Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

After a night in National Forest land (where you can camp for free!), we drove from the Grand Canyon to the Hoover Dam, which borders Arizona and Nevada. Interestingly enough, we had to go through a bomb checkpoint, where they inspect how low each car is sitting. After setting our clocks back an hour we headed to Lake Mead to find a campsite.

~ The Grand Canyon ~

After a looong drive from Lake Powell, we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon! We were lucky enough to snag a spot at the Mather Campground (really close to the rim!) and got a chance to see the canyon at sunset! Apart from the ridiculously expensive "General Store" ($7.50 for a small Ben & Jerry's!) and my sore knee, we had a great time here.

^ We climbed the Desertview Watchtower (at the east entrance of Grand Canyon NP)

^ Colorado River flowing through the Canyon

^ Setting up for the sunset :)

^ Room with a view!

 ^ Doing the Hermit's Rest route and seeing all the scenic viewpoints

^ Beautiful earrings             ^ The famous Rim Trail

After spending the night camping off a forest road (in the Kaibab National Forest), we headed to Williams, AZ, to drive some of Historic Route 66 :)  Then, off to Sequoia National Park in California!

Lake Powell, AZ (and UT!)

After Zion, we headed to Lake Powell, which is in both Arizona and Utah. Figuring out the time difference was fun-- our campground was on Arizona time but the marina (less than a mile away) was on Utah time. We were glad for Arizona's less-strict liquor laws, as our time in Utah was virtually sans alcohol. We checked in to our "glamp-site" (wi-fi from our tent, say whaaat?!) and then hit the marina for some kayaking on the lake! It got pretty windy out there in the middle, especially with the motorboats' wakes, but overall we had fun, got a great arm workout, and enjoyed the water. Here are some photos from Lake Powell!

^ blue sky, emerald/turquoise water... 

^ waiting for our kayak rental

^ thankfully we had a dry bag in the car!

^ the BIGGEST tumbleweed we've seen thus far!

^ poor little guy... couldn't get off the rock!

Our campsite, called Lake Powell RV Resort, was connected to the Lake Powell Resort... so for $23 a night, we got Wi-Fi, pool and hot-tub access, and free coffee! Pretty good deal! We were also excited for some real showers, as it had been well over a week since we'd visited civilization. :)

The morning we left, we met a very nice woman from the Netherlands. Her name was Mareike and she was on holiday with her husband. She was probably around 70 years old, and she was talking about her grandchildren and memories of camping trips around Europe with her own children (back when "free camping" was safe in Europe). She pronounced Wi-Fi wee-fee and had the typical Dutch accent I can recognise in a heartbeat. Chase and I really enjoyed chatting with her that morning.

We left the campsite, briefly stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam, and then started our route to the GRAND CANYON! Unfortunately, there had been a rockslide on a regional highway along our main route, so we had to take a detour that cost us an extra 1.5 hours. At least we got to see some Navajo land! (It was a pretty boring drive, though. Thank goodness we had an iPod- there were no radio stations!)

Zion National Park, Part II

After our backcountry camping and hiking in the southwest desert portion of Zion, Chase and I decided to explore the main area of the park. We packed up our camping gear and marched out of the wilderness, 1.8 miles back to the car in sweltering heat. I almost passed out, no joke. (I'm Canadian- can't take extreme heat very well!)

Our experience in Zion was fantastic. The shuttle system was great, the Zion Lodge area had a huge lawn for picnicking under huge trees, and the hiking offered breathtaking views. Apart from poor signage on the trails, we had a great time. We also found a great, secluded place to camp outside the park- complete with a stream for bathing! It was near Grafton Road on BLM land, so it was free and pretty low-key. Here are some pictures from Zion!

^ View from Zion Lodge area

^ We hiked the Emerald Pools trail

^ Sprinkling from an above pool

^ Chase at an arch on the Hidden Canyon trail

^ Hiking (and climbing/bouldering) in between two mountain walls!

^ Note: MAJOR scrambling required! No outlet, and no sign saying when to turn back.

^ BEAUTIFUL VIEWS

^ Columbine flowers from "hanging gardens"

^ We saw some really dumb people taunting the squirrels... Definitely not a good idea.

 

^ driving through the eastern part of the park (after the tunnel)... we saw some mountain goats near here!