Thursday, October 7, 2010 - Drive to Grand Canyon

Well, the sunny, dry day has finally arrived, as we got up early and were on the road by 9:30 (a bit later than usual because I had to muck out two corrals, as we had moved the horses yesterday, because after all the rain the one they were in had turned into a mudbath), and this campground wanted you to bag up the manure in plastic garbage bags, which they provided, and leave them by the side of the road for them to pick up (that's a new one on us, we hadn't seen it go quite that far before, but it did make for a very clean campground). It was a pretty straight drive up to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and we stopped first at the Kaibab National Forest Office to confirm where we could camp with the horses, then we drove into Grand Canyon Village to the Visitor's Center for any additional maps and information, where we discovered that one of the two trails we were allowed on at the south rim (South Kaibab) was closed for renovations for two years (starting last spring), then was referred to the Backcountry office for permits, where they told us we didn't need permits for day riding, and that parking lot where they usually allowed horse trailers didn't exist anymore, so they suggested we go talk to the mule wranglers at the mule barn we had just passed to see if they would let us park there while we go on our day ride. Obviously, people bringing their own horses wasn't typical, because everyone had a different idea about it, whether it was allowed and where. Anyway, we went down to the mule barn and talked to the mule boss, who was more than happy to let us park our trailer next to his barn. In fact, he even mentioned they would like to encourage more folks coming with their own stock. Be warned, though, your animals had better be in good shape if you intend to take them into the canyon, however we discovered there were trails up top as well, though there isn't a trail map available. I got the impression it was mostly for the mule rides, but he seemed happy enough to have us share the trail. Having finished making those arrangements, we made one last stop at the campground area to stock up on water, both in the RV and in the horses' 55-gallon drum. Then we headed east out of GCV, passed the Grand View turnoff on the left, went another two miles to a Forest Road turnoff on the right. In less than a mile on that gravel road (not too bad, we've been on worse), we came to a cattle guard that was the forest boundary. Within another 100 yards we found the perfect campsite on the right, a very nice stone fire ring, a great long driveway where we could park the RV and the horse trailer, and plenty of trees to hi-line the horses. Hubby even managed to get a satellite signal, and we were all moved in by our usual 5:00, when we celebrated with cocktail hour and a nice evening of rest. Can't wait to get going for a ride in the Grand Canyon!

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 - Shopping Day

For a national forest area, town was pretty close, less than 10 miles away, and I managed to get everything I needed, stopping at Safeway for groceries, Olson Grain for horse treats, and True Value for glue and a kind of shelf liner that was somewhat padded, and (would you believe!) brandy snifters to replace one Hubby had broken a few days before. I've never seen a True Value with so much cool household stuff, lots of stemware and kitchen items. I was also able to buy a fan, which we needed last week but all the big chain stores like Wal-mart and Home Depot had "de-stocked" because the seasons changed. Nevermind that there was a heat wave going on, with temps in Phoenix over 100 degrees! Why they don't let managers have a little discretion is beyond me. Anyway, I picked one up anyway, figuring as we head south again we might need it, and I'd rather have it than try to find one even later on in the year. Got back late in the afternoon, spent some time getting ready for our departure tomorrow, then settled down for the night.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - Rain Day

Spent the day dodging raindrops and working on the computer. There's a good cell phone signal here, so my internet connection is a good one. Having recently upgraded from using my phone as a modem to actually having a Verizon aircard, life has been a lot easier! Anyway, got caught up on a lot of work, and again, we were hoping to leave tomorrow, but the forecast is still for more rain, so we'll probably hold off until Thursday, something I didn't really want to do, but common sense prevails. Meanwhile, Hubby worked on the horse trailer, trying to cover up an open knot in the plywood that my horse keeps rubbing up against, which is scraping his leg until it bleeds. We need a few more supplies to finish the job, so we decided that tomorrow I would run into town and get everything we need so that we wouldn't have to stop on our drive to the Grand Canyon on Thursday, as the forecast is still for more rain tomorrow.

