Life on the road

Becky and the Parents, Day Four: The Grand Canyon

After our whirlwind trip around southern Utah and northern Arizona, we were back home at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We took Becky on a tour of Cape Royal and Point Imperial. We stopped on the way up to Cape Royal and took a short hike over to Greenland Lake. The lake was dried up this late in the season, but the hike was still gorgeous!

Becky on the trail to Greenland Lake

That’s the lake, all dried up this late.

The next stop was Cape Royal, at Wedding Point. There are Becky and FabGrandpa near the edge. The day was very windy but sunny and nice.

The view from Wedding Point.

Looking over the edge–it’s a long way down there!

Gorgeous, as usual!

Walhalla Overlook–that light brown crescent near the center of this photo is the Colorado River.

This is Mount Hayden, at Point Imperial.

Another view from Point Imperial

That night we had reservations for dinner at the restaurant at the lodge. The view from there at sunset is awesome!

This view is from the veranda at the rear of the lodge, at sunset. Oooooooo, Ahhhhhhh, awesome!

That was our last night with Becky. She left the next day around noon, headed for Las Vegas to spend the night before returning to Atlanta. We all shed tears as we said our good byes. We really enjoyed our visit, and all the sights we saw.

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Trying To Catch Up…

Karen · 7 Comments

I don’t which is worse in the life of a blogger—having so little going on that it is a stretch to find something interesting to write about, or having so much going on that it is difficult to find the time to write. This is the time of year here at the North Rim where we all start thinking about having to leave, and that brings about a flurry of parties and get-togethers. We are all trying to spend as much time as possible with our friends before the end of the season.

Last year, FabGrandpa and I didn’t get to know many of our co-workers and neighbors that well. It was sort of like, we were newcomers here, and people were just used to seasonals coming for one season and then never seeing them again. When we came back in the spring, though, we had lots of people smiling, hugging us, welcoming us back. Although the community here is small, we have lots of friends this year, and have spent many hours of our time off sitting around campfires, having a few beers, laughing, talking, dreaming with those folks.

I have so much to tell, and so little time to get it written up. I have to finish telling you about Becky’s visit. And then, I have to tell you about our neighbor’s company. Yeah, when one of us have company, we ALL have company. I have loads of pictures to share, and news of a wedding and a new baby in our family to tell you a about. And then there was my uninvited, unwanted company this week:

(that is the kidney stone, ugh!)

The enemy only stayed around for a day and a half, but that was way too long! I was so glad to finally see his ugly face and send him on his way. And I hope he never, ever shows up again. Next time I will be prepared, though, as I still have most of that RX of percocet left, and will start on as soon as I know it is coming.

I am having a dinner party tonight. I’ll be making my prize winning gluten free meatloaf, some home made gluten free mac and cheese, and a gluten free cake. My guests will be bringing something as well. Heck, I can’t even keep up with the two Meme’s I participate in, Scenic Sunday and Remember Whensday….

So, I may have several posts in the next couple of days, trying to play catch up. At least I hope so…..

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Ah, The Joys Of Kidney Stones

Karen · 16 Comments

The first time I had one, I had no idea what was wrong. I just knew I was in pain, lots of pain. I was divorced at the time, and my 15 year old daughter was sleeping in my bed with me because she had seen a spider in hers–and we ALL know girls of any age won’t sleep where they have seen a spider. I got up in the night to go to the bathroom and was not able to walk back to the bed, a mere 10 steps or so. I crawled over to the bed and woke Becca up, and said “You are going to have to drive me to the hospital.”

Her eyes got as big as saucers. She was more afraid of driving me to the hospital in the dark than she was of seeing me there writhing in pain on the bedroom floor. She did the next best thing–she called my son, who no longer lived at home, and told him he had to come and take me to the hospital.

When I finally did get to the ER that night, they took me right in, before any of the other people who had probably been waiting all night. They took several X-rays (this was 20 years ago, okay? I also had health insurance back then). When they determined that it was a kidney stone, they hooked me up to an IV for saline solution and a morphine drip. Ahhhhhhhh, Morphine was my friend!!! They also kept me overnight for observation, then sent me home with a device to strain my urine. You know, so I could catch the sucker and examine it closely so I could get to know the enemy.

That first kidney stone was a big as one of those black watermelon seeds, similarly shaped, except it had jagged teeth along the edges–a real mean S.O.B. Now girls, I gave birth to my son in an Army hospital in Germany in 1971. Natural childbirth is what they believed in over there at the time. Seth weighed 10 lbs, 8.5 ounces. And that experience did not hurt as bad as passing that kidney stone. I am just saying, I would rather give birth with no drugs than have another kidney stone.

Yesterday started out just like any other day here at the North Rim. I got myself up and dressed, and drove the 12 miles out to the entrance station, arriving there at a very early hour (can’t say what time we open up). I felt fine, up until about 9 a.m., when I had that old familiar feeling. The one where I usually end up writhing in pain on the floor. I called my boss and asked him to get in touch with FabGrandpa, and have him bring me one of those Lortabs the musculo-skeletal doctor prescribed me back in July.

