Tuesday, May 5 found Lise and I in Flagstaff, AZ asking any body that would talk to us if there was anyway to get a glimpse of the Grand Canyon 75 miles to the north. Everyone told us there was absolutely no way to see the Grand Canyon but that the entire area was quite beautiful-which we could see-and that there is lots of opportunities to hike in the Coconino National Forest that we might enjoy.
After doing some research, we settled on a hike at Red Mountain, roughly halfway between Flagstaff and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Red Mountain is a volcano that erupted about 700,000 years ago.
The hike was shorter than 2 miles each way, the weather was warm and sunny and the scenery was as nice as advertised!
From here, we drove the remaining 40 miles or so to the South Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon. And of course it was closed.
This picture is actually to a different entrance that we drove to but, you get the idea. It was locked down and there was no way in. We even drove down a dirt road not far from the gate hoping we might find a trail that would lead to a view of the canyon. We couldn't find one. We did see what appeared to be some locals walking around in the same area and I asked them if it was possible to see the Canyon any place. A woman pointed us towards another dirt road and said to drive for an hour down this road and we could get a glimpse of it.
We hurried back to the car as it was getting late and the key would not go into the ignition! I couldn't believe it! We were in the middle of nowhere! In my panic, I tried to unblock the ignition with my pocket knife and broke the tip off in the ignition!
This was quickly going from bad to worse! I was calling for a tow truck as it was getting late and I didn't want us to be stranded out there for the night when Lise asked if the key would work now. While I was on the phone she had taken her nail file gently to the ignition. I pushed the key and it went right in! That woman is amazing! Crises averted!
We drove down the recommended dirt road for an hour only to find a 5 story tall fire tower. We climbed the tower as the sun was getting low in the sky and there it was! The Grand Canyon!
We hiked around a bit in the fading daylight hoping to get a closer look but, never found another view.
As it was getting dark, we hopped back into the dusty, trusty Mazda and headed back to Flagstaff.
Eventually we made it to South Dakota where we drove to Rapid City before calling it a night.
