On my way out of town I go right passed Slide Rock State Park so I stop and sneak in the way I found earlier in the week when the place was closed. This time it’s packed, with families and kids playing in the natural waterslides. There are pools too, where the waters deeper and calmer, but it’s ice fuckin’ cold. I dive in once to be able to say I did it, and I’m quickly drying myself and standing in the sun. It’s not my cup of tea at the moment, but I bet in the summertime this is an oasis in the desert.
After two weeks in Sedona it feels good to be on the road again. I head toward Supai with visions of sapphire blue waterfalls in my head. Later, I reach the lone hotel that operates anywhere near the falls. I go in and tell the lady at the desk I wanna see the waterfalls. Evidently, everybody wants to see the waterfalls…and you need reservations months in advance.
The place is on an Indian reservation and these Indians run a tight ship. IF I had a reservation, I could drive down a single-lane dirt road, to a parking lot in the middle of the desert. 8 miles further on, is the Supai camp which I must pass through to get to the waterfalls. From here I can park, parking is $5 a day, and hire a donkey team to bring me and all my gear back to the camp…..for $200. I don’t have $200 to spend on a donkey so the woman tells me I could hike the 8 miles for free if I want. That sounds rough but she says it’s pretty flat, so I start to think I could probably handle it.
“So, I can just hike back there, then drop my stuff and go see the water falls?”
“Well, the falls are a little over a mile passed the camp…and there’s a $40 dollar entry fee to the camp.” I respond by just blinking at her. Then ask, “Well, once I’m in can I like hang out for a few days. Pitch a tent and all that shit? You know, make it worth my while?”
“Sure….If you had a reservation. And camping is seventeen dollars a night.” It’s starting to get expensive but $17 a night is actually a pretty good price for camping close to a place that's as beautiful as this place is supposed to be.
“Seventeen a night, that's not that bad,” but she corrects me.
“Seven-DEE dollars a night, sir.” Seventy bucks a night for camping! Are you serious! That’s crazy talk and I can’t afford it, so without knowing where I’m going next I set off back into there Arizona desert. I need a place to sleep, but there's nothing around except a small wooden church. I pull around the side to somewhere that seems to be out of the way and climb in the back of the jeep to lay down. I convince myself that a church is supposed to be a sanctuary for wayward travelers, and no one should hassle me for sleeping here because that’s exactly what I am, a wayward traveler…..and all I need for the night, is sanctuary.
It turns out to be true and I remain unmolested till morning when I consult my atlas and decide that since I don’t get to see the waterfalls my consolation prize has gotta be the Grand Canyon. Any day your consolation prize is the Grand Canyon, is a pretty good day and I hit the road looking forward to the experience.
After a few hours of driving I pass a billboard for a place called Bearizona. It sounds like a nice break so I pull in and pay $20 to drive passed sleeping bears. There is a place to park and walk around, like a small zoo. They do have a bear cub that is awful cute when he falls off his little tree stump wrestling his blanket, and the owl at the bird show was pretty cool, how it can fly silently, but I think the twenty bucks would have served me better in the jeep’s gas tank.
The beauty of the Grand Canyon is unspeakable. Beyond words. And it goes on forever. You don’t get to see this view when you first arrive. You have to wait in a mass of vehicles several lanes wide that moves at a snails pace….if its moving at all. I had to wait in line a good 20 minutes before I even reached the beginning of the season pass lane. Once I got there I was able to merge to the left and zip passed most of the traffic. I look out on a sea of cars, each paying $25 to just enter the park. I paid $80 for my season pass that gets me into any National Park for free. It’s by far the best investment I made for my trip and during my stay at the South Rim it pays for it’s self and them some. After I’m in, the signs direct me passed the first two parking lots indicating that they’re full. I pull into the third, quickly find a spot and power walk in the direction of the rim. The visitors center area is packed, it’s a tourist attraction. But seeing the Grand Canyon can’t be described, even if it is from the middle of a throng of tourists. And no picture will ever do it justice, as soon you put a border around something you steal its essence.
When you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon you can feel its presence. Sitting and staring at it becomes a legitimate activity. I see couples posting up in lawn chairs sitting down and relaxing to take in the view.
I grab some maps and ask some questions at the visitors center and learn of the free shuttles and the schedules and also of more dispersed camping just out side the park. That means free! I cruise out of the park and down a dirt road until I find an adequate campsite. With that noted, I head back down the dirt track to where, right across the street, is a hotel with a sports bar. I grab a few beers and watch the Hawks tie the series with a Kaner, OT winner. That's one helluva day!
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