Last Post for Summer of 2018 - Grand Canyon - North Rim

Only one in ten people who see the Grand Canyon do so from the North Rim. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to be one of the ten percent in the future. It was easy to get to, and we had no problems going there with our 35' motor home. There were also lots of cabins and the rustic lodge looked delightful.

But before I include pictures of the canyon,  I have to include a couple of wildlife shots.

I know there are deer everywhere, but this gal, who was resting with a few other does near our camp site, had such big ears I felt like smiling when I looked at her.

Craig likes the picture of her friend:

Ravens are also common birds in campgrounds. They are so smart. If you look closely at his eye you can see the reflection of the ground and just a hint of the picnic table I was sitting at. I wish I had gotten a bit more background above his head, but this is an excellent example of what my Sony RX10iii can do. 

These first two pictures of the canyon were taken from the Bright Angel Point overlook near the Lodge on Wednesday afternoon.

I wasn't sure if it was going to stay clear.

I've been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon a couple of times and am always overwhelmed by it. Not much needs to be said, except I am amazed at how big it is.

This following is the one of the most South-Rim-like images that we saw from the North Rim.  (The actual South Rim is visible in the upper left.)

The North Rim Lodge has a wonderful viewing room with big plexiglass windows.  Of course, what you see may differ each time you're there.

The following pictures were taken on Friday when we drove out to several overlooks, including Cape Royal and Point Imperial.

That day the air had been washed clean by the rain and the day was incredibly beautiful.

We are very old fashioned. We take pictures of each other instead of taking selfies.

The following image suggests that some of what's now rock was once liquid and swirly like ice cream.

The 19th century folks who named features of the Grand Canyon called many of them "Temples".  This view may have contributed to the name:

The line in the middle of this image was probably a dead tree.  Or perhaps something left behind by extraterrestrial aliens when they came to visit.

The track in the lower part of this image is a tributary of the Colorado River, a bend of which is visible further away.

Tourists above Angels' Window, through which you can see the Colorado again.

It may be hard to see that this scene includes two rock towers, between which you can see a similar rock wall further away.





















Final Words:

We have been back at Jojoba Hills for almost two weeks already. The next two months will be busy with Craig getting his cataracts removed, and visits with friends and family for the pre-holiday times.

On Christmas Day we will be leaving on a three or four week trip to visit our son in Myanmar (Burma) and some additional travel in the region. 

Keep an eye open for posts about that trip and our return to the RV travel life in Spring.

Until then, thank you all for following this blog and for leaving so many encouraging comments.  

Hugs ... 

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Watson Lake to Whitehorse: 288 miles

We were up early on Thursday so that Craig could do a little more windshield cleaning in preparation for the day’s drive. He wanted  to go over it with some Bug-Off and Windex. We also wanted to watch a little of the Comey testimony, which started at 7:00 AM.

Much of our drive was smooth. Once again we saw distant  mountains and spruce forests that felt endless. 

Most of the time we could not see a vehicle either ahead or behind us.

But when we hit one 17 Km stretch of construction, we were stopped by a flag lady, and a there was a small backup. I know there were several more RVs behind us, and in the group ahead, only a few were cars. Everyone is going to Alaska, and there is only one road! It’s fun to look around the RV parks in the evening and see many of the same rigs. I suppose some drive farther, and some stop sooner, but if you prefer the same type of park we do, the choice is limited.

We all got dirty again. When we pulled into the Pioneer RV park in Whitehorse, we were glad to see they had a power wash station available.

We are staying in Whitehorse through the weekend. Friday night was the fourth game of the NBA finals.  The Cavaliers won, so there will be at least one more game on Monday.

The first of several days in Whitehorse:

There are a number of interesting things to see. Friday, we started out at the Visitor Center, then went out to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Center.

One of the sculptures outside of the Center. I don’t think he is quite full size.

Inside the Center there were a number of fossilized skeletons of mammoths, giant buffalo, prehistoric horses and camels, and informative dioramas about Beringia, which was the land bridge between Asia and North America during one of the Ice Ages when the world sea levels were lower.

There was also some art depicting First People stories. We are going to the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Center on Sunday, and look forward to seeing and learning more.

The Yukon TransportationMuseum was right next door so we bought a combined ticket. ($9 Canadian each).

This delightful engine was out front. When editing the pictures of the day we noticed how the cloud in the sky looked like it was smoke from the engine. Fun!

Great examples of modes of transportation: dogsleds, bush planes, snowshoes, trains, trucks, sleighs and stage coaches were displayed and explained.

This bus was one of a fleet that was used on the Alaska Highway. It must have been a bumpy ride!

The snowmobile evolved from machines like this one. The first ones were Skidoos.

One fun quote I read went something like this:
 “If you could drag yourself back onto the sled, the dogs would get you home, a Skidoo could never do that!”

Saturday’s  adventure was to the Yukon Wildlife Preserveand Game Farm. It is not a zoo. The animals live in huge natural habitats on 700 acres of grassland, marsh and hillsides. Small enticements like water stations and supplemental foods are located near the fence lines, but the animals are free to roam out of sight into woods and more distant parts of their enclosures.

