to get there. However, I insisted that we go to Gouldings for a quick stop. It's only about a mile from the visitor center. I knew the little museum they had would be of interest to everyone but especially to Sammy who is the most into westerns. They have a great gift shop and I bought the "My Darling Clementine" DVD for the boys to watch in the van - it's supposed to be one of John Ford's classics. After a quick look through the museum, we were back on the road to the Grand Canyon.

The trip again, went faster than expected and before we knew it, we were at the east entrance. I was excited that the sun was setting and we would get to see the canyon in the beautiful evening light! We stopped at Desert View and it was stunning. The light was streaming through the clouds highlighting the canyon walls! We took our time soaking in the views but then realized that we better get on our way to Grand Canyon Village because my parents were waiting for us. They had flown in yesterday and we had not really been able to communicate well with them since their cell phones didn't work at the Grand Canyon. We were not sure where they would be, but they had been expecting us much earlier.

It took us about 40 minutes to get to the village from Desert View. We finally arrived and tried to find parking, which isn't easy! We checked into the Thunderbird via Bright Angel lodge. We found Mom and Dad in the Arizona Room where they had just finished their dinner. It was great to see them and we were all full of stories of our wonderful adventures. They had gone on a helicopter ride earlier that day and said that it was amazing.

The wait was too long at the Arizona Room and we ended up eating at the Bright Angel Restaurant. The food here was the worst of our trip. No one liked their meal, not even the kids. We'll make sure to choose a different place tomorrow night!

We settled back into our room at the Thunderbird. It was very small but nice. It's an incredible thing to be able to look out your window and see the Grand Canyon. It really is right there. I loved staying here!

To be continued...

OK, scraphappy, I'm not letting you off the hook!

" thought I would hop over to the California board to see if you had started your trip report! I'm loving it - and it's providing me a nice break from writing mine!! You have such a wonderful writing style ccrosner - so much so that now I'm feeling very self conscious about finishing my report!"

Please finish your report, you've left me hanging on the rim of the Grand Canyon and I'd really like to hear what happens next.

I'm with you FLMom! And I, too, haven't yet finished my California trip report that scraphappy refers too :)

Scraphappy, you're keeping us at the canyon way too long! Hope to see you back here soon with some more of the trip!

FLmom, ccrosner and Dixie Chick, you've motivated me to get back to this trip report - I need to keep it shorter so I can get through it! Even I was a bit bored with it and it was my own trip report - lol!

Day 11 - Grand Canyon

I awoke early but not early enough for sunrise this morning. But since we were staying right on the rim, I could sneak out with Mike and the kids still sleeping and enjoy the peace of the canyon in the early morning light. I found coffee in the bar area at Bright Angel Lodge, the bar turns into a coffee house in the morning - very convenient.

It was overcast this morning but the canyon was beautiful with all of the hues of color. It was quiet with just a few people walking along the rim. I snapped some pictures and then went on a short hike down Bright Angel Trail. Since I just had coffee in my hands and not water, I didn't go too far.

This was my third time to the Grand Canyon but I hadn't been in years; it was good to be back. One day I will have to return when I'm in better shape and can hike down into it! As it got later in the morning, more and more people filled the park. This was by far the most crowded of all of the parks we had visited. I still couldn't help thinking though that it really wasn't that bad. I would not let the crowds deter me from coming in the summer. I still felt like a had the place to myself in the early morning.

I went back to the room and roused everyone to come to breakfast at El Tovar. I had heard their breakfasts were delicious and we were not disappointed. They seated all of us easily (even the kids) and we had a wonderful breakfast. The kids loved the chocolate chip pancakes and the real hot chocolate! I had the eggs benedict (just something light - lol!) and they were great too.

After breakfast we headed back out to the rim to Kolb Studio. The photography exhibit there was extraordinary. They had photos of the Grand Canyon spanning years, all taken by various talented photographers. I could've spent all day in here!

The men took the kids down Bright Angel trail while the rest of us made our way in our car to the eastern lookout points. We stopped at Yavapai and Mather point which were both beautiful views of the canyon. Both points were fairly crowded. It was still overcast and had begun to sprinkle. I was a bit bummed that our only full day here was very gray.

My dad had wanted to do a sunset bus tour of the western points but it didn't look like there would be a sunset this evening. Still, we signed up for it anyway since it wasn't very expensive. Mike, Bruce and the kids didn't want to go on it so we determined that they could stay and feed the kids and have a table waiting for us at the Arizona room when we returned.

