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ROAD TO SHOW LOW. We borrowed Papa's RV, a conversion van. We picked it up in Belen on Thursday morning, cleaned it out, packed all of our stuff into the cupboards, and headed south to Socorro. The weather reports said it would be gusty with a chance of rain and snow in northern Arizona. At Socorro we headed west into the wind. We passed through Magdalena, a pleasant village, Datil, a spot on the map, and Quemado, a town. We saw the VLA, the Very Large Array, and had sandwiches and apple pie at the Daily Pie Café in Pie Town, on the continental divide.
We were headed that first night for Fool Hollow Lake state park in Show Low, Arizona. There was no rain along the way, as I expected. The highway was good and the traffic very light. At the park, we had our choice of beautiful spots near the lake. This is probably one of the nicest state parks to be found anywhere. Two loops were opened this time of year, one higher (Mallard) and closer to the lake, the other lower (Redhead), slightly more protected from the wind. Each loop had its own central facility with flush toilets and warm showers. Each site had the usual hookups. The roads were concrete, and everything was pristine. There was a small lake, with boat ramps and docks, and soft gravel walking trails along the lake, which Cyndi explored the next morning.
After we found our site, we drove around to see Show Low and get gas and groceries. The story I heard, there were two men, more than a hundred years ago, and they decided the place was too small for the both of them. So they drew from a deck of cards to determine who would stay and who would go. The winner would show a low card. The first drew the deuce of clubs, the name of the main street.
It looks like a nice town. It is at the foot of the White Mountains, surrounded by Ponderosa Pine. I thought I saw signs of prosperous ranching, second homes, and, I’m guessing, horses. There's a golf course near the state park. The town is under 200 miles from Phoenix. The main road has plenty of motels, restaurants, and other businesses. There is also a road with lots of new development that heads south towards Pinetop and other towns and eventually to ski areas. We took that road several miles and, seeing no restaurants we were curious enough to stop at, we finally stopped at a Safeway. We bought steaks and salad, bread, beer, a nightlight, chips, cheese, eggs, juice and vanilla wafers. All of which cost more than I could imagine, especially since I had already stocked the RV’s refrigerator and cupboards with plenty of food.
As we came out of the store, we saw that it was snowing. The storm I expected along the way had finally arrived. The snow came down hard and wet. It was blowing, whiting out the road ahead. We stopped to fill up at a Shell station, stopped at a Sonic (no chance we were grilling tonight), and drove back to the park.
It was late evening, but there was a white glow reflecting in the snow. We entered the loop where our site was. The pines were dressed in white. It was absolutely magical. It was a cold night.
The snow stopped during the night. Less than two inches accumulated, blanketing the trees, but the roads remained clear. In the morning, I ground coffee inside the RV and brewed a pot. The boys watched DVDs and played chess, while Cyndi explored the tranquil trail around the lake, venturing beyond the docks.
I cooked bacon and eggs on the grill outside while the boys played for a few minutes until they were too cold. It was sunny and bright, and I set up a chair in the sun while breakfast cooked. After cleaning up, filling the water tank and emptying the waste tanks, Ry and I took a hot shower and off we went.We drove straight north to Holbrook to catch the interstate to Flagstaff, where we stopped for lunch at Charley’s, in the old hotel near the depot and the center of town. It was probably the best meal, other than the ones we prepared, on the entire trip. The boys were excited to get to the Grand Canyon. We decided to drive on 180, which takes you through the mountains, past the turnoff to the ski bowl, and connects to the road from Williams to the south entrance of the Grand Canyon. The road was clear. It was not a windy road and there were not major grades. As we approached the Grand Canyon, Jackson sat beside me in the front, and we talked and talked. I drove the long way from the entrance gate so the boys could catch their first glimpse of the canyon as we drove past Mather Point.
GRAND CANYON VILLAGE. I expected that with the forecast of winter weather and the time of the year, we would find little crowds, but as we passed Mather Point, the small lot was filled and cars were parked up and down the side of the road. When we arrived at the Trailer Village, it was a quarter to five, Arizona time, and the sign said full. Thankfully, I did make a reservation about two days before. We found our assigned spot, not far from a decent bathroom.
As most know, there is a village at the South Rim. Cyndi and I visited a few years ago, parking near the historic area and the train depot and having a pleasant afternoon at the old El Tovar and the other sites closeby along that part of the rim. The Trailer Village is in the eastern half of the village, far from the historic area, near a general store called the Marketplace, the Mather campground, the Yavapai Lodge, and the Visitor’s Center. I call it the Marketplace, but more exactly it may just be the General Store at the Market Plaza.
If you put a compass point on the road to the Trailer Village just after the turn off and drew a circle with a quarter-mile radius, you’d just about find the Trailer Village entrance, the Mather campground entrance, and the Marketplace at equal distances along its circumference. At least that's how I pictured it while we were there.
There are free shuttles, running every 15 minutes, connecting you to everything in the village, with connections to other shuttles that take you beyond the village. It can be a long loop within the village itself. The village loop is really composed of two loops, one around the historic area and train depot, the other around our end, and there are a couple of points where you can change directions to avoid doing the entire loop.