The boss called me back in a little bit and told me that he was sending out the medication with my co-worker, and for me to let him know if I needed to come home. So, about 10:30, the co-worker showed up. As soon as he walked in, I said “You have something for me and if you don’t give it to me RIGHT NOW, I am going to knock you down!” I took my pill, and then went out to walk the line because it was a really busy day here yesterday. The trees are turning and all the leaf peepers are coming out. I don’t blame them, it IS really beautiful here.

I stayed out there long enough for Richard to have his lunch, then called the boss and told him I was going home. Then I called FabGrandpa and told him to be ready to go to Kanab when I got there in about a half hour. That Lortab doesn’t touch a kidney stone pain, I have to tell ya. I got home before he did and changed my clothes. I put on my pajamas and laid down on the bed. When FabGrandpa came in, he said, “Why are you in your pajamas? I thought you were going to the ER.” So, I got up and changed my pants.

When we left, I was wearing my pajama shirt and jeans, and a zip front hoodie. I forgot to take my purse, my hairbrush, AND my TEETH. You know, my lower partial plate, the one that I need for chewing if I happen to eat anything. I just wasn’t thinking about anything but my pain, girls.

It is 85 miles from our home on the plateau to the ER in Kanab. About 15 miles out, I had to stop on the side of the road and throw up. I have had several kidney stones, but have never had to throw up when I had one before. That made me just worry that there was something else wrong. About 50 miles out, FabGrandpa got pulled over by an Arizona State Patrol for speeding. The officer walked up to the truck on my side. I put the window down and I am sure he could see my distress, as I was writhing in pain there in the seat of the truck.

He gave FabGrandpa a very stern lecture about how our truck was not an emergency vehicle, and how he could call for an ambulance if I was that sick, but that he was not allowed to speed under any circumstances. I told him that if I waited for an ambulance it would take more time to get to the ER, and FabGrandpa promised to slow down if he would just let us go. He did, and I am thankful for that. bastard.

We finally got to the ER. I walked in and said “I think I have a kidney stone. I have had them before, and you don’t forget what they feel like.” So, they took me right in, made me pee in a cup, took my blood pressure and temp, and hooked me up to an IV of saline solution, and gave me a shot of Tordol and another one of Zofran, just in case. They also gave me a barf bag. The RN told me “If you feel like you have to throw up again, PLEASE use this bag.” I understood her plea. I taught all my kids to throw up on the bed, not on the floor. It was easier for Queasy Momma to clean up the sheets.

It took a little longer for the Tordol to work than morphine would have taken, but it did work. It eased my pain completely, and I think I slept for a couple of hours while the IV dripped out. As soon as the IV was done, I was released and sent home with a prescription for Percocet and a strainer. Yay. I get to wait for the enemy again.

The three hour stay in the ER: $1009, after a 10% discount for paying in full. Dinner for two before heading home (with no teeth, see above): $26. Prescription for percocet: $18. Having a husband who loves me enough to drive 85 miles to the ER: Priceless!

Sunset in the desert on the drive home. Crescent moon on the left. Wow!

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Becky and the Parents, Day Two continued: Zion National Park

Karen · 9 Comments

On Saturday, after our tour of Antelope Canyon, we drove from Page, Arizona, to Kanab, Utah where we ate lunch at Houston’s Trail’s End Restaurant. After lunch, we went to Zion National Park. I’m telling you, if you are easily overwhelmed by spectacular views, don’t come to this area! We found ourselves wondering how “they” decided one place should be a national park and another place was just ordinary. I don’t know how “they” decide this, but I wouldn’t want that job. If I were the one having to make that decision, I think half of northern Arizona and southern Utah would be one huge, continuous national park.

The photo above is of the scenery just opposite the entrance station to Zion National Park. I could look at that every day, yes I could.

FabGrandpa and Becky at Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park.

Out the window of the car as we drove through Zion.

It was such a fabulous day here, the sky really was that blue.

As usual, these photos don’t show how really grand this landscape is.

Gorgeous!

We drove all the way through Zion, starting on the east side, then out the west gate into the town of Springdale. At the far end of Sprindale is Springdale Fruit Company. They have the best smoothies, made with apple juice from their apple orchard. MMMMMM. We also got some of that delicious Old Navuoo jam they sell there. Then back in the car, to drive back through Zion, west to east.

This is in Springdale, headed back into Zion National Park.

This place is so amazing!

We stopped to watch and photograph a herd of Mountain Rams. These two just posed and posed for us. I got a video of them, too.

This is the Utah countryside on the way back to Kanab, where we spent the night that night. We went to dinner at Nedra’s, Too, a great Mexican restaurant in Kanab. We stayed at the Best Western in Kanab, on the top floor I might add. We got some good sleep that night, but the wi-fi didn’t work. Oh, well, I guess you can’t have everything.

