They're Here!

It's 5:00am, almost seven hours before the kid's plane arrives but there is no staying asleep.  We are both just too excited and go ahead and get ready for the day.  Since my folks have made a two hour time change, they are up and around as well.  We head out for a place that is famous for its biscuits and gravy.  We were told that getting there early on a Saturday morning was a must unless you wanted to stand in line for a table.  It is called Mike and Ronda's: The Place.

We did get a table right away and the four of us sat down with appetites ready for a carb-loading on the highest level.  But it was not to be.  It seems that the biscuits were not done yet.  We would have to wait at least a half hour for them.  Never mind that the place had been open for more than an hour, the biscuit maker must have been late to work that day and there were none available.  We did not want to wait for whoever it was to get their act together so we ordered things that none of us remember and got on with our rat-killin' for the day.

Mom's BP had not improved with a night's acclimation.  A quick look-up on Wikipedia confirmed that it would take more like seven to fourteen nights before returning to baseline.  In the interim there would be a high risk of stroke or heart attack.  It was a hard fact to face but they were going to have to return to lower altitude.  The decision was made to stick around and pick the kids up from the airport, have lunch with them and then make a non-stop drive back to Texas, a solid ten-hour drive.  So sad but so necessary.

From the "Famous for our biscuits, Sorry we don't have any biscuits" restaurant we made shopping stops at Sam's Club and Walmart to finish off our frozen and fresh food list.  It did not take as long as anticipated and we ended up sitting in the Flagstaff airport terminal for a good while before the kids arrived.  But it worked out for the best, we got to enjoy the company of my folks without distraction.

The kid's plane arrived on time and we immediately set out for Cameron Trading Post.  It is about an hours drive from Flagstaff on highway 89A, the road we take to get to the North Rim.  We had been talking about going to this place for lunch ever since the kids decided to come.  Everybody was already well versed on the specialty of the house; Fry Bread Taco.  And since we had also clued them in on the giant size of an order, all knew to order just one and split it between two.

I have posted pictures of Cameron before but on this trip we picked up a new piece of information about the metal work on the ceiling.

Most modern-day ceilings of this type are composed of tiles, but not this one.  These eight foot wide and twenty feet long pieces are a single sheet of metal, hand-hammered and custom built for this very ceiling.

Of course there was more than just lunch at Cameron.  This is a large trading post and they have everything from fine jewelry by local artists and an in-house rug weaver you can watch crafting a rug that will sell for thousands of dollars to the Chinese and Thailand made trinkets so common in most tourist traps.  Shauna and Cyndee hit the jewelry, everybody else was all over the place.

It was getting late and now we had to do what was hard; part company.  The kids were going with us to the North Rim and my folks were heading for the lower altitudes of home back in Texas.  It was hard to do but it was the right thing to do.  We said our tearful goodbyes, us going west and my folks going east.

Next stop, Navajo Bridge.  Now that it is the middle of the afternoon it is unlikely we will see any Condors but it is still worth stopping just for the scenery.

It's a law, you have to have your picture taken standing on the Navajo Bridge.

The accommodations are a bit crude but the craftsmanship of the jewelry makers is impressive.

As expected, we did not see any Condors.  When we bring the kids back to the airport it will be early in the morning and we should have a much better chance of catching them warming up before soaring down the canyon for the day.

Having taken the required-by-law picture on the bridge we jump back in the truck and make a quick jog down to Lee's Ferry.  This is one of only two places that you can drive to the Colorado River's edge in the Grand Canyon.  Considered by most to be the beginning of the Grand Canyon it is where all but a rare few begin their river rafting trip.  People from all over the world rendezvous here to begin what is undoubtedly an adventure of a lifetime.

While we may not be going on a rafting trip we are here to say that we have been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and have put our feet in the waters of the Colorado.

Even though this is the beginning and "shallow" end of the Grand Canyon, everything is still grand in scale.

Judging by the expression on Shauna's face, I don't think she expected the water to be so cold.

For a little place, everything sure is big.

From Lee's Ferry we hustled down the road along the Vermillion Cliffs and on to the gateway to the North Rim, Jacob Lake.  A brief stop at Jacob Lake and we are back on the road with hopes to get to the North Rim before twilight and multitudes of deer on the road.  Tomorrow we see the Grand Canyon, North Rim style.