Ridin' the Red Route

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Canyon

Oh that was a much better night’s sleep!  The cool temperatures sure make a difference when you can keep your window open!  And since we don’t have to get up at four I can stretch!  Oh joy!

Breakfast at our new favorite restaurant in the Bright Angel Lodge and we meet another charming and personable young wait person.  This one is Brandon and he is going to St. Augustine to meet his sister and brother-in-law;  but first they are going to Miami and Marilyn suggests that he visit Vizcaya since he is a history buff.   He also suggests that we view the sunset from The Abyss.  We, in turn, ask him about Sedona, our next stop.  He recommends an olive-oil store where we can do tastings and perhaps buy his favorite, an oil infused with garlic and cilantro!  When we ask about psychics he sends over Sue, who lived there for five years!

Sue says that we should call Kim at  the Jazz Bouquet, a florist, and ask for the number of Kim’s psychic, Jeannie.  If that doesn’t work out she says that anyone who has lived in Sedona for a while will be good.  The city is so spiritual that it gets rid of the frauds!  She also says we should go to the New Frontiers Grocery and check out their bulletin board for events.  It is the hub of the city and everyone goes there to shop and eat and connect.

As for restaurants, she recommends the Red Rock BBQ on the right side of 179, A Pizza Heaven for really good pizza and Italian, although it is a bit pricey, Picasso for pizza that is gluten free, Thai Spices and Javalina Cantina for Mexican and beautiful views.

She says that most people are on the west side and that Sedona is expensive but that it is a little piece of Heaven and we will love it.

Armed with lots of information and fully tummies we’re off again.  We hop on the Red Line and plan to get off at as many of the vistas as we can before either the rain or hunger overtakes us!  There are so many beautiful places!  Trailview Overlook, Maricopa Point, Powell Point where there is a memorial to John Wesley Powell, Hopi Point where we watched the sunrise yesterday, Mohave Point where we can see three different sets of rapids, The Abyss with it’s 3,000 straight shot to the bottom….When we get to Monument Creek Vista we decide to skip it.  We’ve been hopping on and off the Red Route and figure missing one view will be okay.  Next is Pima Point and our driver says it is one of the three most spectacular views in the park.  Who would pass that up??  Yep, it’s incredible, too!  The end of the route is Hermit’s Rest.  It is another building by architect Mary Colter and our driver says it looks like a pile of rocks!  She also designed Bright Angel Lodge and was quite unusual for her times!

Waiting for the Red Route bus to Hermit's Rest

Hermit’s Rest was the kick off point for the mule rides to the bottom of the Canyon.  Guests stayed at El Tovar then rode carriages to Hermit’s Rest where they boarded mules for the descent.  At the bottom they spent the night at Phantom Ranch which had twelve little cabins.  They returned the next morning, all for the grand sum of eighteen dollars.  Of course in today’s currency that would be over two hundred dollars!

The Red Route stops at every vista going west; but the return trip only stops at three route transfer points, so the return trip is much faster.  A word about the drivers – each one is polite and knowledgeable about the park and most have a great sense of humor, too!  The buses run every half hour from four am to 6:45 am, every fifteen minutes from 6:45 a.m. to sunset and again every thirty minutes until an hour after sunset!

Hermit's Rest

They're everywhere and the locals think they're nasty - kind of the way Alaskans feel about bald eagles!

Hermit’s Rest also has a gift shop.  Enough said.  We time the return trip because we’re planning to follow Brandon’s advice and return to The Abyss to photograph sunset and we don’t want to miss it!

Back at our room in Bucky Lodge we drop off our purchases and let our tummies lead us to a late lunch.  It’s about three after all!  My salad yesterday was so good that Marilyn orders one today.  I want to try the Mediterranean Tuna Salad with capers and lemon juice on romaine.  And I have a lite beer, too!  The salad is delicious but oh my goodness that’s a huge amount of tuna!  If it came in a domestic- sized can it would fill two or maybe three of them!  Marilyn can’t finish all the spinach that forms the bed of her smoked trout salad, so we get to-go boxes and plan to make tuna sandwiches for the road tomorrow!

We’ve got a couple of hours for the rain to pass (It never fell right on us!) and to blog and download pictures.  Hmmm.  The internet seems to be down because of the weather.  And the Red Route is suspended, also because of the weather.  Never mind.  We can blog in Word and just copy / paste when we get service back;  we can choose our photos to add;  we will be here in the village to get ice cream before the shop closes at eight!  If we go to The Abyss for 7:45 sunset we’ll never make it back in time!  We learned that yesterday and that’s why we got dessert at the Bright Angel Restaurant!

We check on the net several times and even go up to the lobby to try their dial up;  the weather has really thrown them for a loop.  And the weather has put the squelch to another sunset;  but we’re not greedy!  In fact, the rain makes for some lovely photos, too and of course there is the ice cream store. 

Actually, Marilyn winds up with a pretzel but I’m enjoying espresso chip!  And to bed one last night in the Canyon.