The Great Mikegration

Cover Photo: Angel’s Window at the Grand Canyon North Rim

Adventure Map Days 17-21

Day 17: 06/15/23 (Thursday)

• Hampton Inn in Kanab was great. Good nights rest. Walls are a bit thin so I suggest you stay on the top floor but otherwise good.
• Left this morning and headed out to the Grand Canyon North Rim. We felt that it was only fitting since we had done the South Rim earlier in our trip.
• Drive was pretty outstanding although longer than I thought it would be. Scenery was good and all that; it just seemed to take awhile. I think it was because we drove some of the same roads we had already been on earlier.
• The final 30 miles or so there isn’t much there except for one very over priced gas station so make sure you fill up before you head out! There was a busted water line so the lodge at the North Rim wasn’t open although camping was available. The only camping places I could see were right there by the lodge so I’ll have to check more on that.
• The view from the Visitor’s Center at the North Rim was pretty spectacular as the views from the Visitor’s Center’s usually are. We did the very short but steep Bright Angel Point walk to get our view. I think you’ll agree the pictures are pretty sweet! After that we just walked around a bit scoping out the cabins we would want to stay in when the lodge opened up. That would be cabin 309, 310, and 305 is what we were thinking.

• Went into the saloon that is by the rim and got us a mystery meat sandwich for a later breakfast snack and some turkey wrap for dinner. I went ahead and got an oatmilk cappuccino since I was feeling caffeine deprived. lol.
• After buying our North Rim patches and getting a stamp in our Passport Book we talked to the ranger who suggested we do the Cape Royal Road out to Angel’s Window and Cape Royal. It was a very pretty but slow drive out there due to the windy roads and curves so just relax and enjoy it. It takes about an hour to do the drive but it does goes by fast.

• Once we got there we did the usual routine of taking way to many pictures and pretty much just being amazed by it all. On the trail you first walk up to the viewpoint for Angel’s Window which it pretty incredible. It’s called Angel’s Window because of the dramatic view of the Colorado River through the hole in the rock. The hole (window) was caused by weathering (rain, freezing, and thawing) along the joints in the Kaibab limestone which enlarged the hole to eventually form a window. I’ve put two pictures below. One is the faraway view and the other a close up view. You see those little sticks on the top of the window? Those are people and we’ll be walking out there next. Thought it may help you to get an idea of the enormity of scale you’ll be looking at when you’re on the cliff.

• You continue on the path from there to Angel’s Window where you can walk out onto the cliff over it and have a great view.

• I’m going to stop here for a moment and insert some “info” pictures that you’ll want to read. They explain about the River Red, North vs South, Temples were built, and “traps”. They are all interesting and I really couldn’t find a good place to insert them so here they are with one forest pic just because. This is what the trail looks like as you’re hiking from place to place here.

• Keep on walking afterwards down to Cape Royal which provides yet more great views. I realize I’m not saying much here but I’ve literally ran out of adjectives for how majestic this place is. The pictures just can’t do it justice. Oh yes, the “fog or steam” you see in the background of some of the pictures is smoke from the controlled burns they were doing while we were there.

• Leaving Angel’s Window and driving back we went ahead and drove the extra three miles out to Point Imperial. Very glad that we did as the view was spectacular. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also the highest viewpoint in the park at 8803 feet. It also seemed like it was better developed than Cape Royal. By this I mean there were several benches where you could sit and look out and better parking. Both were good however I think Point Imperial would be better for families looking to spend some time picnicking.