As visitors we had a choice of taking a bus tour, or walking the 5.5 km (about 3 miles) of road and trail. We chose the walk. The day was warm and sunny, but not too hot to hike.

Animals we saw were:

How would you like this guy to land in your bird bath?

I think these were young buck Mule Deer. They were munching on a scattering of fresh branches next to the fence. Perhaps they had already eaten all of this favorite kind of tree in their space, and this was a treat.

I think all the deer in this enclosure were female. They had a large grassy area, and some nice shade trees.

Speaking of shade, this group of Dall Sheep were snoozing among the trees. We almost missed them, even though they were pretty close to the fence. Can you see all four?

Most of the caribou were in more distant parts of their habitat. A few were snacking on some choice tree branches that had been left for them near the fence.

It seemed all of the mountain goats were sleeping high up on the rocks or in the shade of the woods. However as we walked along a wooded path that ran along a fence in a different part of their enclosure, and I was looking out into the large grass field, Craig said “Merikay” in a quiet voice. I turned to him and he pointed at a huge mountain goat lying up against the fence next to me. 

As I tried to get a frontal shot, he got up and kept his back to us. He was in no mood to move, but if he had to, he was poised to bolt forward. Eventually he moved away, but never turned our way. Once we moved on, he went back to his favored spot and resumed his nap.

This thin horn sheep was not shy. He and several of his friends were in an area much closer to the road. There was a large watering station next to the fence and some feed on the ground.

We also saw buffalo, elk, and several other kind of deer, but didn’t get decent pictures. We got a good view of a ragged white Arctic Fox that was losing his white fur in favor of summer gray, but he ran and hid before I could capture his portrait.

The musk oxen and moose were so far away they really shouldn’t be counted as among animals we saw.

All in all, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve lived up to its name. Not a zoo, but an opportunity to see wild animals in wild like settings, where they lived an almost wild life with minimal human intervention.

 It was a good three mile walk too.  

More about things we did in Whitehorse in my next post ...

All is well, I hope!

One of the twins. 

Their mom is just starting to let them come out of hiding at the edge of the forest below our house.












We seem to be getting something, or part of something done every day. I think all the hard work Craig has been doing has been good for him. He is not into "exercise" but working on the house every day has been just that. The best news is, barring the unexpected, we can see an end to it!

We have talked to three Realtors and have chosen the one we want to work with. It is a team, but not the team I originally thought we would list with. I feel good about them and so does Craig. All three market analysis presentations came up with similar price recommendations. 

We have not yet decided on an asking price nor when we will actually list, but we are moving in that direction.

Meanwhile we are slowly getting things cleared out.

Today we found a "home" for Craig's books. 

Craig's nephew in Wisconsin says he would like to have them. All we have to do is get them there. We know it will cost a lot to ship them, but this is his lifetime collection and he really wants it to go to someone who wants it. We can visit the books someday!

Now there really are only two large personal items left: Craig's audio system and my china. My daughter has quite different taste from mine and my china doesn't suit her. We may have a nibble on the audio system. 

My accomplishment for the last two days was to clear out the rest of the attic. Last year I removed just about everything except all the big empty boxes from all the electronics we have bought over the years. Big printer boxes, big computer boxes, and a number of components for home theatre system. 

We kept a few, but I flattened most of them and took them to the recycling place today. Along with the cartons from the two new vanities in the bathrooms, they made a very full van load. 

Although the recycler accepted them, he didn't pay me anything. He told me of a place that would if they were bundled, but it was too much trouble on a hot, hot day. I was just glad to get rid of them.

A final bit of progress is that the carpet man is coming again tomorrow and we will make our final selection and place the order. Most of the dirty work is done. We will probably get the new carpet installed in about two weeks. Craig has a lot of new baseboards that he has stained and wants to install them after the carpeting.

39 days until our Washington trip!

We may be listed by then, or it may be a vacation before the final push to get on the market.  Two of the Realtors seemed to think September was a good time to have a new listing, and that August is often the slowest month of the year. 

We shall see. 

In our Yard

First off, the pictures in this post are all pretty bad because they were taken at dusk from some distance.  I don't have a telephoto lens on my point and shoot.

Behind our home there is a rather steep, dry hillside.  We don't water the trees, but there is one stunted apple tree that produces a few fruit each year.  I generally collect them the week before Thanksgiving, add some purchased ones and make a pie.  

Last week I noticed a doe and two yearlings trying to get the apples with no success. I wondered if it was time to pick them.

Yesterday at dusk, I noticed two bucks eyeing the tree.

The one on the right was larger, and at one point he clacked antlers with the smaller buck to let him know whose apples these were! But the smaller buck hung around and watched anyway.  

"If I stare at it long enough, maybe it will just fall down."

"Who needs a longer neck?"

Determination!

Jump!

He made about a half dozen tries and did manage to snag two apples before giving up.  His younger friend managed to get a few leaves when the big guy wasn't looking, but pretty much stayed out of the way.

We don't "garden" because between the deer, gophers and dry summers it is a hopeless venture.  I enjoy watching this sort of thing too much to want to have deer fences around the place.

This afternoon a large group of does were in the yard. 

That buck will be after them soon, and a new crop of fawns will be learning about apples next year.  I can buy as many as I need at Safeway!