We are learning to pull the rig into a spot so we get an awesome view upon wake up. Today's view was again amazing. As the sun rose, the canyon walls glowed bright reds and oranges. Sierra ended up crawling into bed with me and we read for a while as Alex and Steve had breakfast.
An hour later, the sky was a magnificent purple... the clouds and rising sun made the backdrop look like a painting.
The question for us today was... stay or go? Such an incredible view. Steve really wanted to hike but the road leading to our trail was closed, plus Alex woke up with a fever and was feeling crappy. (Tonight, he is feeling better). Instead of hitting the trails, we went down to the Colorado River again and played along the sandy beach. In just over twelve hours, the river had risen. That large stick that Sierra had planted along the shoreline, was now out at least 20 feet. I rolled up my pants and waded out in the freezing water and retrieved her precious stick. Since the dogs have been on pretty short leashes since we began our travels, Steve brought each of them their 40 foot leads and they had a blast playing on the beach. At home, the dogs wander the property and can run freely and explore. Today, Titus reminded me of when he was a young dog. He came to life as we walked to the river. Titus is a water lover and was all smiles as he chased the sticks we'd toss into the river. Willow was all about staying on the sand and eating sticks and jumping around. Right when we were about to head back to our home on wheels, a group of rafters passed by. Super sweet! Reminded me of the many river trips I've taken in the Southwest. Again, so magical. Steve said to me at one point that he too can now understand why this place is so special.
Crossing the Corado River later in the day
We ended up choosing to hit the road and were going to head up to Page, to check out Lake Powell. The moment we met the sign pointing us to Page or Flagstaff, Steve and I took two seconds to reevaluate our plans and on a whim, Mr. Adventure turned south towards Flag. We had hoped to camp at the Grand Canyon this week, but all the reserved spots were taken. Again, I think the Universe wants us there because when I decided to check one last time, there was one spot that had opened up. So, on Wednesday we are going to the Canyon and will spend the night there. The kids are super excited. And, we can take the dogs along the South Rim which is a bonus.
As we continued our drive, Mr. Adventure was thrilled with the views & did an awesome job navigating the rig in the massive winds as we drove through the Navajo Reservation. There were some crazy folks passing us in their rental RVs. Seriously insane people taking huge risks. We were more than happy to get off the highway and took a side detour to see Wupatki National Monument. (Steve will be writing that part of the blog later tonight as he has all the pictures.)
Miss Willow ♡
I think the dogs will be getting a bath in Flag tomorrow while we do laundry and stock up on supplies again
After we left Wupatki, we spotted the snowy peaks in Flagstaff. It feels like just yesterday that friends and I were hiking up to the Humphreys Peak! Sometimes, I would even skip class, drive my little white truck up north, and go skiing there. And of course, I'd run into other PC folks.
Oh, the memories ♡
We passed through Sunset Crater are just before 5 o'clock and were trying to figure out where we'd spend the night. As we were about to hit the highway again, we spotted a forest service road and headed straight for it. A mile or so in, we found a nice spot for some boondocking tonight. And, as soon as we chose a spot amongst the pines, it began to snow! The snowline we'd been admiring suddenly became where we were. And it's still snowing! I can hear the wind and ice hitting the windows as I type. Tomorrow will bring another adventure for sure! For a split second we thought about the sunny canyon we'd left early in the day, and are happy we are here tonight. It's all part of the journey. Funny to think that just last night we put the kids' snow boots away. "We won't need those anymore," we said. HA!
P.S. The kids are totally loving the Book Ollie's Odyssey. They beg and beg for "just one more chapter!" Thank you Bridget ♡ for loaning it to us!
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