• We talked about it quite a bit and decided we liked the North Rim better than the South. I realize some will agree and some won’t. We liked the North because it felt more natural and free. Like it was unrestrained in it’s beauty and not constrained or claustrophobic. Having said this we were only at the South for a few hours and it is much better developed than the North so I’ll have to revisit it to make sure.
• Since we weren’t camping out we had to bid farewell to the North Rim all to soon. We made a quick stop in Jacob Lake to check out the fried bread truck as we were both still craving it after our experience at Linda’s in Monument Valley. Next time I’d pass on the fried bread form here. It’s pretty standard fare and not really worth it. On the other hand if you go into the store (there is also a hotel attached) you can get yourself some pretty awesome cookies and shake. I got the blackberry shake and it was perfect. A solid 9 would be my grade. Thick and full of flavor. YUM! This also seems like it could be a good place to spend the night to push off to the North Rim the next day or if you were leaving the park late to stay on your way out to your next destination. Having said that I don’t have any idea what they charge for the night so definitely want to check that out prior to making any plans.
• Leaving there we took Hwy 89A / 89 down to Flagstaff to get to the Hampton Inn there where we were spending the night.
• Hwy 89A and Hwy 89 were pretty spectacular driving. We passed through Cliff Dwellers on the way and the view turned crazy pretty. You also get to drive by the Vermillion Cliffs which are also just stunning. Altogether it’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive if you don’t stop. You’ll want to stop. We certainly did although not enough. We saw several people boon docking off of 89A where they had some great views so something to keep in mind. Here’s a picture of the roadside views. My phone says Marble Canyon. It’s at mile marker 553.

• Not for sure what was going on but when we got to Flagstaff at about 7pm traffic was crazy for a Thursday night. We did drive around a bit however the vibe just wasn’t us. Don’t think this is a town we would want to move to. As they say to each there own!
• Last but not least the Hampton Inn check in was easy peasy and we were happy to get into the room so fast. It wasn’t that it was a hard day but we were in the car a lot (about 7 1/2 hours) to go the 285 miles we covered so we were ready to plan out the next day and call it a night.

Day 18: 06/16/23 (Friday)

• Good night’s sleep and hopefully an easier day today. The plan is to visit Sedona and Prescott Valley to look around. Let’s see how the plan plays out!
• On track so far. Good morning workout in the gym and a quick breakfast and we are outa here!
• First stop was a very pretty forest drive to Sedona on Hwy 89A. Pretty curvy and such but very nice. Once we got to Sedona our first stop was Sedonuts and Coffee. I was not impressed. I think I was expecting much more from this place since it was located in Sedona and had such good reviews. We got the glazed old fashioned, apple fritter, cinnamon roll, and red velvet cake. They were all on the dry side and not very tasty. I’d give them a 5 or maybe 6 on a generous day. Basically, barely average. Much better donuts to be had at other places that I’ve visited still it was the thought that counts and you never know until you try! In fact I was so unimpressed I’m not even going to post a picture for perusal.
• Trying to recover a bit we journeyed down the road a smidge to Layla’s Whole Grain Bakery where we got a ham & swiss croissant, zucchini bread, and prickly pear latte. All were pretty good I’m happy to report!

• Sedona was a great view place with lots of restaurants however I don’t feel as if I want to live here. It felt very busy and crowded. I can only imagine how it must be when it was really rocking. I’m not sure the infrastructure is up to the cyclical nature of the tourist trade and while some people have no issue with the wait times or traffic I don’t really want it to be like that where I live. I do expect those things in touristy destinations however not to the extent that I saw today.
• Leaving Sedona we drove on down to Prescott Valley and Prescott. The area wasn’t nearly as pretty to me as Sedona however it was busy. Really busy! It looked like they were undergoing a huge boom town time. Traffic was really busy and when we stopped at Costco it was just crazy busy. There wasn’t much forest until you got to the western part of Prescott although the mountains were always there. It reminded Lisa and I of a booming Springdale (located just outside of Zion National Park). We were both pretty surprised as it wasn’t the picture of the town we had in our head. I know I was thinking it was a little more laid back however that didn’t seem to be the case until you got to the historical town square of Prescott. The downtown areas were immaculate and picturesque. All the storefronts on the square were occupied and opened for business and not just with tourist type shops. Definitely worth another visit another time!
• Moving on from Prescott we drove on to the Hampton Inn in Phoenix/Anthem for the night. Again, a busy drive but a pretty one! I really like this location and drive as you can see the saguaro cactus on both sides of the highway (which I had never seen before; the cactus that is, not the highway. lol). Lisa was constantly telling me, and rightly so, to focus on the road and not the cactus! Imagine my joy when we stopped at the hotel and there were several cacti in front of the hotel and BONUS: a huge agave plant to boot!
• There was a little bit of drama to be had on our way over to the hotel as we got a call letting us know the outer glass on our back door had been shattered. Several phone calls later to check on it all we ascertained that a rock from the lawn mower must have hit it and caused the problem. Thank goodness everyone responded so quickly and forthrightly! It makes these issues so much easier to deal with and solve!
• After we checked in we went over to The Tennessee Grill to grab a bite to eat. It was nothing at all like we had envisioned as it ended up being a bar type restaurant. Now, that’s not to say we were disappointed as it was a great experience! The food was wonderful and the service was great. They didn’t make my lemon drop martini correctly and they offered to remake it for free. Quite a different and pleasant experience from our restaurant experience of the other night! I left this person a good tip as a thank you!
• Back to the hotel to plan out the rest of the day and grab a few pictures of me showing the love to the saguaro’s out front.

