Day 10 - May 29 Zion, Grand Canyon, and Hot Tub

I began the day by running into the Lodge to get a Diet Coke for the drive to a trail head. I still hadn’t decided which trail to take, and I wasn’t feeling the pull as much as I do many mornings. I was thinking of visiting the Grand Canyon and Kanab this afternoon, and that was distracting me from the idea of hiking. I was also thinking about when to fit in a soak in the hot tub.

Great to be hiking among big trees again.

The day all fell together, as it always does, as I began to move forward into it. The girls working at the front desk were just as lovely as the ones who worked the night before. When I mentioned hiking, they were quick to point out what they thought would be good hikes. I found out from them that the east access to Observation Point was right down the road from the lodge. And this route to the point is six miles long instead of the eight from the canyon floor, and there’s no large elevation gain.

Now I’m not afraid of a little elevation gain, I assure you, but the idea of forgoing that and still getting in a good hike sounded mighty sweet at the moment. So I got directions and headed down a one-lane dirt road to the trail head. The trail was clear once I followed the fence to the walk-in opening, and the day was fabulous. It was a little cool to begin with – the temperature had gotten down into the mid-30s overnight – but I quickly shed my sweatshirt and was hiking in shirtsleeves and shorts.

Looking down into the canyon. Watch your step!

When I got to the overlook, there were a few groups of people already there who had come up the hard way. I felt a little like a cheater, but I quickly let go of any guilt I was feeling while I enjoyed the view.  I met and had a lovely visit with a couple from Wales. They were here on a four-week holiday, hiking around in the canyon country of southern Utah. They had actually hiked the difficult hike at Canyonlands I had and agreed crossing that saddle was a treacherous chore. They had also hiked the primitive loop at Arches – one of my favorites from last year’s trip with Jesse and Deb. I hope I’m as able as they to tackle these tough hikes when I’m in my late 60s as they were.

When I returned from the hike, I decided to head straight for the Grand Canyon. It’s a couple hour drive from my campground, and I figured that I could make it there and back and still have time for a soak in the hot tub, a shower, and dinner before dark. And that’s exactly the way it worked out.

North Rim Grand Canyon from the lodge

The Grand Canyon’s North Rim is the only way to go. Yes, there are a lot of people there, but nothing compared to the crowds on the South Rim. I visited the lodge and sat on its big deck for a while, soaking in the view. I picked up a sticker for my car that read “Rim 2 Rim” to replace the one that went with the old CR-V when I sold it, and I visited the trail head for the Kaibab Trail, heading down into the canyon. There I met three men coming out of the canyon. They had left the SouthRrim at 4 a.m. and were spending the night and heading back across tomorrow. I envied them.

After I returned to the campground, I quickly changed into my suit and went to the hot tub. It was a beautiful late afternoon for it – sunny and not too hot. A family was in the tub already – a pleasant couple and their young son. We got to visiting, and when I said I was from Iowa, they said that Nick, the father, had gone to school in Iowa. I asked where, and when he said he got a Master’s at the University of Iowa, I asked if it wasn’t by chance an MFA from the Writer’s Workshop. And yes, indeed, it was.

The Writer’s Workshop is the number one MFA program for writers in the country. Some of the best writers have come through that program. Nick Arvin, it turns out his name is, is a novelist whose second novel, The Reconstructionist, has just been published. I am sure I heard a positive review of it recently and am ordering it for my Nook to read it on the trip.

Rachel, his wife, has a business called Walk2Connect, all about walkers, and is interested in my blog and what I’m doing. Talk about serendipity. I’ve already heard from Rachel and I can’t wait to check out her website.

It’s an amazing world, isn’t it? Every day it seems I am surprised at the connectedness of it all. Tomorrow it’s off to Bryce Canyon and who knows what.

Chillin' at the Grand Canyon