Along for the ride: North Rim Grand Canyon AZ

The next major stop is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We've certainly seen it many times from the South Rim as well as running the Grand on river trips, but for one reason or another, we've never made it to the North Rim. We get an early start leaving Valley of Fire choosing to take the eastern route of Hwy 169 rather than the more traveled I-15. We pass through the farming community of Moapa Valley, which appears to be mostly Mormon based on the number of churches we see. Oddly enough, the Rooster Bar enjoys a predominate location on the main drag.

Leaving Valley of Fire

Rooster Bar

After rejoining I-15, we stop in Mesquite AZ to stock up at Smith's, which turns out to be nice upscale store. Smith's features an extensive deli and a wide selection of wines. Mesquite has recently become infamous as the former home of Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter. We resist the urge to ask any of the residents about Paddock and instead ask the check-out lady about an item we couldn't find. She is quite a character and says with a flourish we are sure to find in in St. George, the shopping mecca for this part of the country.

Back on the freeway, we cross over into Arizona and start driving through the Virgin River Gorge. This part of I-15 is the most expensive section of interstate in the US ever built. We always get a kick out of traveling through this narrow and deep gorge.

Crossing into Arizona

Entering the Virgin River Gorge

Walls are getting steeper

and deeper into the Gorge

almost to the end

Emerging on the north side of the Virgin River Gorge

We enter Utah south of St. George, and then turn eastward towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Although we arrive about mid afternoon, we can't find a campsite. So we wander back to National Forest land and locate a nice boon-docking site at about 8000' in elevation. At least we thought it was quiet, until we hear a knock on the door from another camper who's just arrived. He's a twenty-something who's managed to get his rental car down the very rutted dirt road to our campsite. He's worried about getting the car back out in the the morning. Peter takes a look at his car and reassures him he'll probably fine, besides - it's only a rental.

While talking to us, we show our visitor the inside of the camper. He's quite envious over how warm and cozy it is - especially because temperatures are forecast to be into the low 20's tonight. He's sleeping on the ground in a small tent. Brrr - sure glad our days of sleeping on the ground are over with. Oh well, he's young and he'll survive.

Welcome to Utah

Water hole for cattle

Boon-dock camp

Sure enough the night is very cold and any water left outside is frozen solid by morning. We hustle through breakfast and drive back into the Park to catch the early morning light. We decide to avoid the more crowded Visitor Center area and head for Point Imperial. As we hoped, there are very few people at the overlook and the light is excellent for pictures. We meet a young couple from South Korea who are very friendly and speak excellent English. They were both educated in the United States, but moved back to Korea to be closer to family. We tease them about being lucky to be out of South Korea as tensions are running high with North Korea busy setting off rockets. They agree laughing nervously, but they have jobs and family to get back to.

The road to Point Imperial

Korean couple

Wonderful light and fall colors

View southward from Point Imperial

View toward the East

View towards the north

With the freezing weather, we decide against exploring further and leave for warmer more comfortable climates. Yes - I'm a wimp when it comes to weather that cold.