So yeah, we woke up at 4:30, walked past a few mule deer eating their breakfast, then I drove to Yavavai Point (a scenic overlook that a Park Ranger recommended to us) and Tom jogged there. We stayed for almost three hours, watching the sun come up and illuminate the Canyon. Unbelievable. I think I got some cool pictures, but I'm sure they don't do it justice.
We drove back to the room, checked out of our lodge, got some info on nearby parks & monuments we hadn't heard of, then set out and wandered around other vantage points in the Canyon. There are probably about six of them in the South Rim (where we were) and then another six or seven east of the South Rim, on what they call Desert View.
There was also this place called the Watchtower, which is where the last two pictures were taken from. You can see it here!
After driving from one location to the next, stopping each time to admire and take pictures, we headed east and then south to two places we hadn't heard of (a monument and a park): Wupataki Pueblo and Sunset Crater. Wupataki is a bunch of remaining buildings (or, at least their bases) from Native Americans who inhabited the area in the (I think) 1200s. Sunset Crater is a now extinct volcano that first erupted about 800 years ago. Compared to the Grand Canyon, this was more of a pit stop, but both were still cool to see.
We also saw cool wildlife that I took pictures of! A squirrel, a raven, a collared lizard and Petey the dog!
We drove back into Flagstaff (that's where we ate lunch yesterday) because Tom needed to get new shoes. There was a burger place, Diablo Burger, that I wanted to try yesterday (that got great reviews on Urban Spoon) but they were closed on Sundays. I'M SO GLAD I WENT TODAY because it was one of the best, if not the best, burger I've ever eaten. I got the "El Camino" burger, which was a burger (they suggest medium-rare so I went with it) with provolone, pickles, grilled onions and a deliciously spicy chipotle BBQ sauce, all served on a branded English muffin. They also seasoned their fries in a way I'd never had before, which included a bunch of spices including rosemary. Also, the local beer (Mother Road Black IPA) was good, too.
After we had both eaten, we drove east and are now at a KOA Campground (Kampground, I think. Mortal Kombat!) where we're spending the night. It's about as far from roughing it as you can get: we have electricity by our tent, there's free WiFi, and all-you-can-eat pancakes starting at 7 a.m. for $1.99! We'll probably wake up, eat some pancakes, then head out toward Petrified Forest, then up to Canyon de Chelly, Four Corners, and then camp in Utah before our three day stretch of hitting five Utah parks.
Also, there was this sign.
epic ending to an epic blog
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