The weather was not improving, so the women did a bit of shopping at the Hopi house and Kolb Studio. The boys were just happy playing with their cap guns (still not being allowed to actually shoot them because of the noise.) The kids heard the same mantra the entire time we were at the Grand Canyon, "Stay away from the rim!"

Faith had found a shirt that said "Hiker Girl" on it and begged us to buy it for her. Well, I couldn't resist since "hiker girl" was her nickname on this trip! Emily got the shirt too and they looked so cute in them - time to pose in front of the canyon of course! The other thing I had purchased was the book, "Death in the Grand Canyon." This is not at all a sensationalized book but one of historic facts. Did you know that no children have ever died falling off the rim of the Grand Canyon? Isn't that amazing - not one! I've been enjoying the book and am fascinated by some of the stories in it. All in all I would say that this book is going to save many lives as it points out the very avoidable mistakes peoople have made in the Grand Canyon causing their death. I highly recommend this book to anyone going to visit!

It was almost time for the sunset tour and it was still lightly raining and very cloudy. Should we do it anyway? We decided to go for it, so we met in front of Bright Angel Lodge. Our bus driver was quirky but had some good information on the canyon and its history. As we drove over to the western viewpoints (where only the shuttle buses can go - no cars) the crowds thinned out. In fact, hardly anyone was over here, maybe because of the weather. Well as we got to our first stop, Maricopa Point, the sun broke out and the clouds cleared - it was beautiful. I felt like it was a miracle! We would be seeing the sunset after all! We went all the way down to Hermits Rest and then back to Hopi Point to watch the sunset. We were all snapping photos like crazy and Susan and I were lamenting that we didn't have Mike, Bruce and the kids with us. They would've loved this! If only we had known it was going to be such a beautiful sunset after all, we would've made them come with us. This was perfect lighting for a family portrait! Oh well, at least we were getting to see it. My parents were in awe too. We climbed back onto the bus with that "Wow" feeling. Even the bus driver said that it was one of the most beautiful sunsets of the year.

Bruce and Mike had tucked the kids back into their rooms and had a great table waiting for us at the Arizona Room. Our dinner was delicious, much better than the other restaurant at Bright Angel. I wish I had called ahead for El Tovar reservations. I had been so good about planning every other aspect of this vacation but dropped the ball on that one. We enjoyed our adult dinner and this would be our last evening with Bruce and Susan. They were leaving tomorrow for Sierra Vista to visit friends and we were off to Lake Powell for our houseboating adventure.

More to come...

Thank the maker...ssshe's baaack!!

OK, quick question about that sunset "tour"? I thought you just got in line for the shuttle and took your chances on getting a good spot. Could you please share the particulars?

P.S. love the t-shirt find, another priceless moment among so many others, what a great trip.

Thanks for coming back to report further. Enjoying it.

Thrilled to have you back scraphappy! Guess that means I have to finish my own California TR. Just LA to go but that wasn't a highlight for me so hard to motivate.

Loved the story about the Hiker Girl tshirts. My daughter (now 10) and I bought the very same ones back in 2004 to wear as we hiked into the Grand Canyon. Wore them again this year in Yosemite! So you made me smile.

Looking forward to hearing about the houseboating...did I lose track or are you backtracking?

Carol

FLmom, the sunset tour is a separate bus tour - not the regular shuttle bus. You get a narrated tour for around $13.00 per person. Your seat is reserved for you on the bus and it's up to your driver as to where he takes you (within the western points- although there might be an eastern point tour as well, I'm not sure.) We signed up for this tour with the concierge at El Tovar after breakfast that morning. Hope this answers your question and thanks for being my cheerleader!

ccrosner, I love the fact that you and your daughter still have your shirts! You made me smile too! I left you a message on the California board - gotta finish that report girlfriend! You've motivated me, now it's my turn to spur you on! Oh, and yes, we are backtracking to Lake Powell. This was because we were meeting my Mom and Dad in the Grand Canyon and the Roberts were not going onto Lake Powell with us. Therefore we needed to do the Grand Canyon before Lake Powell, since we would be spending five days on the lake with my parents. Does that make sense? The bummer was that the Roberts would be missing Lake Powell all together. Life is full of compromises I guess.

