Great Ocean Road - Sept. 5

We woke up at Warrnambool, ready to make the return trek to our evening accommodations in Geelong along the Great Ocean Road.

Since we got in fairly late (and focused on the hot springs), it was time to give a bit of our attention to Warrnambool - and nothing looked better than a whale nursery lookout at Logan’s Beach! An Australian was there with binoculars and gave us a bit of information on the location, but he wasn't sure (or I didn't capture) whether we were sure it was a grey whale.

Leaving the wind of the beach, we grabbed a breakfast of bacon and egg rolls at a nearby cafe, before resuming the road trip. All of the advertising had gotten me, so we only made it 20 minutes to Cheese World, where we grabbed wine, cheese, and sea salt pita chips for snacks for later.

Now, it was time for the postcard tour. The western half of the Great Ocean Road follows the Twelve Apostles Marine Preserve, and every few minutes, another named hunk of rock had a parking lot and a walk to an overlook. We started with Bay of Islands.

Bay of Islands gave us an idea of what we'd be seeing that day - worn down layers of softer sedimentary rock were on harder base layers, so each island was stacked like a crepe cake, with nearly vertical edges into the ocean.

To get closer to these rocks, we stopped at the Grotto next. Walking down to the beach, we found the arch that had been worn away to form this sunken lair. I found being next to that, and the framing of the ocean in the arch, to be one of my favorite sights of the day.

Then we stopped at London Bridge (you can likely imagine what that rock looked like), then The Arch (off the side of a cliff, instead of on an island), then, on our way to Loch Ard Gorge, we finally found them! Live kangaroos!

They were up on a hill in the distance, but we had at least seen them once in Australia, so could check that off.

Loch Ard Gorge was a hike down onto a sandy beach in between two cliffs. We weren't sure how tides worked, so we wandered for a little before making sure we wouldn't get cut off from the wooden stairs and exit when it seemed like the water was rising.

Since our next stop was the Twelve Apostles, and it was only five minutes down the road, I got the keys to the car. Mark finally got to experience how unnerving it is to be that close to the edge of the road on the passenger's side with no control! Driving wasn't hard at all, but it certainly gave him some empathy for me being on the left side of the car all the time.

The lot of cars and buses and groups had grown by the time we parked at Twelve Apostles. It was nice that we had stayed so close, because the buses coming from Melbourne were later in the day and added to the crowds. A school group asked us some questions about why we had come to see the Apostles, and we answered then after taking a look at the (not twelve) islands in the distance. It was a well-developed park post, so the bathroom line wasn't too bad.

Our last nature destination of the morning was the Gibson Steps. After going in and out of the car just that many times, we decided not to make our way down the hundreds of steps to the beach. Instead, we watched a surfer take on a wave before finding lunch.

And we had to search. Princetown was very much a locals town, and the restaurant was the only one in the town, period. The darken interior, wood tables, and fireplace made it seem eternally at dusk. The retirees meeting up for their beer and fish and chips helped the mood as well.

With all the success of waterfalls yesterday, I decided I wanted another for my birthday, so we cut inland to Triplet Falls. It was an hourlong hike, with interpretive signs to teach us that carnivorous snails and platypus were in this park! Sadly, we didn't see either - what a birthday that would have been!

We did find the falls, and I played with the DSLR's settings to see if we could get that blurry water picture. We got a lot of blurry pictures, that's for sure! There was the remains of a logging mill along the trail as well, but that was much less picturesque and special.

We'd covered as much of the Great Ocean Road as we had planned, so we used the faster inland roads to cut an hour off the drive time to get to the Gate House on Ryrie in Geelong (emphasis on the long when pronouncing).

We got there right at 6, when the proprietor had said he was going to leave, so didn't yet meet him as we found our room. The parking lot was small, and the house was configured such that we wound our way through the old house's kitchen to our room and attached kitchen and bath. The mansion's gravitas was a bit wounded by the fact that it was across the street from a “mackers” (McDonald's).

I had planned myself a nice dinner at Wah Wah Gee on the wharf - it was well-rated and had reservations for the time we wanted, and it was on the pier! We walked there with pretty high expectations, but the restaurant was much more casual than we anticipated. Because of the "small plates" nature, we ended up ordered the greasiest fried food on the menu, but treated ourselves to their nice cocktails.

