We were up and off the campsite by 6:00AM and headed for the dump station. We prepared as much as we could the night before so it was a quick and quiet exit this morning.
About 45-minutes into the drive we were approachig the small town of Jacob Lake where we spent one night in the Kaibab Forest before heading into the National Park. We ate breakfast at the Jacob Lake Inn last week and decided to stop again this morning for another breakfast.
Plus the fact that Tricia wanted to purchase another four of their fresh baked cookies!
We then turned left on US Highway 89A and headed for the towns of Fredonia, AZ and Kanab, UT.
Two years ago when we were in this area, this place was a wide open, pack 'em in as tight as you can, free for all of a dispersed camping area of the BLM.
Now it's a 21-site improved campground with bathrooms and a dumpster. There's still no water or electric on site, and it's no longer FREE to camp here, but the place is clean and no one is going to be camping within two feet of our trailer.
I'd say that's worth $7 a night. Plus, I've already seen the National Park Service Law Enforcement Ranger drive slowly through the campground twice since we arrived 6-hours ago.
HUMAN INTEREST STORY?
Tricia began making lunch while I updated the blog to reflect our current status. Before we were halfway through eating I heard a heavily accented women's voice outside of door saying, "Excuse me"! I said "Yes, can I help you before even looking out the door.
Once I did I found a 30ish looking man and women standing 2-feet outside of our open door. She asked if she could use my cell phone and explained that they had gotten their rented Jeep stuck in the sand about a half mile further off the highway.
She was using my phone to call Hertz to find out what to do and I tried to strike up a conversation with the husband. I was able to find out that they were from Germany on a six week vacation, but not much more due to his lack of understanding English. I think he understood more than he could speak.
The wife's English was much better, but I could hear her struggling to explain where they were and what the problem was to the person on the other end. I offered to speak to the them and she was happy to return the phone to me.
Even I was having trouble answering the service person's questions and was getting frustrated with them. Simple questions, like what's the address where the vehicle currently is? I explained there is no address. They're on a dirt trail out in the dessert.
Not knowing where she was located, maybe in Topeka, KS for all I know, I said to Google the Beehives Campground outside of Page, AZ. That's where the two stranded tourists would be hanging out in the shade of the bathroom building. She asked what was the address of the Beehives Campgound and I once again explained there is no address other than US Highway 89. I mentioned that if she was going to call a tow service in Page, AZ they more than likely pull someone out of the sand here at least once a week.
She then explained to me that she works for Hertz, and will be relaying the information to someone else that works for a Nationwide Towing Service, before the information ever gets in the hands of someone who actually owns a tow truck located within 100-miles of here. How frustrating!
I then thought, why don't I just give you the GPS coordinants of our location and certainly that should solve the problem.
She wasn't sure, but took them down anyway. When I asked how long before someone gets here she told me the tow truck driver would call when he was 30-minutes away. I asked if she could expedite the call because these people were standing out in near 100°F Arizona heat and she said all she could do was put it in the notes of the call.
I thanked her and hung up!
The couple thanked us profusely for helping out and when I asked why they needed to borrow my phone when they both had phones in there hands, she told me their phones had Germany exchanges and that the Hertz lady said the National Towing Service won't call back an international number. Something about too many pranks and frauds in the past.
Anyway, 30-minutes later my phone rang to tell me the tow truck should be there in 30-minutes, isn't that always the standard answer?
Previously the husband had used a translation app on his phone to ask me if I could tow them out of the sand. I explained I would but don't carry any rope or chain to do so.
Then I got the bright idea to ask the only other camper in the campground if they had something I could use. The immediate answer was no, but before we could turn and walk 10-yards away he called us back and had a tow strap and buckles to hook up the two vehicles.
When I explained that my truck was only a 2-seater, thanks to all the "stuff" we carry around, the husband began the 1/2-mile hike back to his rented Jeep while I drove his wife there. We of course arrived first and when I saw the situation they were in, I silently had my doubts I'd be able to help.
Their Jeep was on the downside of a steep sandy rise in the road and I could barely see the roof from the side I was on. I didn't say it out loud, but my thoughts were if the tow truck is on the way he could simply tow us both out if I got stuck. I put ROVER into 4-Wheel drive and cautiously started up the hill. I didn't make it half way up when all four tires began spinning and throwing sand everywhere.
I apologized to the wife, but she thanked me for trying. I backed down the hill just as the husband came walking up and saw the disappointment on his face when I began turning around. He didn't want to walk back to the campgground so he stayed with the Jeep while I gave the wife a ride back to the campground.
She needed to be at the bathrooms where the tow truck was instructed to find them so she could show them where they were actually stuck. We kept offering them both water, but they informed us they had just purchased a case of .5-liter bottles at Walmart so they had plenty.
When the 30-minute window had passed we went outside to see if she was still OK and found that she was no longer at the bathrooms. We didn't see a tow truck come into the campground, but she was gone.
