Grand Canyon - Day 2

Today was our only full day at the Grand Canyon and we went to all the places we missed yesterday. This place is so amazing, there really aren't words to describe it. We will leave tomorrow for one of our membership parks in Camp Verde, AZ for 2 weeks.


I went out this morning to take
a picture of our campsite and this
mule deer was under the front of
our 5th wheel. :-)

The Canyon


The Canyon

Interesting rock formation!

Sweet Cheeks at the Canyon

Ravens are everywhere...and

they seem to be talking to each

other all the time.

Vishnu Temple

Another Canyon view.

The mules that take people down

into the Canyon back at their

stables.

Grand Canyon National Park

We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park this afternoon. As we were pulling into our campground, there were 2 mule deer just grazing in the park. We got set up and went to 3 different points to view the canyon. The 3rd one was the Desert View Point and it was 25 miles from the campground. This park is HUGE...over 1.2 million acres! We were at Desert View for the sunset tonight. On the drive there we saw a huge elk, but he was moving further back in the woods and I didn't get a real good picture of him. We'll have all day tomorrow to visit the other viewing points. Check another one off of my "Bucket List". That's THREE this week! I need to slow down on completing the list! :-)


Mule deer in Trailer Village Campground


2 mule deer grazing

The Grand Canyon

Another shot of the canyon

There is no way pictures

can do it justice...

The Watchtower at Desert View

At Desert View just before sunset

Isn't this sky gorgeous?!?!

It's at the east end of Desert View

at sunset

Another shot of the pink & blue sky...

it was breathtakingly beautiful!

Standin' On A Corner In Winslow, Arizona...

You just CAN'T drive by Winslow and not stop!


Bob..."Standin' On A Corner In Winslow, Arizona...


It's such a fine place to be...

There's a girl my Lord in a flatbed FORD...

Takin' it easy...

Petrified Forest & Painted Desert National Park

Today (Sunday) as we were traveling from Albuquerque to Sun Valley, AZ we realized that we were going right by this national park and decided that we should stop there. It is right on I-40 and just a few miles before the exit we were taking for our campground. It is a 28 mile drive through the park and it was so beautiful and interesting. The sad part is that so many people are stealing the petrified rocks that the landscape has changed a great deal already. Although it is a federal offense, they estimate that one ton of rocks are being stolen every month. It was a little strange to travel through a national park with our 5th wheel in tow. Tomorrow we arrive at the Grand Canyon.


The visitors center at the park


An interesting rock formation


Painted desert

Our "home" inside the park

Petrified rocks

Another interesting rock formation

Painted desert

Petrified rocks

A petrified log protruding

from the rocks

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

This morning we woke up at 3:00 a.m. and got ready to go to the Balloon Fiesta Mass Ascension. We had to be at the Coronado Mall at 4:00 a.m. to catch the shuttle bus to the balloon field. It was an amazing experience! There were over 800 balloons that went up in 1 1/2 hours. It was really cold (39 degrees when we were driving to the mall) and we thought the sun would never appear. Once it did come up, it was bearable, but still not hot. This is one more item checked off my "Bucket List". It is something that everyone should experience at least once.

Darth Vader

Getting ready to launch

This cow was from a dairy in

Canada. She is 120' long!!!

This "tourist penguin" was just

too cute! He even had Balloon

Fiesta pins on his camera strap.

You just had to smile at her.

Obviously, one of the best! :-)

One flying directly overhead.

Turner Falls Park - Davis, Oklahoma

When we left Arbuckle Wilderness Wildlife Ranch, we stopped at Turner Falls Park which was only about 1 1/2 miles away. This park is also in the Arbuckle Mountains and has caves, waterfalls and 2 natural pools. They also have camping there. There was a large group of bikers there on trikes (Brothers of the Third Wheel was the name of their group). :-) Here's a few of the pics that we took there:


The falls


Bridal Veil Falls


Bridal Veil Falls

The entrance to Outlaw Cave

This trike was coming in, pulling

a pop-up camper. :-)

Arbuckle Wilderness in Davis, Oklahoma

Today we went to Davis, OK to visit the Arbuckle Wilderness Wildlife Ranch. It's one of those places that you drive through and the animals come right up to your vehicle. It was so much fun!!! We took dozens (OK...hundreds) of pictures and I've put a few of my favorites on here. We saw so many different animals and birds. The emus would follow us for quite a way. The Arbuckle Mountains are part of this area and it was very beautiful.


Turtles...doing what turtles do...
sunbathing


Zebras greeting the car ahead of us

A baby giraffe...so cute!!!

Big Daddy Giraffe...this guy was HUGE!

An emu staring in my window

An addax (antelope)...their antlers

looked way too big for their heads.

Another emu :-)

A water buffalo

Miniature sicilian donkeys

A llama

A camel...they were pretty

agressive, too. They kept

trying to get their heads in

window of the truck. Bob

was freaking out! :-)