As we were walking back to the mansion, we passed a lively-looking restaurant with an American theme and decided to go get shakes afterward - because my birthday was almost over!

Sugared up, we returned back to our creaky but enjoyable room for our last evening driving in Australia.

Great Ocean Road - Sept 4

On Tuesday morning, we awoke in our motel at the back of a bar. We split the date/fig bar because we had a couple long drives. I made a bit of a mistake when planning our hotels - thankfully, the Great Ocean Road is about 4.5 hours from tip to tail, and we had 3 days to explore it.

So, on Day 2 of the Great Ocean Roadtrip, we started in Apollo Bay, which is about halfway. Then we went backwards (east), and thus got to see everything we passed in the dark last night.

I was still on the righthand side of the car, so instead of cliff faces, I now got to watch the ocean! ...and cars barreling past that I perceived to be too close for comfort.

Thankfully, we pulled off into what looked like a campground to drive up and into the Kennett River park. Here, we had heard, was where to find koalas (and wallabies!)

There were quite a few roads going off in a variety of directions. Turns out, the road we wanted was Grey River Road - a gravel path that winds up into the forest. Finding the signpost directing our way, we now were going to see those koalas!

The first koala was tucked into a fork in the trees. Because the trees were so close, I was getting a neckache from staring upward - so I leaned my chair all the way back so I could look at the treetops while Mark drove slow.

The next koala ran across the road! Then a wallaby just stared at us from the green hillside that turned into trees. We ended up seeing five koalas and three wallabies - a great haul! We had passed some people hiking the trail/road, which made me a bit guilty at our laziness. However, with only a few days, sometimes the hours are precious.

Giddy from the real Australian wildlife (oh, I didn't mention the white cockatiels also majestically sitting in branches), we continued going east. We had pizza and garlic bread from the night before, so that satisfied us for a bit as we went to hike to Sheoak Falls.

With the parking lot at an inward bend in the road, we hiked up a river bed. It started as boardwalk and stairs - we were against a hill, so I suppose it makes sense that the trail went up, then down, then up again. Inset in the rock were single-person caves - seemed like an ancient place (except for the easy wooden trail.)

At the end of the trail was water falling over a dark, slate-like rock. I don't remember the water temperature clearly, but I think it wasn't gasping cold when we dipped our hands in. We poked around a couple of the trails to see a few different angles of Sheoak Falls before heading back.

We stopped at Lorne, and at that point I learned that the white cockatiels that impressed me so much at Kennett River were a dime a dozen. We stopped in a wine shop briefly to taste, had some burgers at Bottle of Milk (and had to have a shake!), then walked into the park by Lorne Beach to see some locals with their dogs.

After an hour or two enjoying Lorne, we drove along to Erskine Falls. It was steps down to the lookout, and I got to "bag" my second waterfall of the day.

With that, it was time to drive. Again, because I had essentially booked us hotels a little farther along the road than we actually got each day, we started the nearly three-hour drive along the Great Ocean Road. We pulled off a few times to capture the views (and let Mark soak it in, since he was driving.) Though we saved time tomorrow for the Twelve Apostles, we also got there at sunset, so couldn't help taking a few pictures.

We got to Warrnambool early enough to walk around the park as the sun was setting (a park that included quite a few water features, as well as some geese). We both tried the terrifying zipline that seemed a bit too much for a children's park - even though I was turning 30 the next day, still young enough for fun!

Speaking of, it was time to check in to my birthday treat - Deep Blue Hotel & Spa in Warrnambool.

We had just enough time at check-in to spend time at the spring. The highly mineral water was captured in a pool. It was opaque, so we felt our way around the 4 ft pool to find chairs and benches that were under water. After soaking for a bit and getting too warm, we jumped into the "chill pool" - cold fresh water - then back to the mineral bath.

An hour or so of that (also, because we got in about an hour before they closed), and we went back upstairs to order from room service. I had a sweet potato gnocchi that was so good, especially with the bottle of Tatalia Australian wine! I (re)introduced Mark to "Jukebox the Ghost", a band I've enjoyed for a few years, then we went to bed, cozy and nourished.

Sydney and Melbourne - Sept 3

We stayed in the cheap airport hotel, because the morning of Sept. 3, it was a flight to Melbourne. We rented our car, and, boy, was it unnerving to sit on the left without a steering wheel and brakes!