As soon as we parked, we saw elk and deer roaming the perimeter of the Trailer Village and Jack watched a giant black raven tear into a bag of food the bird found next to our site. There is a shuttle stop at the gate to the Trailer Village but we hiked about a third of a mile to the general store to see if they had any coaxial cable and then caught the shuttle across the street at the Yavapai Lodge to the Visitor’s Center. By now the center was closed, so we continued walking to Mather Point. There were already far less parked cars.
It’s just plain scary to stand on the rim, especially when you have two small and energetic boys. It is immense, and the setting sun made the canyon glow. I had asked Ry a few times, as he was excited to be going on our trip to the Grand Canyon, What is the Grand Canyon? I-don-no. It’s a big hole, I’d say. When we got to the point, Ry told me it was a big FAT hole. I was surprised that there were so many people there, so many languages, so many people going beyond the rails for photographs.
We took the shuttle again to the historic area to see El Tovar, thinking we’d have dinner there. El Tovar was packed, and so was the bar area, so we walked down the path along the rim to the Bright Angel Lodge. We ate in the Arizona Room restaurant, which advertises itself as a steakhouse. It’s not much of a room, frankly, and the food is only passable. But they treat you nice, you can wear anything you want, you’re not being completely gouged, and the Margaritas were excellent. The boys liked the rolls and pasta, and Cyndi ordered root beers, so they were happy. They gave the boys a little activity book that had a map of the village. Ry poured over the map, explaining how we’d get back to the RV. Jack didn’t like being away from the RV. As it was, there’s a bus stop right outside the restaurant and we didn’t have to wait long in the dark to get a shuttle back to the RV. Walking from our stop, we saw bright stars and the boys picked out the dippers in the night sky.
The next morning, I ground coffee again and made a pot and, while the boys continued sleeping, drove the short distance to the Camper Services building near the entrance to the Mather campground. It was early, about 7 am, and we could park at the front door. Nobody seemed to be moving in the park. There’s a laundry there and showers. They charge $2 for an 8-minute hot shower, which is a long shower. Jack and I showered. I even shaved, and Jack stayed in the shower while I organized our clothes. It was cold and drafty getting out. All in all, better than coping with the cramped shower on board the RV.
All clean, we then drove to the small parking lot between the Marketplace and Yavapai Lodge. Once again, it was still early and there were plenty of parking spaces. Jack and I brought our laptops, since we had heard there was wi-fi in all of the lodges, so we found a cozy spot to catch up on the internet and have some breakfast. Cyndi got online and found a crazy email from a friend ranting and raving about…well, he actually didn’t say, but he must have been watching Fox News and listening to ultra-conservative talk radio and was pretty upset about the state of things. Jackson mostly got on one of the Disney sites, and Ry got out his Bob the Builder play laptop. It was a cafeteria-style food service at this lodge. Jackson wolfed down a pancake, and Ry wolfed down two helpings of eggs.
Back to our RV spot, and this time we found a shortcut that took us a short distance to the Visitor's Center. From the Trailer Village, we walked past the immense but hidden water tanks and got on the “greenway” path. This path is for pedestrians and bicyclists only. (I imagine there will be more and more bicycles in the park in the future, but, of course, you can’t ride along the rim.) At the Visitor’s Center, we sifted dirt to find potsherds, arrowheads, and other signs of ancient civilization and Jackson made a clay pinch pot.
We took the shuttle to Yavapai Point, a good spot to see the canyon and walk along the rim. A small but well done exhibit in the observation center there provides a good lesson about the Grand Canyon, and Jackson was interested in the geology exhibits. (This offered a better presentation than you find at the newer Visitor's Center, but the Visitor's Center hosts ranger talks and guided walks. We didn't time our visit for any of those, nor the evening talks at the relatively nearby Shrine of the Ages.) It didn’t take a long walk to get away from any crowds at this point. Somewhere along our return, we got some ice cream at the Marketplace and bought Grand Canyon shirts at the lodge. Ry immediately took to his cap and t-shirt, which he explained read “Grand Canyon National Park” and had numbers. (1919, the year the park was established.) Of course, he put it on as soon as we got to the RV and soon afterward tripped and fell running around outside and got it dirty. He is upset when he can't wear the shirt all the time.That night Cyndi and I sat in the setting sun, drank some wine, and had some baguette, grapes and cheese. It reminded us of our opera tailgate in Santa Fe, and just then we heard the faint sound of opera from the next site, where an older couple (about my age) sat around a small charcoal fire next to their Airstream. They had bicycles stored on a rack off the back, and the music came from an i-pod docked into a small pair of speakers. I grilled the steaks and corn we bought in Show Low. Another neighbor told us about the two months they just spent in Mexico. Cyndi set up the RV inside for dinner, prepared the salad, and we all cuddled inside.
Wikimapia satellite view of Trailer Village:
Click inside box to open larger view.
