Saturday, July 16, 2022
Back on Rt. 89 going south, it was hot, very hot. Our 4.5-hour drive was at first very pretty, but then became more of a desert. we stopped at the very nice Glazier’s Market in Kanab, Utah and stocked up. They gave us a receipt for 15% off at their gas station.
Crossing into Arizona, we stopped for lunch at an overlook of the Colorado River and Lake Powell, which is now at 27% capacity. It was a nice spot for lunch under a covered picnic area.
The next two hours was desert, and the land looked like a giant gravel yard with gravel mountains. As we began to climb the mountain into the huge Kaibab National Forest, it became more green and temperatures dropped from 105 to 88 at the top.
We entered Grand Canyon National Park, showing our Senior Pass, and drove south on Rt. 64 to Ten-X Campground in the national forest. Two reasons led me to Ten-X. first I couldn’t get a site in the park, and second there were pictures of elk in the Ten-X campground. It is also in a forest, and well-shaded.
We liked our campsite fortunately, because we would be here for a week. Ten-X got its name because it is 10 miles from the south entrance to the park. We hope to visit the north rim later, but we will still be in the Kaibab National Forest.
We took a drive up to the Visitor’s Center, which has moved outside, using big signs to introduce visitors to the park. We walked along the South Rim Trail for a while. It is so immense, it boggles the mind. The Colorado travels 277 miles through the park, is about one mile deep and 10 miles across. At the narrowest point, it is 600 yards across. The river’s average width is 300 feet across, although it narrows to only 76 feet wide at mile 135, where the river, 85 feet deep, is also at its deepest. On average, the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon is 40 feet deep. (https://www.gcex.com/grand-canyon-trivia/) One sign said it is the largest example of erosion in the world.