Day 19: 06/17/23 (Saturday)

• Gotta say it wasn’t the best nights sleep we ever had. Pretty rough actually. We were on the first floor and there was quite a bit of noise outside. The people that kept slamming their doors at night didn’t help much either. I probably wouldn’t stay here again just based on general front desk attitude (the manager was great; the other not so much) and the noise factor. Perhaps if on the top floor it would be ok.
• We ended up laying around for a bit to try and get focused for the day. Finally got up enough gumption to get up at 5am and out the door to start the day. Hampton Inn breakfast, fill up with gas and on our way.
• We wound our way south through Phoenix (didn’t feel the vibe that we needed to move here) and on towards Tucson. We got to the Red Hills Visitor Center about 10:30am.
• Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections. The one on the west side of Tucson is the Red Hills Visitor Center while the one on the east side of Tucson is the Rincon Mountain District.
• Getting to the Red Hills Visitor Center we went in, got our stamps, bought the shirt, and watched a 15 minute program called the “Voices of the Desert”. It was a good program that talked about the respect the native people had for the Saguaro’s and basically giving a Native American perspective of the Sonoran Desert. After that we had to chill for a few minutes as the ranger gave an absolutely outstanding presentation on just about anything you would want to know about the Saguaro.
• There is so much information I don’t have time to type it all in here. I’d encourage you to look it up online. A few of the highlights though are: Saguaros begin flowering when they grow about eight feet tall or between 35-65 years old. When they reach between 50-100 years old they may begin sprouting branches or “arms”. At 100-150 years they are between 15-30 plus feet tall. Some exceptional individuals may live over 200 years and reach 50 feet in height. Also, there is a difference in growth rate between the east and west side of the park. The east grows faster than the west due to the increased amount of rain it gets. The root structure is only a few inches below the surface and goes out as far as the saguaro is tall. Lastly, make sure to look up Saguaro boot. It’s the nest cavity formed by a Gila Woodpecker or Gilded Flicker. Seriously lastly, the saguaro fruit is highly important to the ecosystem here. Coyotes, birds, people, and just about everything else here either eats the fruit or the seeds. There is approximately 1000 seeds per fruit difference between the west park (2500) and the east park (3500). Speaking of the fruits, the flowers that bloom above the ovary (the fruit portion) open at night and remain open for pollination for only one day before wilting away thus laying open the fruit portion. So, if you see white it’s the flowers and if you see red, it’s the fruit . The doves (and many other birds) migrate up from Mexico just in time to pollinate the flowers when they open. As I said, the fruit is highly desired by just about everything. The ranger says it tastes similar to kiwi.
• After the ranger talk we walked around a bit at the Visitor’s Center before we headed out to drive the scenic loop. There are some tremendous views to be had just from walking around here.

• I took a quick video from one of the short hikes I did however I don’t think it really shows the saguaro off very well or gives you an idea of how magnificent these are. I’ll put the video below and then pictures from the drive/hike below that. Make sure you look through the pictures as each cactus is individual and looks so unique to the others.