Tricia had made up a little bag lunch for them, so we hopped into ROVER and headed up the trail. Just as we exited the campground a modified dune buggy with huge wheels went flying passed the campground entrance. I noticed on the back was a towing company name and phone number. At least they sent the right tow truck to get the job done. I knew it wasn't the first time this had happened.
We caught up with them parked on the side of the road, not far from where they had been stuck. Tricia handed off the lunch and we said our goodbyes. They said we didn't have to drive out there again and they would have stopped by our campsite on the way out to thank us once again. I have no doubt they would have.
Had there been any other Off Roaders on the trail today I'm sure they would have offered help, that's just the way they are.
I didn't know if she had gotten too much sleep or none at all. I suspect with it still being above 80°F at 10:00PM last night it was none at all.
Either way she snapped these two photos before I even got out of bed.
Just before dusk yesterday we saw this big white two-tone bus conversion come driving into the campground.
We saw where they settled in for the night and a few hours later I saw mulitple headlamps up on the roof of the bus. I couldn't figure out what they were doing up there and it was too dark too see anything.
Anyway, this morning it was pretty evident what they were up to. As you can see the name on the front of the bus is "Stargazer". It looks like this family of five does just that every evening! Plus, it has to be a lot cooler on the roof than inside of the bus.
Y'all are probably wondering, just what were our morning activities, well I'm going to tell you!
Two years ago we were here in the same general area of Page, AZ to do an epic hike with 4 of our friends. "The Wave" hike is due west of us here and we all had a great day together. Then it was a month earlier in the year and the temperatures were perfect for a 6-mile hike out in the dessert.
After the hike we had reservations in the National Parks of Utah and had to leave our friends behind the day after the hike. Our friends then reservations to do another great hike in Page, not quite as epic as "The Wave", but pretty spectacular according to the photos they shared online.
I knew that day that Tricia and I would have to make plans to return to Page, AZ and add that hike to our life experiences as well, and guess what, today is that day.
LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON HIKE
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Access to the Lower Antelope Canyon is only by taking a guided tour.Ken's and Dixie's tour companies are the only two permited to offer tours here.
They are brother and sister and their family previously owned Antelope Canyon
before it became part of the Navajo Nation.
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Here we are getting ready to enter the Lower Antelope Canyon.
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You'll go down the equivalent of 7 flights of stairs before reaching the bottom.
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These are the last few stairs before the bottom, which were more like a ladder.
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I'm not going to caption most of the rest of the photos.Just know that they are shot from the perspective of looking UP!
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Here's proof that I was there, along with our Official Navajo Tour guide, Kevin.
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Here it looks like Tricia is being affectionate,but she's actually just covering up the sweat stain developing on my shirt!
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It was 95°F topside today and a "cooler" 80°F down in the canyon.
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Here's me trying to squeeze my way out of the canyon.
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That was FUN!, but I'm glad it's over with.
Around 4:30PM the temperature was rising and in danger of reaching the 100°F mark. Then Tricia got the bright idea of jumping into ROVER, cranking up the A/C and driving around the Wahweap Marina that we can just barely see out the back window of THE POD. Sounded like a good plan to me so off we went.
WAHWEAP MARINA
GLEN CANYON NATIONAL REC AREA
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This is the view from the Wahweap Overlook about 3-miles up US Highway 89.
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These rest of these photos were all taken from inside the National Recreation Area.
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From the Navajo Mountain Viewpoint there is a very good look at the Glen Canyon Dam.
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The Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1966 and created all of the waterways behind it.
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It makes for a boaters paradise!
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Looks like the weekend houseboat crowd are staking claims to their section of the shoreline.
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This section seems devoid of boaters...
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..but just a little way upstream, nearer the ramp, it's a different story.
Yesterday the temperatures reached 97°F and at midnight it was still 86°F. Those temperatures don't make for a comfortable nights sleep.
This time she took a short hike up into the hills surrounding the campground.
EARLY MORNING HIKE
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Looks about the same as it did yesterday, but I assure you that's todays sunrise.
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That's Tricia's destination for this morning. A short 1-mile out and back.
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The trail is marked with loose rocks showing the way. Makes it hard to get lost.
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Looking back at the campground, still before sunrise.
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The trail goes up and over the ridge...
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...to where you can the valley to the west of ours.
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Quite beautiful isn't it? Looks like nearby Monument Valley. HINT HINT!
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Now I know where that "silver lining" cliché comes from.
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The early morning angle of the sun makes for some long and interesting shadows.
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A zoomed in shot of ROVER and THE POD back in the campground.
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Our rig just kind of blends into the background, doesn't it?
We originally planned for a 3-night visit here, but with the warm temperatures and all of our sightseeing goals achieved, we are once again leaving a day early.
Our elevation here is just below 3900' and our next stop is just short of 7300'(plus a full 8°F cooler) we are outta here!
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