Not only is Sweetie still alive but out of the bed for a Sunrise Walk in the Canyon. We head to Mather Point - the far east part of the Southern Rim where we're staying. Light truly dictates the view at the Canyon. Had to head back to the room for a short while - the cold air was killing Sweetie's head. After a couple of hours, it was time to head out for breakfast. We decided to skip the cafeteria style and head to Bright Angel Lodge at the rim. We both scored big with a great meal for a change. Sweetie had a Huevos Rancheros Skillet with blue corn tortillias, refried beans, green chiles, scattered hash browns, cheese and eggs over hard. I had a country fried steak skillet with country fried steak, scattered ... read more

This morning we rose and discovered some one of nature's real beauties, the Grand Canyon. The first time we viewed this monstous crack in the earth, it was awe-inspiring. We viewed Mather Point first with many photo opportunities. It's located on the east side of the viewing rim near the Visitors Center. While there, we listened to a park ranger's discussion of wildlife in the park, at the Mather Point Amphitheater. Most of the talk was on Big Horn Sheep (not Mountain Goats as Sweetie originally thought!) and their ability to adapt to this rough terrain. We then viewed a 30 minute film on the history of the Grand Canyon, with narration by Peter Coyote. Truly amazing how this canyon has transformed over 2 billion years. We also learned about the history of eight (8) different ... read more

Today turns out to be a day of rest. We tryed to make reservations inside the Grand Canyon beginning today but they only had availability starting tomorrow the 17th. We made reservations at the Yavapai Lodge for four(4) nights beginning on the 17th. We chose to stay put at the Hampton Inn in Henderson. You always know what you're going to get at a Hampton Inn but this one had a little extra - a lady named Teresa who prepares the breakfast. Aside from being a lovely person with a wonderful smile, she makes a really nice breakfast to start your day. Henderson is a nice little surburb of Las Vegas with plenty of shopping, dining and, of course, casinos. Casinos not being our cup of tea, we decide on the movie Seven Phycopaths, for a ... read more

Sunday was truly a day of rest - sort of... laundry, football, figuring out where the restrooms were, all kinds of low key activity today. Sweetie woke up thinking of tent life 30 years ago and got a good laugh thinking about how life comes full circle... tent life again... Brantley is packing up to head out to Hawaii so we made a visit to her campsite one last time and had one more campfire with some Jiffy Pop Popcorn. A nice way to end the day. Tomorrow, we head across the Tioga Pass to Bishop, Death Valley and onward to the Grand Canyon.... read more

We got on the road out of San Francisco this morning and headed to Modesto to see Sweetie's Aunt Lydia in Modesto. Aunt Lydia is 95 years old and has lived out in this area for as long as Sweetie can remember. We had a really nice visit and Aunt Lydia gave us a couple of ideas of things to do on our trip as she has travelled extensively throughout the West and the World. One of her suggestions, heading to Murphys and the Big Trees was also a suggestion from Sweetie's co-worker, Tim, so even though we were supposed to go to Merced, Sweetie derailed us to Murphys! What a cool town! Between 1850 and 1860 it moved $15 million in Gold from the area. We got a room at the Murphys Hotel right on ... read more