• The scenic loop is a rock road so we had to go slow which was fine since I was like a kid in the proverbial candy store looking at the Saguaros. It was pretty hot (about 101 degrees) however I did do the Bajada Wash Trail and took it up to the top of the hill so I could get a good view of the valley and I don’t know how many Saguaros. (thousands probably). It was a really hot but very rewarding hike! Lots of Saguaros in different shapes, sizes, configurations and such.
• Speaking of arms why do some of them droop down and some go up? Several reasons; the main one is water gets in the joint, freezes, and damages around the ribs inside where the joint is located. This weakens the joint so the arms twist down since they can’t support the weight. Fungal infection causes some of the droops also while just plain old genetics is responsible for some also. I’ve put all my pictures below as I love them all dearly. A first four are from around the Red Hills Visitor Center while all the rest are from the drive or my quick hike. I couldn’t resist “Hulking out” with my new best buddy to start us out!

• Without further ado here you go! Major photo bomb below, but every single picture is awesome!!!

• There is also a place you can hike to see some petroglyphs on the drive although I didn’t do that hike.
• Adding in my two cents worth I was super impressed. I didn’t really know what to expect at all from our visit here however it blew me away. I never realized how much I love cactus and the desert overall. I obviously love Death Valley but cactus? Yep, I’m a cactus lover. It was just fascinating to drive through and look at all the diversity in the Saguaros appearance and how important they are to the ecosystem and to the Native Americans who lived there. So I’m currently at mountains, cliffs, deserts, ocean with wave, and now huge swatches of cactus making the list of places that I love.
• Leaving the National Park we did a quick drive over to the Desert Museum. They have a lot of different exhibits of everything from mines/geology to wildlife like snakes (reptiles), to a scenic walk and much more. We did go in and looked through a couple items however it was just to hot for us so we cut the visit short and drove on to our hotel for the night which was about an hour away. In all fairness the Desert Museum was pretty big and we just barely touched on it so we really didn’t do it justice at all. Don’t let my lack of photo’s stop you from going here. I’d try it again on a cooler day or earlier in the day. On the plus side we saw our first Crested or Cristate Saguaro cactus. When you look at the picture I’m sure you’ll figure out why they call it that.

• We ended up staying at the Hilton Tucson East so we could easily get to the Saguaro National Park on the east side of Tucson in the morning. Queue up the cluster fluster music now.
• Check in was fast but just crappy as here’s the key and bye. We got to the room and the battery in the wall thermometer was blinking and about to go out so we had maintenance change it. In the time it took them to get there we discovered the sink didn’t drain so after he fixed the battery he looked at the sink and offered to change rooms for us. He said he could fix but must have been a communication issue as after 30 minutes or so he never showed and the room started smelling like a sewer and backing up in the sink. We went down to the front desk and requested another room. They gave us one that looked directly into the west with no view at all. Back to the front desk to get a different room which they did finally find us one on the sixth floor in a different section. Good enough for us! No smell and no blinding west sun to give me a migraine. I also discovered they were supposed to give me a parking ticket to put on my dash when I checked in so I didn’t get towed. That didn’t happen so I requested one after the second room debacle and got that put in. We did get dinner at the hotel because we were just to exhausted to go out after all that and I’m happy to say it was pretty good overall. Service at the restaurant was knowledgeable, awesome and friendly.
• Back to the room to wait for the bats to come out in front of the hotel and to watch the 1997version of Tombstone in preparation for our visit there tomorrow. Credit goes to our wonderful server for telling us about the bats below the bridge… so we’ll try to catch them and grab a picture!
• Success! Bats have been found thanks to the keen eye of my wife. The pictures didn’t turn out super well but not bad for just looking out the window of our hotel room and snapping a picture or two.

Our view before sunset and just after with the bat show.

Day 20: 06/18/23 (Sunday)

• Happy Father’s Day to me! Wonderful texts from my kiddos and some pretty awesome gifts from Lisa. I’m looking forward to watching some of the old western show Cheyenne that she got me on DVD. It’s pretty neat if you’ve never seen it before. It’s just an old spaghetti western but hey; I like it!
• After my once a year breakfast of bacon, eggs, and donuts we headed out of the hotel and over to Saguaro National Park east which is the Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center to take the Cactus Forest Drive loop.
• Quick stop in at the Visitor’s Center for a stamp and on to the drive. We enjoyed the drive quite a bit but not as much as we did the one on the west side yesterday. The east gets more rain and so there was more other brush than in the west that seemed to affect the density of the Saguaro. Also, the Saguaro on the east side seemed to have more arms than in the west. Due to the rainfall they definitely grow faster than the ones on the west. It was interesting to see the difference between the east and west sides. It’s one of those things that you know intellectually however you don’t really realize it until you actualize it by seeing it in person. Keep in mind the pictures from the west when you look at these. See the difference in vegetation density? It’s a pretty big difference.