Elena, thanks for reading!

It is very curious to me how I need the feedback of others to motivate me to continue. Even though I know that this trip report will be read by others in the future, please know that I appreciate all of your replies. It makes me feel that people are actually reading and I'm not just typing it into a void!

Day 12 - Lake Powell

I awoke with a bittersweet feeling today. We were saying goodbye to our land portion of this trip and saying goodbye to the Roberts. What an incredible journey we've shared! As I've mentioned before it is truly a blessing to be able to share a vacation like this with your best friend and her family. The amazing thing is how well we all got along - we were really sad to say goodbye.

Mom and Dad had flown into the Grand Canyon from their flight from Las Vegas so they didn't have their own car. That meant we would be cramming all of us into the mini-van - all seven of us - yikes!! Mike had gotten lots of bungie cords when we were in Moab in anticipation of putting luggage on the top of the car. Dad and Mike loaded the top and we stuffed the rest into the back. All seven of us with our luggage loaded into a Kia Sedona - pretty impressive!

We had a nice drive to Lake Powell. We made two stops along the way. One at Desert View so that Mom and Dad could see it since they weren't with us when we stopped on our way into the park. We got our last fix of the canyon and then made our way to the Cameron Trading Post. What an impressive place! Their gallery has the best collection of Native American artifacts and replicas - just beautiful! The trading post has anything and everything you could imagine. I quickly picked up a few gifts for people at home. Mike and Dad were very anxious to get to Lake Powell so we didn't spend a lot of time here. It only took two and a half hours of driving time to get there!

It is quite a sight when you first see that blue/green water against those red rocks. It was hard to believe that we would be on this lake for five days! This was truly a dream vacation!

We checked into the Lake Powell Resort easily. Our rooms were fine, but not as nice as I would expect from a "resort." We unloaded the car and then were off to complete our paperwork at the boat rental office. We would be boarding the boat tomorrow morning. It was interesting to watch the anticipation of the kids as we explored the boat dock. They were buzzing with excitement. When I asked them about it they said that they were most looking forward to this part of the trip - the houseboat! "This will be the biggest adventure of all," they exclaimed. I know Mike was truly looking forward to it too. This has been his dream of several years.

As we walked around the dock, one of the employees said we were welcome to tour one of their 48' Navigators which is what we were renting. We hopped onto the houseboat to look around. It was a beautifully appointed boat. The kids kept saying, "look over here, look at this fridge, look at this bedroom, look at the bathroom!" I have to admit, for people who had never seen a houseboat before, we were amazed at how nice it was!

After exploring the boat, we made our way back to the main resort. The boys went with Mike to rent all of the fishing equipment they would need. We were all starving so we ate dinner in the lounge which has the same menu as the nice restaurant there. We sat next to a window and got to see the sunset over Lake Powell - very cool! The food was good but we didn't linger because there was a lot to do tonight. We had to go to Wal Mart and get some more supplies. Our food would be delivered to the boat in the morning by Basha's. My mom and I have spent hours pouring over menus and shopping lists. We did all of our shopping online before we left for vacation. Basha's was very helpful and called to clarify a few things to ensure accuracy with our order. Once home from Wal Mart I was faced with several hours of repacking our clothes. We didn't need to bring everything we had on this trip. I needed to consolidate and bring only bathing suits, shorts, and a few tshirts. We would leave everything we didn't need in the car. Finally, at midnight, it was lights out - we were ready for our next big adventure!

More to come...

Hi scraphappy,

Just in case you need more encouragement, I want to let you know that I am still reading and enjoying your report. I'm looking forward to the rest. :)

One question (so far)
How far in advance did you book your houseboat?

I have been checking this page for the last 2 weeks anxiously awaiting more info, especially about the houseboat. Don’t leave us hanging!! We hope to rent a houseboat June 2007 with 17 people, so I have lots of questions.

* Did any of your children plan to tent on a sandbar or beach?
* Did you rent a speedboat or jetski in addition to the houseboat?
* Was the lake crowded?
* How much more expensive was the gas at the marina compared to other places along the trip?
* Did you go back to the marina to refill fuel anytime during your 5 days?

If I have more questions, I’ll wait until after your next posting. Looking forward to more…

Hi Scraphappy,

Not to put the screws to you or anything like that, but have you been able to process the rest of your pictures? I know... I know, extremly needy, I am.