When Alisa and I hiked Kilimanjaro in 2013, we had been joined by three Australians - one of which I was still friends with on Facebook! So Mark got to meet Stuart, and we both met his wife Andrea for the first time, when we got to the parking lot near Queen Victoria Market. I can't remember if it was expense or why, but we decided to have Stuart, an experienced Australian driver, move it a few blocks for two-hour street parking.

Hungry, we started with food - found a random Italian restaurant on pedestrian street, where we were sure to enjoy some wine with our pastas.

Refreshed, we walked to the Yarra River, passing the station where you can “meet under the clocks” - Flinders Street Station. After our trek, while it wasn't like climbing Kili, it was enough distance that it made sense to take the tram.

Within the city center, it's free, but take it one stop too far, and a policeman might stop you and ask to see your tram cards. I wasn't sure if having an American accent was better or worse for us, but Andrea ended up doing all the talking, and we left with nothing more than a warning.

So, we were back near Victoria Market, where we had parked... but no one could find the car! It took us all starting at the first parking lot, counting roundabouts, then frantically clicking the honk button on the car before we found it, I'm sure right where we had left it. For the second time in a day, we didn't get a ticket, despite being just outside the boundaries of the law (this time, by being 20 minutes late.)

It was disappointing to hit traffic at 2pm, but we motored through it to get to Geelong, then we found the Great Ocean Road. And, the first of the tourist traps, probably. I had looked up quite a few places we could stop, and I knew that the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie had a 4pm tasting - we snuck in at 4:07.

Apparently, it's not as important to start at the beginning with chocolate, as it is with wine, so the host started serving us the tasters once we walked in, along with the family of six that was already there. We learned the basics of the cacao plant, white chocolate, etc., but really we just kept chatting her up in case she'd give us more chocoloate.

Well, that and we learned she had a vet degree and helped out wildlife! I had mentioned that we had seen signs with a phone number saying "if you see injured wildlife, call" - apparently, the number went to her teacher.

Just before the shop closed at 5, I got strawberry and dark chocolate gelato, which would keep us going until after sunset (and, little did we know, quite a bit past sunset.)

Now, we were really on a road that was built by veterans after WWI. There were sharp cliffs dropped right at my left side - and if it wasn't a cliff, it was a wall of rocks! Since looking around the car was anxiety-inducing, it was best to look out the front windshield, where the gorgeous ocean had carved inlets and met up with streams and rivers.

It was all new, so we took it in at a variety of pull-offs before making it to Split Point Lighthouse for sunset.

A few red bellied green parrots joined us in the lighthouse at the end of a residential street, which made it less surprising when we were walked back to our car by by a dog with a toy in his mouth.

When there was an arch over the road, naming it as the Great Ocean Road, we learned the piece I already said - the road built by WWI soldiers returning - but this was apparently the third sign to say so. It had previously been a toll road, but we sailed by.

The evening started turning into night - we were hungry and tired, but made it the extra hour thanks to Mark (at night, on the wrong side of the road, with a cliff on the other side), to get to Apollo Bay Hotel. While it was a restaurant and motel, we decided to go the next block or two over to the better rated (and more lively sounding) Great Ocean Road Brewhouse. For dinner, I couldn't resist - I had kangaroo hot pot. Mark had Chicken Parma, Mexican style. With a few local brews and a local cider for me, we didn't need any encouragement to sleep well in our Australian motel.

Hanauma Bay, HI and jetlag - Sept. 1-2

Saturday 1 to Sunday 2 - Hawaii

I landed in Hawaii at 5:15am Hawaiian time (which maybe was a few hours later in Vegas? It was hard to tell.) I rented a car for the brief morning excursion - there was a highly regarded snorkel spot just 30 minutes from the airport, and it opened at 6am!

It was just barely starting to get light as I started driving, but the highway was mostly a highway. When I got to the stoplights before Hanauma Bay - and the cyclists, runners, and surfboards on cars - it started to feel like a different place. I stopped at a lookout just before the entrance to take in the city side, and the hill I was on.

I had expected it to be packed (all the reviews said it would be), so when I didn't pay for parking (the arm was just up!) and got a spot right near the entrance, I was a bit confused. But, I got out my snorkel gear (after having my bathing suit on from the plane) and headed instead.

But wait! Wildlife! These marmot things started scrambling out of the trash cans along the lookout over the gorgeous, wildly picturesque bay. I stopped back by the car to get my phone and take some pictures of both the small mongoose and the view.

