2014XC: Day 19, June 30 – Glendale, Utah (Bauer Canyon RV) to Grand Canyon, Arizona (Mather Campground)

Once again, the ride seems way longer in the car than it looks on the map. We started out missing the turn for Zion National Park after leaving the gas station and figured it might be better to just skip it. I think we were all feeling a little “parked out”, and with going to the Grand Canyon anyway, it didn’t seem worth it to try and squeeze it in. I think it would have been best to be able to spend more time in this area so that we could enjoy these parks, but the days were pretty hot.
We stopped at about the 300th (just kidding) roadside Rock Shop. Either Christian is going to be a geologist or this is just a phase, but the only things he wants to spend any of his money on his rocks. Anyway, they all do enjoy stopping to search through the rock bins for the “best rock ever.”

Referencing back to the website I mentioned in previous post, about a family who had been taking cross-country trips since 1999, they mentioned Lake Powell as their family’s “unanimous choice for best place ever visited.” By this point, our temperature gauge in the rearview mirror of our truck was registering 117 degrees.\, so anyplace that had water sounded good.

We mapped it out that we could stop at Lake Powell, then find a grocery store in Page (about 30 miles south), and then head to the Grand Canyon full with supplies. All of the grocery stores near or in just about all the campgrounds we stayed at were overpriced, so we’ve been trying to hit the Wal-Marts as much as possible. We arrived at Lake Powell and were not disappointed…definitely could’ve stayed longer.

The next stop was a surprise…we didn’t expect to see such a substantial dam at the end of this lake. It reminded me of the pictures I’ve seen of Hoover Dam, and we later learned that this dam is actually upstream from Hoover Dam. It was a pretty cool sight.

Back on the road to Grand Canyon. We arrived in Cameron, just outside of the Grand Canyon, around sunset. We began winding up through some mountains, passing many closed Indian roadside flea-market-type stands that sold turquoise and Indian-type souvenirs, and an occasional shack or two that even looked lived in. By the time we first saw part of the actual Grand Canyon there wasn’t much light in the sky. However, it was still breathtaking. You know that the canyon will be a big drop, and you’ve probably seen a billion pics of it over your lifetime, but when you actually see it it’s like you’ve never seen anything of it before.

We arrived at our campsite without any trouble. There were no hookups, and it was a little warm outside still but there was a good breeze for sleeping. We slept with all the windows open and even only had the screen door closed when we went to sleep. 🙂