I'd love to see that sunset you talked about.

Ok, I agree. Been checking back to hear about houseboating specifially. We just got back from Lake Powell and are planning a houseboating trip with friends. I didn't know Basha's can do that! Will have to keep that in mind....

Hi Dado,

I can give you my opinion on renting water toys! Yes, do it! We did a 4 day houseboat trip on Powell years ago and I would not do it again without some speedy transportation!

The houseboats are SLOW and Lake Powell is HUGE with lots to see. You can't go far in the houseboats and they do REALLY suck gas! Much better to boat out to a good spot and stay put. Use the boats/ski doos to zip around and sightsee. Yes, the lake can be very busy at times, but it does have hundreds of miles of shoreline.

Have fun!

lvk,

We rented ours last September - about 11 months ahead of time.

Dadof3,

I agree 100% with Dayle and everything she said! To answer your questions specifically:

1. No, our children didn't camp ashore although I'm sure that would be a lot of fun. They loved our campfires! They did sleep on the mattresses on top of the boat and thought that was a blast!

2. We rented a 9 person speed boat and a tube - absolutely must have like Dayle said! We wish we would've rented a jet ski too but the price tag was too high for us!

3. I did not think the lake was crowded but I'm comparing it to our lakes on the east coast which are a mob scene! You could be secluded if you wanted to but there were enough boats on the lake to not feel deserted. In no way did I feel that it was crowded!

4. The gas at the marina was $4.20 - about $1.00 higher than gas in general.

5. We only refueled the power boat once at Dangling Rope Marina. We didn't have to refuel the houseboat because we stayed in one place.

I'm going to post this and then I'll get back to the trip report - yikes this takes a lot of time - I'm glad some of you are still with me!

FLmom - I'll try to get to the pictures, life has been crazy with the kids' schedules!

Day 13 - Lake Powell

We awoke at 6:15am so that we could be first in line for the boat. All of our paperwork was completed yesterday, so we should just have to go through the orientation and then be on our way! Mike and Dad went down to the dock while Mom and I took all of our bags to the loading area. Only two people can be on the boat for the orientation. We made one trip from the hotel with all of the things that we were taking on the boat and then another trip with all of the things that we were keeping in the car. I parked the car right there in the lot where the loading area is - it's very convenient and there were plenty of parking spaces. There are porters there who help you load your things onto the boat - very helpful.

Basha's had timed the groceries perfectly. They loaded them onto the boat for us and then we proceeded to put them away. All of the frozen and refrigerated items were in coolers with dry ice so nothing was warm or melted. I do think this service is absolutely worth the money. Last night Mom and I had picked up so many little things (like citronella candles, DVD's, snacks, beach towels, a small cooler, etc...) at WalMart but if we had to do the grocery shopping too it would've put me over the edge!

We were just waiting to get our power boat and then we would be off. This whole process takes a long time - it was now about 10:00am! We had the linen package delivered to us too since we did not want to bring our linens on the flight from Maryland.

The Lake Powell resources we had brought with us were as follows:

1. Houseboating on Lake Powell by Bob Hirsch

2. Boater's Guide to Lake Powell by Michael Kelsey

3. A suggested itinerary downloaded from the website: www.lakepowell.com

4. The past four issues of Lake Powell Magazine which can be ordered from www.powellguide.com

5. A large map of Lake Powell which we bought at the Marina store.

So armed with our maps, we set off south around the backside of Antelope Island. Because the lake is so low, the cutoff is not open so we had to go the long way around. They hope that the water level is high enough by next year that the cutoff will be open.

Let me say again that we are not boaters. We all felt like the ultimate "newbies" on the lake. But the houseboat drives very slowly and is relatively easy to steer. Navigating the lake was not easy, however. At the lower lake level there were land masses above water that aren't on the map. Most maps show the lake at "full pool." With 96 canyons off of this lake, sometimes you don't know if you're going into a canyon or in the main channel! Some of the canyons have markers indicating which one it is but not all of them do.

The weather was overcast and looked like a storm was coming in - great! We are supposed to be off the lake in a storm and we have no idea where we are going to "beach" this boat! Mike was getting increasingly anxious. We had been motoring (about 6 mph) uplake for about four hours following the buoys. At #23, we decided that we had better find a beach to put this baby. The skies were getting darker.