On my way in, two workers/volunteers explained that the ticket booth wasn't open until 7am - at 6:40am, I could get in for free! I also didn't get the intro video required later in the day - instead, they told me not to step on coral and to use sunscreen that doesn't kill coral. Done and (kinda) done (because I just didn't use sunscreen that morning...)

Saved myself the $1 of parking and the $7.50 entrance fee!

After getting down to the beach, I grabbed my snorkel and mask and hopped in. It was chilly with the sun low and darting between clouds. I saw some fishes, a few small coral, but mostly a lot of large rocks. Maybe I was in the wrong place? I swam back to shore.

The shore was just as cold as the water, so I hopped back in, shivering. Nope, still not much, so I decided that a nice walk along the beach would get my heartrate (and thus my temperature) up a bit.

At the far end of the bay, someone was pointing at something - and it moved! It was a large monk seal, about fifteen feet up the beach, just hanging out for a snooze. Two beachgoers went past it and paid it no mind. Two others came out from further along the water and I pointed it out to them. (Also, they were Australian, so I said I was headed there later that day.) It took quite a few points to get the guy of the pair to see it; a still seal is pretty rock-like.

Shortly thereafter, a volunteer marched over and let us know to remain a good distance away, and he asked us to tell others to stay away as well. I enjoyed being a de facto ranger, but I mostly enjoyed that I'd explain there was a seal to people, and, if it wasn't moving, it looked exactly like a rock and no one would see it.

After spending a good 30 minutes watching this seal do nothing, I felt like maybe a brisk walk down the beach, and I could steel myself for another dunk in the water. So I did. And I saw some other fishes. And a little coral, some fans, some urchins. And got a bit nervous from the waves and how close I was to the rocks we weren't supposed to touch, the lack of a partner, and the chilliness, so back I went to the beach.

With another bit of sunshine, I was finally understanding the draw of the place, just in time to get back to the airport. I had (wrongly) assumed the showers were inside the bathrooms, and thus I would be able to completely change, but instead, I got a rinse outside, then toweled off and changed (and still was shaking out sand) in the bathrooms.

One march up the steep hill, back to the car, out of the parking lot that they were already turning people away from, and a picture of the same horizon on the way in - this time, with sun!

Back at the Honolulu airport, I walked through the outdoor Japanese garden to get to one of the lounges, to hopefully steal a bite to eat and a more comfortable chair (and I had time, because this was the real international flight, and I didn't want to miss it.)

The garden space was lovely, but the lounge was crowded, so I just got to wander back the way I came. A much less picturesque walk along a concrete walkway where I ate sweet rolls and chocolate.

The flight to Melbourne had extra seats! What luxury! I zoned out and and watched The Post, Book Club, Ready Player One, and Love, Simon. Had a little chicken dinner to fill the cracks between the sweet rolls (and stolen chocolate), but didn't touch the weird lunch (?) sandwich when it came fused in its wrapper.

When the plane landed, I got on the Wi-Fi and got ahold of Mark. He told me what transport company he used, and I bought my ticket, waited with a gaggle of others, then missed my stop. I had mistook “Ibis Sydney Airport” for “Ibis Budget Sydney Airport”, so after twenty minutes of waiting, ten minutes of loading the car, ten minutes to a few different hotels, I realized it and they very kindly circled around for me. 

Mark had told me what room number, so I marched up and hopped into the shower... where I found more Hawaiian sand. Sorry customs!

Since it was my birthday, he had candles and a small nip of wine waiting for me. And, also since I hadn't slept for some amount of hours, we fell asleep exhausted by 10pm.

Vegas - Aug. 31

We started our Friday in Vegas at the Venetian as many do (apparently) - a little morning at the gym. I used some knowledge from my personal trainer to build a workout (including a whole host of equipment), but then Alisa and I just hung out and stretched in the sitting area of our room when we interrupted the cleaning staff.

It was my job, as Alisa showered, to pick where we were going to brunch. Given that it was a Friday, we had slightly fewer options, but Giada's, at the Cromwell Hotel, did a Friday brunch with mimosas. (And the menu looked good too.)

We took a taxi there - only four blocks away, but the blocks are deceptively long in Vegas, and we were hungry! (Not optimal, because we had to take two lefts to get there, but our feet didn't hurt at all!)

