WEDNESDAY - Leaving Grand Canyon West today I realized that if you really want to go there you have to make a commitment to do so.
That commitment is to drive to the end of a 49-mile dead end road with nothing much else to see and only a few poor choices of where to overnight along the way.
But the effort it takes to get there is well rewarded by the unique sights you'll see.
One of the rewards can be found all along the last 20-miles in, or the first 20-miles out I suppose, on both sides of the road. I'm talking about the beautiful Joshua Tree forest.
ARIZONA JOSHUA TREES
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Keep in mind the slow growing Joshua Tree usually doesn't sprout "limbs" until it's 45-years old.
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Below 3000' elevation the Joshua Trees faded away and this "grove" of trees emerged.
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After the grove of trees faded away we were left with nothing but desert...
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...for the rest of the drive into Kingman, AZ.
At the end of our drive we found ourselves at another Walmart for a FREE overnight visit. We weren't alone here last night, when we awoke there were at least another six overnight guests in the parking lot.
At least everyone was quiet last night.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
MONDAY - As you can see from the map below, once again we had to take the long way around to get to our destination.
Someone keeps putting these formidable mountains between us and where we're trying to go!
TODAY'S TRAVEL ROUTE
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Shortly after passing over the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam we pulled over at the Willow Beach Scenic Overlook and ate lunch in THE POD.
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A view of the Colorado River AFTER it has made it's journey through the Hoover Dam.
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Soon after we came over a rise and saw this rather large wind farm generating electricity.
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There is no shortage of wind in this valley...
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...as evidenced by the large dust devil swirling around across the street.
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After turning off of US93 we began seeing large Joshua Trees on both sides of the road.
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Some of them were every bit as large as the ones we saw at Joshua Tree National Park.
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Our second stop was at an unnamed Scenic Overview just 20-miles from our destination.
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And yes there were some more Joshua Trees at the Scenic Overlook.
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Some of the Joshua Trees still had a few seed pods left on them.
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We finally made it to Grand Canyon West located on the Hualapai Tribe Reservation.
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Those plateaus you see are on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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Our view from the overnight parking lot here at Grand Canyon West.
If you are planning on visiting here with an RV just know that the overnight parking lot is 3-miles back up the road from where you park to pickup the shuttle bus that takes you to the rim of the Grand Canyon.
It means that if you arrive the day before your tickets for the attractions, you'll have to move your rig again the next morning down to the large parking lot by the gift shop and shuttle busses. Not a big deal, just an inconvenience.
TUESDAY - But my biggest piece of advice is if you're planning a trip here, ARRIVE EARY! in the day. Even just two hours after opening the line for the Skywalk is extremely long and so are the lines waiting for the shuttle busses.
That's because around 9:00AM the tour busses start arriving with 50-75 passengers on each bus and there are a dozen or more busses here at any given time.
The website tells you the first shuttle bus is at 9:00AM, but we caught the first bus today at 8:15AM and were in the first group of 15 or so out on the skywalk this morning.
SKYWALK AND GUANO POINT at GRAND CANYON WEST
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When getting off the shuttle bus at Eagle Point the Skywalk deck was already in view.
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Nothing but a low chain and a warning sign to keep you from going over the edge here.
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Being the early birds that we are there was nobody on the Skywalk deck.
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I thought everything was going well and then...
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Tricia tried to push me over the glass wall.
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Then when she was falling over the wall I reached out and saved her.
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After those two mishaps everything was good again.
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Yeah, we both survived the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West.
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After the Skywalk we boarded the shuttle and ended up at Guano Point. We both started the hike out to the point, but this is where I turned back.
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We have the Colorado River to thank for this grand canyon.
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Tricia continued on towards Guano Point, that pointy pile of rocks you see.
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Up until the 1960s there was a guano mining operation going on up here..
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Removing bat guano from a cave down by the river using a cable car system to raise it
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About every 15-minutes a helicopter tour would fly passed the point.
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Here's looking back at the bus stop from the top of Guano Point.
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That's where I waited for Tricia while drinking a nice cold iced tea.
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I could see her up on top of the point from where I was sitting.
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I was wondering why she spent so long up there at the top. Found out she was on a zoom call with her brother most of the time.
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After Guano Point it was time to head back to the Skywalk Cafe for lunch. While waiting for lunch Tricia took photos out the second floor restaurant windows.
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They limit the number of people on the Skywalk, but not how much time you get to spend. This creates a long line of people waiting their turn out on the deck.
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For now we're done with the Grand Canyon, but we plan to return 2 more times next month.
A 360° view while standing at the peak of Guano Point.
The red helicopter tour was $299 each and we almost considered doing it.
The silver helicopter tour looked more exciting by flying lower and below the Grand Canyon rim.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Keep in mind the slow growing Joshua Tree usually doesn't sprout "limbs" until it's 45-years old.
Below 3000' elevation the Joshua Trees faded away and this "grove" of trees emerged.
After the grove of trees faded away we were left with nothing but desert...
...for the rest of the drive into Kingman, AZ.