RETURN HOME. Cyndi thought we might get an early start, so I filled the water tank again, emptied the waste tanks, and stored and unhooked everything but the power. Yet another neighbor asked if I needed help, as I stumbled in the dark with the small flashlight Jack stores in his tacklebox. I woke up from a dream before 3 in the morning, Arizona time, unhooked the power, and off I drove. I had wanted to exit the Grand Canyon from the eastern gate and go down 89A to Flagstaff for the scenery along the way, but decided just to head to Williams. I stopped at the Little America in Flagstaff to fill the gas tank and get some coffee. No one woke up. I turned off at the exit to the Petrified Forest national park, but the gate was closed until 7 am, Arizona time, so I got out to stretch and watch the beginning of the sunrise.
From there, the boys were restless and Cyndi really wanted some coffee. She read a little in the back, too tired to keep the boys from wandering about, and we finally stopped in Gallup for breakfast. I looked at myself in the mirror in the restaurant. Egads, what a scary sight!
Around Laguna, we took the Highway 6 cutoff to Las Lunas. Filled the tank, washed the RV, and returned to Belen, where we unpacked the RV, cleaned it, and packed our car to return home once again.
SOME LINKS:
Link to a photoshow with more of our trip pictures. Includes photos before trip.
Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area.
A good map of the village, close to scale and not as distorted as others, but not completely up-to-date. It doesn't show the short-cut and walkway we took to the Visitor's Center. This comes from a nonprofit site. Here's their link.
2009 Grand Canyon trip planner. Updated version sure to be found at their home page for brochures.
The lodging and food concessionaire. The company is called Xanterra. I think they run just about all the concessions in the park, except maybe the campground and the general store and the bookstore. (There is a deli inside the general store.) Reservations for the RV park, the Trailer Village, are made through this site. The Yavapai Lodge near the camping end of the park might be a good alternative to filled up hotels in the historic area. At any rate, we liked its cafeteria. In the historic area, El Tovar is a great place for lunches, with a nice bar area and outside seating when it's warmer. They make it pretty clear that reservations are needed for dinner there. Bright Angel was where we found the Arizona Room, but there's another restaurant there that may have a much better menu.
Grand Canyon railway and accommodations next door. RV park and hotel near depot. We considered staying one night there, riding the train up, staying overnight in a hotel at the rim, and then riding back on the train and staying one more night in their RV Park. Don't see why not. But checked out the train prices and the coaches and tried to imagine how much our train-crazy boys would enjoy the trip after the first 30 minutes.
2009 Grand Canyon shuttles. You'll find a guide with shuttle maps and schedules of events just about everywhere inside the park. We show some of the stops on our map at the beginning. The schedule provides frequent and regular shuttles.
POST SCRIPTS:
I noticed at the Yavapai Lodge and the Marketplace how many of the young employees were from so many countries. They seemed to enjoy their jobs, and I imagined that many were using the experience to practice their fluency in English. At the same time, it made so much sense as the park attracts visitors from around the world. Where do you go if you are visiting the USA from a foreign country? I bet the Grand Canyon is pretty high on the list. It struck me that this would be a good place for a summer job for a young person. There looked to be some accommodations for employees near the Trailer Village. Many of the shuttle drivers seemed to be retired guys. Not a bad job, either. The rangers I talked to seemed to have experience in other national parks.
Cyndi really liked both of the parks. As an RV park, the state park in Show Low was more beautiful than the Trailer Village. Cyndi loved seeing the different areas of the South Rim from our new point-of-view, and she was impressed with the easy access by shuttle. And I could see she was wishing she had brought her bicycle. (Next time, I'll try to remember to note if there are bike racks around; I thought I saw bike racks on the shuttles...but maybe not.) I'm sure we will return when the boys are older and when all five of us, Ariel, too, can venture down into the canyon.
With our small RV, we probably could have stayed in the Mather campground, too. I've heard others say they have. That would have provided a little less of the parking lot surrounding and more trees and privacy. We didn't mind where we were, though.
About three miles south of the entrance, there is a place called Tusayan, which is a bunch of motels and fast-food restaurants. It's probably not a terrible option, since you're going to pay $25 to get in the park anyway (good for seven days). Just don't think you're on the South Rim or in the Grand Canyon Village, as did one unlucky soul who stopped us late at night near Bright Angel Lodge asking for directions to a motel there.
I gather the park is trying to encourage use of the eastern end of the park, away from the historic end, for activities and parking. I remember how hard it was to park near the train depot and parking near Yavapai did not seem to be a problem during our time there. As I've indicated, the shuttles are great.
Camping in this part of the park creates a new perspective. We certainly missed the historic area, particularly the area around the trailhead, the mules, and the architecture. There is quite a lot of history, which even precedes the establishment of the park service and the park itself. In putting some of this together, I've run into some of that history. Another fascinating aspect I found is that there's apparently a rather large residential community on the rim. I've heard it described as similar to living on a military base, and like the military there's a hierarchy in accommodations for those residents. Growing up as an army brat, I find it very intriguing and wonder what it must be like to live on the rim.
The boys like to call the RV a motorhome, “’cause it’s a home and it has wheels.” It's our closest experience to The Train With the Magical Wand.