We waited a few minutes in their small foyer with Giada's books on display (she's a Food Network star, known for her Italian). We got a flatbread pizza (and mimosas) and a savory and a sweet dish to split... and then I saw the "build your own brownie" and got a second dessert.

While we were enjoying our meal, we happened to overhear our neighbors talking about their day(s) in Vegas, and we started engaging them to hear their stories. They were on their regular anniversary trip, taking in the food and the sights (and not a lot of gambling). Yes, they were enjoying the food as much as we were. No, they were probably not enjoying as many mimosas as we were, but they were very kind to walk with us partially back to the Venetian - unknown if it was because they were enjoying our company or betting if we could even make it back.

We got back to our 17th floor (or so) room and passed out. We slept (purposefully) through dinner reservations, but we did get up slightly before needing to get to the Bellagio for our show. I tried to put everything I needed in Australia in my checked bag, and everything I needed for Hawaii in my shoulder bag. Punchdrunk from a nap and still with champagne in my system, we headed to "O".

Alisa got us amazing seats - the folds of the curtain all the way to the expressions of the acrobats as they tumbled through the air, plunging into the watery stage. The "borks" of the clown and his love story; the ghoulish cast that followed the spindly legged emcee; the strong men and women that climbed and swung and dove and disappeared underwater and made me think about stage construction and magic while chowing down on popcorn - it was a great, great show.

And, again, we were fooled by what looked like a short walk to get back to our hotel. We flowed along with the mob, up and down escalators over the streets below. The half mile took forty-five minutes at our barely strolling pace.

Thankfully, I had packed, because we ran up to the room, I grabbed my stuff, hugged Alisa, and hopped in a cab to the airport.

With about 90 minutes before my flight, I was at the counter, ready to check my bags, when the attendant asked me about a visa. Embarassingly, I had done no research as to how to actually get into Australia's borders. Though the flight was through Hawaii (so I had another few hours to obtain a visa, in my book), they wanted one before I got my ticket.

Thankfully, they knew the web address where I could apply for one and (usually) get it nearly instantaneous. "Be careful," they cautioned, "and make sure you double-check your passport number and other details." So I meticulously used my phone to type out all my details. Seconds passed, and I got a confirmation email.

Minutes passed, and the airline workers couldn't see my visa. We waited and refreshed a couple times. On the fourth look, they finally realized they had put in my passport number incorrectly! One digit later, my bag was checked and I was able to pass right on through security.

I don't remember if I had time to get to the lounge and grab a snack, but I was on the plane and off to Hawaii and that's what mattered.

Grand Canyon brunch, Lake Powell, and Valley of Fire before Vegas - Aug. 30

We had until 11am on Thursday to check out, so we started with a bit of a walk before a planned brunch just before (or just after) check out. 

When we had seen the Bright Angel Trail from the viewpoints along the rim, we saw a tunnel drilled into a rock not too far down the trail. According to the sign when we got there, the Upper Bridge was .2 miles down the canyon. We could handle that!

We walked down, posed, posed, walked up to a bench, sat and looked out at the canyon, then headed to the photography exhibit of two brothers that put the Grand Canyon on the map. 

It had the portable boat they’d bring down, some of the footage they shot, and the camera and projector they used in the early days of the canyon. They also helped collect the toll for the trail down the canyon, before the Park Service took that over. Their house was just hanging off the edge of the canyon!

The Grand Canyon Village in general was built before the Park Service came in, by entrepreneurs trying to coax the rail in. 

We headed back to El Tovar for breakfast. I had this southwestern mix of foods on a crispy tortilla, but the cinnamon roll was definitely my favorite. 

The breakfast was creeping into our checkout time. We had already put our big suitcases in the car, but I went up to grab our smaller suitcases. When we loaded them into the car to head out, the tire pressure light was on. 

I knew there was a repair shop at the Village - Alisa hopped out and none of the tires was noticeably flat, so we decided to wait until the gas station just outside the south entrance to the park. 

The tires on the car were different from the pressures listed inside the door, so we filled it up, but not enough for the light to go off. Oh well, we were returning the car that night. Just had to get it back to Vegas. 

Our return trip had us crossing a bridge over the Hoover Dam. We stopped for a photo on one side, but the 100-degree heat stopped us from walking to the visitors center. Instead, we decided to take the walk along the bridge overlooking it. 

