Today we started at Judy and Jerry's with an awesome homemade breakfast and more great conversation with Lily and Dana:
After we bid everyone a happy (but misty) farewell, we started out for the Mather campground in the Grand Canyon National Park. We stopped in Gallup, NM for gas, getting some first red rock views:
The town of Gallup itself still feels pretty gritty. I fended off two panhandlers just while pumping gas.
Pretty soon we crossed into Arizona:
After all the good food the day before, we decided to eat lunch out of the cooler. After lunch Rebecca worked on the mobile blogging station:
Just outside of Flagstaff, we stopped at the Walnut Canyon at Judy's suggestion. It was a short detour and worth the effort to see the cliff dwellings there:
Once we got into Flagstaff, we found a Safeway and bought supplies for our two days in the campground. We got to the campground around 6:30, with the time change crossing into Arizona. We set up camp and ate a quick dinner.
Then Rebecca and I left the boys in charge of the camp and went to the nearby general store, which turned out to be quite large and well stocked. In addition to firewood and a few beverages, I picked up a cool hammock that would get a lot of use the next day. We got back and had another great campfire.
Tomorrow, we actually go to the canyon!
The pictures of the rugged landscape are really something!
Hooray for a good hammock.
Cliff dwellings remind me of the larger site @ Mesa Verde in Colorado. Weather here feels like we’re in the Southwest this week! Can’t wait for the (virtual) canyon tour!