• We decided that we wanted to come back when it was cooler so that we can do some of the hikes. We’ve been told the spring bloom is spectacular about every 10 years so we’re going to start watching for that.
• Leaving the park we headed on down to Tombstone to check it out. It was a pretty drive and the first site we saw coming in to Tombstone was Boothill Graveyard. Doing business since 1878 and now on the National Register of Historic Places.
• We walked around a bit and took some pictures of the permanent famous denizens in it. Hot day again but I think they all are around here this time of year. I was only $3 to get admittance and was well worth it. Make sure you read some history of Tombstone or at least watch the movie (not the Howard Hughes one) before you head down here. It’ll make much more sense that way!

• Now, in case you get lost or trapped in the graveyard they do have emergency response posted.

• Leaving Boothill we headed on into town and basically just walked around a lot. We did stop in at The Oriental Saloon to drink a beer and diet coke just to say that we did while we were there. The bartender was dressed up like a dance hall girl and it was funny to see her on her cell phone leaned up against the back counter when she wasn’t busy. You had to pay money to see any of the gunfights so we didn’t go to them. Same for the O.K. Corral. You had to pay to see it. I’m all for making money but that seemed a little cheesy to charge just to see it.
• Before we left town I needed a little pick me up so we stopped a Undertaker’s Expresso Bar and ended up meeting the owner. Cool coffee shop and owner. I really liked it. I had him make me a funky coffee of the day. Ended up being carmel, vanilla, coconut, and some cinnamon and it tasted great! The old place used to be the undertakers so lot of history went down in that place. Almost all of it was original which is important as some of the buildings in town had burned down and then been rebuilt. I don’t have a picture of the place however I highly recommend stopping in here. I do have a map though! lol.

• Overall though we did like the town quite a bit. If/when we come back I think we’ll stay the night there so we can just chill and have fun exploring it all.
• Moving on we drove on to El Paso and spent the night at the Courtyard El Paso East/I-10. Comfortable place, had some dinner there, and calling it an early night for our drive tomorrow.

Day 21: 06/19/23 (Monday

• Good nights rest at the hotel so would stay there again. Today was a big push day. Headed from El Paso to home which was around 677 miles so not a terrible day but given it was going to be 109 degrees today it wasn’t the most pleasant drive ever.
• We left the Courtyard about 6:15am to get an early start and take advantage of the cooler weather while we could.
• Our fist stop was in Van Horn to see the historic Hotel El Capitan Restaurant & Bar. We got out and walked around for just a bit. I didn’t see much to do in Van Horn however I’d stay the night in this hotel as it had a neat feel to it. Plus, I just liked the way it looked. The last part of the drive into Van Horn was also pretty neat.

• From Van Horn we really only made one more stop of consequence and that was in Fort Stockton. We drove by Paisano Pet (the world’s largest roadrunner statue) and then on down to Historic Fort Stockton museum to do a quick tour. At 11am it was already to hot to walk around outside so we only went inside the main building where we had air conditioning. It was a fun quick stop as it had information on the history of Fort Stockton, replicas, and other information.

• Did I mention it was about 109 degrees? We still had a lot of miles to go but we did take it somewhat easy as we didn’t want the motor to overheat (or us). We did run into a freak pop up rainstorm along the way which was nice to cool things down for a few. The rest was really just windshield time.
• Home at 7:32pm!
• That’s it for this adventure but it was a good one. 5,796 miles over 21 days with squeezing in visits to 10 National Parks (13 if you count the different areas of 3 of them as they are located in different areas). Throw in Monument Valley, several state parks, and a lot of old ghost towns and it was a good trip for the books. As always, thanks for looking at the blog!