The heat didn’t play a factor once we got near the bridge because the crazy wind was extremely cooling - and pretty disorienting for me. I don’t like it when wind and height mix. So we got a third of the way along the long bridge, with me clinging to my phone, sunglasses, and hat, and I decided to kneel down for a peek over the edge. That was good enough for me!

We had a few hours yet before we had to drop off the car (since we had picked it up at 11pm), so we looked along the route for things to do. I remember enjoying the Valley of Fire when I was here five or so years ago, so we added that to the directions. 

It just so happened that the most direct route was through Lake Powell recreational area - which meant I got to use my National Parks Pass again!

I really wanted to see the desert foxes that were on a sign when we turned off for pictures, but we just saw a lot of patches of grass on dry, dry ground and a lot of speeding cars.

The Valley of Fire was a state park, but we didn’t have cash in the right amounts to leave it in the cash box, since we were after hours. We couldn’t find the credit card machine at the locked up visitors center, so we just risked it. As we were driving around, we found a herd of mountain sheep! They were grazing and chilling, and I was so excited. We drove past them like three times as we were trying to get the pass to the park sorted out. The final time, I nearly got us stuck in the red sand shoulder. It made sense why all of the signs said to not pull over. 

We backtracked, once we determined that we couldn’t pay, to the Seven Sisters. Alisa walked around the first one and was asked to leave by a couple that was doing a marriage ceremony. Cool, I guess, but it’s also a public park?

We took a bunch of pictures of our sweaty selves before continuing on the petroglyphs there. While we climbed up the metal staircase, Alisa spotted a hare. I scoured, but still couldn’t find a desert fox that might be stalking it. 

After a scenic drive along a gravel road, we headed out of the park and toward Vegas. The sun was setting as we entered the valley, and Air Force jets were doing maneuvers. 

The Venetian valet-parked our rental car as we got upstairs. Our bags hadn’t gotten there, but I was ready for a shower, and they had great plush robes. I got out in time to tip the busboy, change, then head to drop off the car. The mileage counter rolled over to 800 miles - 800 miles by me in three days!

It was shockingly seamless to drop it off, after grabbing gas. An Uber ride back, and I was ready for dinner. We had gotten Venetian coupon books on the plane, and one of the restaurants know for its “crazy shakes” had a free shake with purchase. Alisa had only brought down one coupon, thinking we’d share it... I went back upstairs to grab mine. We had to sign up for the Venetian rewards club, but between the shake and free $25 gambling, it was worth it. 

I got the cookie-inspired shake, which included an entire ice cream sandwich in it. Alisa got the peanut butter one, which was dripping with M&Ms. 

So, feeling gross and full, we decided to go gamble. Alisa was ready for her slots. I had chosen table games, so I spent some time reading up on craps while she turned $25 of fake money into $60 of real money by gambling $5 at a time and quitting when she was ahead. 

We got to the craps table and I was ready with my cash and my voucher. Thankfully, because I had to bet the same as my voucher, my first bet passed and I got $50 back in chips. 

We stuck around for a free drink (mine was a terrible margarita), then I took my $60 in chips and turned it in. My $40 that I had put in plus the $25 from the casino - I didn’t break even if you count the fake money, but I really got $20 more dollars. 

And with that, it was midnight in Vegas, and it was bedtime. 

Grand Canyon National Park - Aug. 29

On Wednesday, we awoke past sunrise, so no canyon in the golden light. We could handle that for a good night’s sleep (finally).

We decided to eat the snacks and produce for breakfast before going out for both lunch and dinner. Having three meals out felt expensive and unnecessary. 

I wrote out the time and subject for all of the ranger talks for the day on our map. At 9am, not far away, was a fossil talk. Not a bad way to start the day! I was also very excited for a condor talk later in the day, and I immediately tried to ID all the turkey vultures as condors. 

The fossil talk met at the Bright Angel Trailhead. Having read all of Marguerite Henry’s books, I was familiar with the trail because of “Brighty of the Grand Canyon” - another reason I was also excited to see the mule paddocks at some point. 

Our ranger told us the lightning storms were bad and to take covers, and he was the first to teach us the “rule of thumb.” If you can’t fully cover up the animal you are looking at when you line it up with your thumb, fully extended, you are too close - for ground squirrels and for elk. 

We heard about the layers of the canyon, and that we were on old sea bed. He let us loose on some rock shelves with identification guides, and Alisa and I found shells and the burrows of tunneling creatures. Success! We could be paleontologists. 