Monday, October 4, 2010 - A Pleasant Ride

 Slept late, though Hubby felt better when we did get up, so after breakfast we saddled up and headed out the trailhead from the campground, through a gate behind the dumpster just a short ways from our campsite. The trail alternated between soft dirt and stony, so we were glad we had put the horses' boots on before we left. Despite assurances from the very helpful campground host that the trails were well-marked and easy to follow, we managed to get turned around pretty quick, trying to get around a fallen tree, then heading off in the right direction. We corrected ourselves pretty quickly, backtracked and got back on the right path. After a short while, it became cloudy (as it had done for the past few days, with scattered thunderstorms, a much needed respite from the constant sunshine and heat we've been experiencing for months now!), and the temps dropped a bit. Then we got caught in a brief storm, with pea-sized hail, which the horses responded to by putting their tails into the wind. We figured that was just as good as anything else, so we put on our ponchos and waited it out, which was only a few minutes. Then we proceeded ahead, and the trails were pretty moderate, fortunately, no big ups and downs, at least not on the correct trail. At one point we lost our way again, and followed a path down a fairly steep incline to a dried stream bed, and when we couldn't find a trail going out the other side, we realized we had gotten turned around again, and headed back up the incline to the "real" trail. That went up some more, then leveled off for a while. Meanwhile, the weather cleared up considerably, with spots of sun out before the afternoon was out. Not a bad ride, not really outstanding, but I have to say, Groom Creek Horse Camp is really a lovely spot, and worth the trip if you're passing through. The trail we took was a 5 mile loop (plus our diversions :-), so we were back in about 3 hours, which was just about what we were in the mood for, though there are several other trails available as well. The weather had improved throughout the afternoon, at least until the end of the ride. When we got back, we had just finished putting the horses up and feeding and watering them when we felt a little sprinkle of rain. Moments after we got back into the RV, the sky opened up, the thunder cracked, the lightning flashed, and we had a real gully-washer of a rainstorm that lasted the next several hours. We found out later that a town nearby had several tornados, a rarity in northern Arizona, and there had been some flash flood warnings. We were thankful we got back in the nick of time! Though we had planned on leaving tomorrow, the weather forecast is for more rain, so we've decided to stay on another day or two until it clears up, no sense leaving if the weather's bad both here and at our next stop, the Grand Canyon.

Sunday, October 3, 2010 - A Rest Day

Slept later than we've been able to, had a good night sleep, but Hubby had a bit of a sore throat, so he took a Tylenol and went back to bed. I got up and took care of the horses, then we had breakfast and watched a few morning shows. I worked on my blog for a good part of the afternoon, (which has been getting more and more behind. I haven't sorted through my pix in so long I'm likely to not recognize them when I download them!), while Hubby watched TV. We're both hoping to be fully recovered and to get a ride in tomorrow. We've more or less planned to stay here until Wednesday, then move up to the Grand Canyon, which is now only a few hours away. We've found out where to camp in the Kaibab National Forest, and pretty much where the trails are, so we'll probably stay there until next Monday, when we'll head out to Colorado. At least, that's the plan for now!

Saturday, October 2, 2010 - Sort of a Day Off

At least for Hubby. He rested much of the day, just watching TV, but I discovered just how far behind on my bookkeeping I was, and spent most of the day doing that. By 4:00 I finally finished, announced it was time for cocktail hour, and settled down for the night. We're hoping we'll feel more rested tomorrow, maybe enough to get a short ride in. After two weeks, the horses will be more than ready for a ride!

Friday, October 1, 2010 - Not a Day Off

We had hoped to crash today, but it seems there's no rest for the weary. We spent time getting the satellite dish set up, it took longer than usual because of the trees (we didn't get to choose our own spot, so it was a challenge) plus there were some things we needed in town, so Hubby took a ride, ended up spending most of the afternoon running around. I still had much of the mail he had brought from home to go through, and was behind on my bookkeeping, so I kept busy all day, too. A good dinner, a short night of TV, and off to bed with us!