Beyond Cuckoo

View From the Road – Grand Canyon National Park 

After a mid-May jaunt to Arizona, we’re back home. We, of course, went to the Grand Canyon, where we encountered perfect weather and relatively few visitors. Park services were limited and it felt as though we had gone back to a more uncluttered time—simple, spacious, quiet, and yes, friendly. Conversations happened naturally and moved easily from story to story.

The camping spot next to ours was occupied by a two-brother team, so proud to show off the rig they worked on throughout the pandemic. They’ve been talking about this trip for 35 years and decided they couldn’t put off living for another year. Home base was Florida where they retired after careers in the military. They were headed to the West Coast and the majestic Redwoods of Northern California—something that we knew about.

“Spend lots of money while you’re there,” was my advice, “folks are hurting big-time from the economic down turn.”

The older brother replied, “Yeah, I tried to get my girlfriend to come with us, but she’s still nervous about the virus—watches too much news. It got so bad that I had to leave—couldn’t get her out of the house and we had the RV all ready to go. I call her every day, so who knows maybe we’ll get back together after a while—too soon to tell.”

Bikes (especially eBikes) and dogs were happening—almost every campsite had one, two or three of each. It seems like the larger the person—the smaller the dog and the bigger the bike.  Both species were overall well-behaved and friendly, with an occasional nip or complaint, but nothing too serious. Park staff was glad to be back on the job and looking forward to maneuvering an increase in visitors. Every question came with a smile and directions—sorry that this shuttle isn’t running, but here’s something else to see, do and enjoy. AND to be honest, we’ve never seen the park so uncrowded and, in some ways, more majestic in its more pristine state.

We struck up a conversation with a couple about our age (65+) that had their eBikes on back order, so they were checking out ours. From the Midwest, they had become full-time travelers, living precariously in a 30-foot trailer, towed by a diesel truck. They had no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

On the other side of us, a teenager, introduced us to his grandparents. They had cancelled their 2020 plans for the trip and finally were able to hit the road; they seemed to be having the time of their lives–almost like in a normal world.

We spent our days riding the bike paths and wandering the rim. The Navajo Nation had reopened the East entrance, but we were disappointed that the pull outs on the way to Cameron were fenced off. The first level of Desert View Watchtower was open and I snapped a shot from its window—a place of wonder. We had hoped to get some pics of the place where the Colorado River meets the Little Colorado in the gorge of the same name. That is the spot that the Hopi Indians believe that the first people emerged from underground and we wanted to get a feel for it—maybe next time.

Our German Shepherd, Ripley didn’t even notice our morning breakfast company. She’s wary of other pups, but feels right at home in a herd of elk–go figure.

After several days of enjoyment, we tucked our belongings and dog back into their RV traveling spots and took off for Sedona—a different sort of tourist attraction. Stay tuned.