I asked the ranger how to identify condors before we left for a walk along the canyon. Condors have white along the top of their wing, then black along their flight feathers. A turkey vulture is much smaller and has black underneath along the bone of their wing and white at the edge. 

Equipped with that knowledge, we started walking along the “Trail of Time.” We were walking uphill, yet each little trail marker had a later and later time period, in millions of years. What is crazy is that the canyon documents half of the world’s history - nearly three billion years!

We stopped at the first two lookouts along the “Red” bus line by walking before taking advantage of the bus. At roughly the third lookout, we climbed down a set of stairs to be along an outcropping, inside the canyon. What comes soaring beneath us but a condor!

My regret from this day is that we were close enough to read the numbers on its tag, but we didn’t write them down! I thought, afterwards, it was 27. Alisa thought it was 70-something. I did snap a picture though!

We continued along most of the stops of the tram. One stop was just three benches, and everyone else who jumped out immediately jumped back in the bus. Alisa and I got to enjoy the canyon alone for the ten minutes before the next bus. 

We hopscotched along the south rim of the canyon like this until reaching Hermit’s Rest just after noon. While we walked past other buildings by our lodge, the name Mary Colter had stood out as an architect whose stone-driven style I enjoyed. And here was another of her creations, emerging from the rock like it grew there. 

There was just a snack counter, no cafeteria to speak of, so we popped into the gift shop, hit the head, then took the tram ride back to the Bright Angel trailhead. In looking at the description of the restaurants in the Village, we liked the sounds of the Arizona Room. When we found it, attached to the Bright Angel Lodge, it was very different than the upscale description. The kitchen was exposed, like in a cafe, and the decor was kind of old and sad. The food wasn’t great, but the people watching along the canyon rim was fun. 

Fun fact - everything “Bright Angel” was named after a stream that the explorers had seen emerging from the side of the canyon... like a Bright Angel?

We hadn’t visited the official visitors center yet, and a tram stop right outside got us on the right line to ride there. I saw the mules in their pens from the bus and was satisfied. 

The bus driver told us that a twenty minute movie showed at the top and bottom of every hour. At 4:30, there was a geology talk, so I wanted to see if we could make that as well. So we risked it and sat down for a watch. There were grand vistas and a deep narrator, and I’m sure that when I was watching it, I learned and enjoyed it...

But, on to geology. We hopped on a bus and made it to the museum, where our geologist ranger was just hanging out. She walked us 400 yards down the canyon, and we sat at an amphitheater and talked about the swampy layer and the shallow ocean layer and the creatures that have been discovered in each. We walked back to the geology museum for a quick look around. 

With that learning done, it was time to walk back to the visitor’s center. The overlooks on the canyon in the late afternoon light were stunning, so we got very distracted taking pictures. Before I realized it, we were going to be late for the condor talk back at the Village!

We got back, hopped on a bus, and it just so happened that that bus passed an elk and her calf! More great wildlife!

That made up for the fact that we were fifteen minutes late to the talk, but there was still 45 minutes of answering questions and story-telling. The ranger had a book from the library about condors and their captive breeding program and reintroduction. Passages about watching a young condor plunge from the nest and just barely recover to prevent a crash landing. About the first egg in captivity. And about seeing them back in the wild. 

Afterward, we told her that we’d seen a tagged bird, and she showed us the sheet with the numbers. There was no number 27! We guessed at another number (23? 73?) and I just took a picture of the whole sheet. Opportunity lost. 

We hung out on the rim outside El Tovar for sunset, which wasn’t as spectacular as the day before (and we missed out on multi-tasking with happy hour at the same time). Alisa went off to buy a puzzle, and I went back for a change and a phone charge before our dinner reservation. 

The dining room was old wood and antler chandeliers. It was gorgeous, and a bottle of red wine was definitely on the table - literally?

Just after we ordered, a critter started running around the beams. It was like a red panda! I forget the name of the creature, but apparently three of them live in the attic and pop out for dinner service to ask for people to share. They get shooed back up along the rafters. 

We had salads and shared a super good cheese plate, because on the way in was the table of desserts. 

I was so torn on which dessert I wanted, but settled on the flourless chocolate cake. I nearly gave up - it was so rich and delicious.

It was our final night in that one bed - again, fat and happy so, thankfully again, slept well and didn’t disturb each other.