This North Rim visit consisted of beautiful scenery, wildlife encounters, stunning sunsets & night skies and even a somewhat dicey hiking adventure. I will definitely visit again.
As usual, click the first photo for a slideshow and explanatory captions (Click the “i” to see long captions ).
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My next route took me through the extremely desolate–and grand–Northern Arizona/Marble Canyon/Vermillion Cliffs area on my way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Highways 89 & 89a). I tried not to think about how bad it would be to have car trouble in this particular area. The 100+ temperatures on this trip were the hottest I had experienced so far in my travels. Climbing to the higher altitude of Jacob Lake, my initial camping spot, brought welcomed cooler weather.
I decided I liked the Canyon’s North Rim better than the South Rim. It’s much less crowded and still quite beautiful. And the approach to the entrance is, in my opinion, much prettier.
I decided to break up my drive to the Grand Canyon North Rim with a stop in Flagstaff. After three tries at known locations–and a fair bit of driving–I decided that all the nearby national forest was closed to camping due to fire concerns. So, this was one of my very few nights finding an overnight spot in “civilization” that wasn’t a campground. I can’t exactly call it “stealth” because, well, I can’t exactly get away with that while pulling a solar-covered cargo trailer. On this and previous Flagstaff visits, I had passed by a hospital/medical complex. This time, I had noticed an older Class A and even a unhitched cargo trailer in the parking lot, so I decided to give it a try for the night. I arrived after work hours and noticed the Class A even had a solar panel set up on the ground. I had no issues during my stay–even though I didn’t leave until after some employees started arriving for work the next morning.
Just a few photos from the secondary road I took to Flagstaff. More info in captions.
Several videos from the beautiful White Mountains.
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As I mentioned before, my friend Bobbi introduced me to the White Mountains of Arizona, so I decided to camp there next. It was really beautiful there and my stay there had several highlights, but what I caught in this video stood out. (Many more images in the next post).
I was kindly invited to spend some time at a friend’s property near Show Low, AZ. One day, my friend Bobbi invited me to go kayaking to the southeast of Show Low. It turned out to be an exceptionally beautiful day with a blue sky and puffy white clouds. After we kayaked, Bobbi gave me a driving tour of the area. This was eye-opening for me because I had no idea Arizona had any landscape like this. Also, “note to self”: Never go anywhere with Bobbi without my camera. We saw all this amazing scenery and I had only my phone with me (which does not take good photos). It all turned out OK, however, because I was so impressed with the area, it became my next camping spot.
(Added two videos at the bottom of the post).
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As I had mentioned to Janet when I first contacted her, I wanted to visit Petrified Forest National Park while I was in Chambers since it’s so close by. I was happy when Janet accepted my invitation to come with me. She works so hard and deserved a day off. This was my 6th national park since coming out on the road in November. (Note: Two videos after the photo gallery)
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My friend Bobbi told me about an effort underway in Chambers, AZ, by a woman named Janet Douglas to establish a place for nomads to come and stay for a time, to contribute, to work, to create, and build community. The place is called Luna Gaia. Janet also started the “Nomads Helping Nomads Network”, a group that does what it says. You can find this group on Facebook. Please check it out. Janet is working hard to make Luna Gaia a reality but she could use help. I visited and volunteered my time mainly to help ready an RV that Janet was putting up for sale. There are several different types of help she could use. If you could contribute in some way, please consider doing so. Just contact Janet through “Nomads Helping Nomads Network” on Facebook (Be sure to include “Network” – There’s another group). I believe with all *my* heart that Janet has a good heart and is pursuing a good work here. She has lots of wonderful ideas. Again, please consider helping. Thank you.
My Side of the Adventure 