Day 72, October 12th 2007 (Williams,AZ to Desert View,AZ)

I wanted to get a head start on the day because I didn't really want to find myself up at 7,300 feet at the Grand Canyon. My sleeping bag was only a 40 degree bag and the temperature up at the Grand Canyon was supposed to be in the high 20's or low 30's. After enjoying the free coffee and donuts at the motel I was off on the road. It was about 8 in the morning and I was only a few miles up the road when I noticed another rider approaching me. He had bags on the front and rear of his bike and it was obvious that he was in for a long trip. We both pulled over and chatted for a little while and I was absolutely amazed by his story. He told me that he had left his home in British Columbia about 2 years ago. He had been around the United States and was now ending his trip on the historic route 66. Today was the last day of his journey and he had planned on being picked up by a plane and taken back to his house. He estimated that he had put in around 10,000 miles over the course of his trip and that he had rested for months at a time in several states along the way. He seemed to me like he was probably in his older 50's and I couldn't believe that he had been on the road so long. It seemed like quite the adventure that he had taken on and although I wanted to hear everyone of his crazy stories along the way, I had to be on my way. I started the first of many miles going north. There was a road that was going to take me straight from where I was to the Grand Canyon. I was fortunate to have the wind going straight from the south to the north for the morning and it was great to be able to cover so many miles at such a quick speed. It was 56 miles to the Grand Canyon and although there was an increase of elevation of about 1,500 feet, it was very gradual and I didn't notice it at all. It seemed like it was a very flat ride all the way to the Grand Canyon and I think that the wind might have made it seem even flatter. When I came to the entrance of the park I wasn't cut any sort of a deal to the entrance and I had to pay the 12 dollars just like everyone else going in the park. For the first 3 miles inside the park I couldn't see anything except for smoke. They had been burning some wood piles going into the park so that if a fire were to happen it wouldn't be as bad. Fire prevention from all of the dry wood in the area I guess. So I wasn't thrilled at the fact that I had payed money to ride through a smoke storm, but as soon as I arrived over the Grand Canyon and looked down everything was worth it. I was amazed at what I was looking at. It was so large and stretched on for miles that it seemed like I was looking at a large painting in front of me. I had been to the Grand Canyon once about six years ago, but seeing it this time felt like it was the first time I had ever seen it. I stared at it for such a long time and cycled up and down the canyon to get multiple views of the area. There were people everywhere enjoying the vast scenery that the canyon offered and everyone had the same reaction. No one could really believe what they were looking at. With the width of the canyon stretching across at 10 miles and the length of the canyon running 270 plus miles, it was overwhelming. It was about a mile down to the Colorado River below and there were trails that you could take down to the bottom and then back to the top. I didn't have the energy to put forth a good 14 mile hike down and back, so after enjoying lunch I was on my way through a desert view side of the canyon. It as a view that stretched on for over 25 miles and about every couple mile you could pull off to get another view of the canyon. It was a beautiful ride and although a little hilly it managed to stay at about the same elevation all the way across. As I was finishing my ride across I stopped at the final looking spot. It was a much larger look out point and was called the Desert View lookout. There was a large tower that looked like a castle and for no charge at all you were able to climb to the top of it. Inside there were Indian drawings and other sorts of artifacts that gave a very interesting touch to the interior. Once at the top of the tower, 4 stories high, you could see everything in every direction. It was the best view that I had seen of the canyon so far and although there were quite a few people, there were much less than when I was at the Grand Canton Village. It was a spectacular sight to see the Colorado River down below the canyon and the only reason I eventually left was because it was starting to get a little cooler outside and the sun was going down. There was a campsite directly off of the viewpoint and it looked like a good place to call it a night. I went into the campground and was looking for a place where they might have someone who worked at the park to tell me what the elevation might be at this point. Like I had said before, I didn't want to get myself stuck at too high of an elevation and then freeze overnight. I saw someone standing on the side of the road inside the campground and so I asked if by chance he knew what the elevation might be. He told me that he had a tool in his car that had the elevation and he wouldn't have a problem showing me. So we went back to his campsite and he told me that it was 7,400 feet where we were at. It seemed like it was going to be fairly chilly at this point, but the sun was going down and I wasn't sure if I was going to find a place much lower if I kept going down the road. After Joe, the man with the elevation tool, and his wife, Lilly, offered me to camp on their site for free I couldn't resist the offer. They said that they were going to walk their dogs for a little while and then when they came back, they were going to prepare dinner and have a campfire. Everything sounded too good and although I was at a high elevation, everything seemed to have worked out okay. I set up my tent and after fiddling with it for a little while I think I mastered how to make it work even though one of the poles was broken. It was nice to know that I wasn't going to have to replace the tent for now and I could continue to get by with it for a little while. When Joe and Lilly returned they made a feast. This was not any ordinary campsite that I had stumbled upon, they came prepared. They had everything that you could imagine to make camping as luxurious as possible. For dinner we had burgers, corn on the cob, and potatoes. I was able to find out that this was the last day of their trip and that they had seen quite a bit. They had been up to Zion National Park in Utah and had made their way down here to the Grand Canyon. They were able to take some hikes in both areas and tomorrow they were headed back to their home in Prescott,AZ. Having just moved from the coast of California it seemed perfect for them to move more inland as to be able to enjoy more of the outdoor feel without having to go very far. I thought it was funny to hear Joe say that he thought I was like Bigfoot, everyone always hears about people like me but no one ever sees them. After enjoying the feast for dinner, one in which was going to be my last good meals for awhile, we had a great fire to keep us warm. It was a great evening to get to meet such great people and when the fire died we were off to bed. Joe and Lilly didn't want me to sleep and possibly freeze overnight in my 40 degree bag and neither did I. So when they said they had an extra sleeping bag that I could use for the evening I had a tough time saying no and jumped at the opportunity to stay warm. It was already fairly cold outside since the sun had gone down and I was exhausted from such a long day. I pulled the bag over me inside the tent and have never felt so warm.
Daily mileage: 84.7 miles
Average speed: 13.7 mph
Total mileage: 4,223.5 miles