We went up a large bay that we thought was Padre Bay although we weren't 100% sure. We used our binoculars (a must-have when you are on the lake!) to spot a nice beach. There was one other houseboat on the beach but we could go around the bend and achieve just enough privacy. We navigated our way in and eventually anchored in the sand. Just as we were done, the heavens opened up and it poured. Wow, this was not how we envisioned our first day on the lake. It had been gray and dreary all day and now it was raining - bummer! But I have to say, that we were all relieved that we had found a spot to anchor and that we were safely off the lake. So much of the lake is rocky so all of the houseboats are looking for the gradual slope of a nice sandy beach! We did see a number of boats anchored to rocks - they obviously were not new to houseboating!

With the steady rain there was nothing else to do but get organized. So we began to make the beds, unpack clothes and tuck our belongings into all of the great little storage places located on this boat. Zack was chomping at the bit to get fishing and the rain had tapered off a bit. So Mike got the anchovies out of the freezer and they both got their rods ready. They were going to cast off the back of the boat. About five minutes later I heard the exciteed scream of my twelve year old, "I got one, I got one!" Sure enough, he pulled up a beautiful striper! He was so proud of himself to be the first one to catch a fish. Zack and Mike proceeded to catch many fish - they were having a ball.

The rest of us had gone to the upper deck to see the view now that it had stopped raining. Well, just like the Grand Canyon, here came the most beautiful sunset. Except this time it was accompanied by a full rainbow. Unbelievable! This was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen. It expanded over the beautiful vista of Lake Powell - incredible. (I will really try to get these pictures uploaded so that you all can see it!) The light was a beautiful orange and the red rocks were illuminated in their full glory! All of us had our mouths literally open as we gawked at the view. I think this is the first time my kids had ever seen a complete rainbow! My dad and I were snapping pictures like crazy. I was so glad I had purchased that 10-22mm lens for this trip. The wide angle lens brilliantly captured the entire rainbow in one frame! Once again, I had one of those vacation "moments" when I just couldn't believe the beauty that my eyes were taking in!

After we watched the sunset over the buttes, we sat down to a yummy steak dinner. We have been eating out for 12 days, so a homecooked meal tasted great! Mike and Dad had grilled the steaks and we had done baked potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls. Around the dinner table the kids were excitedly talking about what we would be doing over the next four days. They couldn't wait to do the sliding board off the back of the boat - "Can we do it first thing when we wake up tomorrow?" "Of course you can!" was our reply! I hope the kids weren't going to insist that I do it with them! That thing has a pretty high drop off the back of the boat!

After dinner, we all watched the movie "Eight Below." It's a wonderful family movie and we enjoyed the arctic scenery in it as we were here in the desert. We were all exhausted so we climbed into bed. There were three queen cabins, and a pull-out sofa so we had plenty of room. There was only one bathroom which was a concern for me but so far it was working out just fine - let's see how it works out in the morning when we all need to go at one time!

After 11 months of planning we were finally here on the houseboat. I fell asleep filled with the feeling of how blessed we were to be able to go on a vacation like this and see our beautiful country.

More to come...

You're getting me all choked up again, scraphappy. You are so right, very blessed indeed. I can only imagine that rainbow sunset and to have your Dad there too, priceless! Take your time on the pictures, I'm hook for life on this vacation story, it's really been wonderful.

Scraphappy,

I'm so glad you are continuing! Great (and very accurate) descriptions of Powell so far! If you had been in one of the more narrow canyons during the rainstorm, you would have seen the water pouring off the red rocks in temporary waterfalls! Even the rain has it's good points....rainbows, waterfalls, beautiful sunsets!

Keep it coming.

Thanks Dayle and FLmom! I have uploaded the pictures through day 14 (I skipped day 12 since I really didn't take a lot of pictures that day.) So the pictures are actually ahead of the trip report at this point. I thought some of you who will be houseboating would be anxious to see the lake photos. At any rate, I will continue with Day 14 by tomorrow. Here is the link for the photos http://scraphappy2.fotki.com/

Again, thanks to all of you who have stuck with this trip report - it's been a labor of love!

Oh BTW, my mom just read it and wanted to correct me - there was actually a double rainbow. You can see it in one of the pictures. The second rainbow wasn't a full one, but still very pretty. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Correction - only half of my photos for Day 14 uploaded so I will do the rest tomorrow!