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Becky and The Parents Day 2, Antelope Canyon Tour

Karen · 5 Comments

We spent the night in Page, at Amerca’s Best Value Inn, which turned out not to be what it’s name claimed. For only $116 per night, we were allowed to listen to the crackheads upstairs from us stomp around their room until well after 3 a.m. I really don’t know what they were doing up there, maybe they had a bad case of Montuzema’s Revenge and had to run to the bathroom repeatedly during the night, who knows? But, I can tell you this: They kept me awake most of the night, and the maids said their room was trashed the next morning. At any rate, I would not recommend staying at that motel even if it is the only one in Page with vacancies. I’m just sayin!

After leaving the motel and eating breakfast, we went on a guided tour of Antelope Canyon. Wow! OMG! I have been wanting to go there forever! I am so glad we got to go on that tour. It is so fabulous. I took over 150 pictures, but I will only be showing a few of those here. I checked them out online, and all the different tour companies websites quoted prices of $32 per person for the one and a half hour tours. But, we walked in and paid for our tour in person, and for three of us it was only $88. It was the best $88 we spent all weekend.

We rode out to the slot canyon site in this big four wheel drive vehicle. It was a very bumpy ride in places, but it was fun.

There are Becky and FabGrandpa on the truck, waiting to take off to the Navajo Reservation.

We bumped down this road, which is actually a wash when the rains come. Notice the power lines–there is a nuclear power plant nearby.

We finally got there, and got out of the truck. The ground is very fine sand, which made walking difficult, but we managed to do it. Becky was wearing flip-flops, and I had on sneakers. My shoes were full of sand at the end of the tour.

This is the entrance to the slot canyon.

It is so hard to describe this canyon to someone who has never been there. It is very deep and narrow. The sun shines through the top of the canyon and makes the inside glow orange and red. At different times of the day beams of light come in and iluminate the walls of the canyons. It is absolutely amazing!

Of the many pictures I took, a lot of them are not very good. These are some of the best ones. You can get a “Photographer’s Tour” for a little more money. You get to stay longer, and the guides give you more time to take pictures at each stop along the way of the tour.

The tour guide took the photo above for me. He was very helpful in letting people know what settings to use on their cameras, and in some places he took photos with each person’s camera for us, to make sure we got some good shots.

There we are, back on the truck after an hour and a half of tour time in the canyon. It was an awesome tour, one of the best tours I have ever been on. The only thing about this tour I was not happy with, was that there are five tour companies that take people on tours of this canyon each day. There were probably close to 300 people in the canyon at one time. Considering that it is a very narrow canyon, it was very crowded. However, that was a very small price to pay for such great tour, and to get to see the place with my own eyes. I want to go tour the same canyon again, at a different time of day.

If you ever get a chance to go to Arizona, Page has to be on your list of places to go, and this tour has to be top of the list!

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Becky and The Parents Day 1

Karen · 3 Comments

We left the North Rim headed for Page, Arizona early enough to have breakfast at Jacob Lake Inn. We stopped at the scenic overlook of House Rock Valley. Here is Becky with the Vermillion Cliffs in the background.

The next stop was at the balancing rocks near Cliff Dwellers in Marble Canyon. Those rocks are huge! How they don’t tumble over is a miracle to me!

This is a view of the Colorado River from Navajo Bridge. It is absolutely gorgeous!

And this is looking across at the other side of the bridge at the very eastern edge of the Grand Canyon.

We stopped for lunch at Fiesta Mexicana, where Becky and I both ordered Camarones a la Plancha. Yummo!

After lunch we toured Glen Canyon Dam. It is the second highest dam in the United States. The highest is of course the Hoover Dam.

This is one of the old turbine rotors. Th original on was placed in service in 1964, and was replaced this year. That is FabGrandpa’s backside there in the photo.

Lake Powell, so much blue, blue water in the middle of the desert.

The Colorado River where it comes out of Lake Powell at the Glen Canyon Dam. That bridge is Hwy 89 in Page.

See that water pouring out of the pipe at the bottom? That is what they call seepage, water that seeps through the concrete and rock from behind the dam. 1600 gallons a minute worth of seepage. Amazing! And there is enough moisture for those plants to grow right on the rocks.

More tomorrow!

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4-Wheeling to Point Sublime

Karen · 3 Comments

Sunday morning FabGrandpa and I got up early, thinking we were going to get the laundry done and relax for the rest of the day. Then Mark, our neighbor, came over and asked if we wanted to go out to Point Sublime. I have been wanting to go out there since we got here last year, but it takes a 4 wheel drive, high clearance vehicle to go. The road is a very rough service road, that is not maintained. The 18 mile drive takes about an hour, so the round trip of 36 miles is a pretty good half day trip.

Mark’s Jeep only seats two people, so another friend, Dennis, went too. I rode with Mark, and FabGrandpa rode with Dennis. The photo above is the beginning of the road, just past the Widforss Trail trailhead.

We drove through forest, then meadow, then thick forest again. There was a huge hawk soaring above us in the meadow, but I didn’t get a chance for a photo.

This meadow is more rocky than other ones I have seen here so far, and the road through here was very bumpy.

It was a perfect, beautiful day–about 70 degrees, a slight breeze, sunshine and big puffy white clouds. Thats Dennis’s truck up ahead of us.

We stopped at a scenic point, a narrow fin of rock jutting out into the canyon. It was a gorgeous view, but not at the end of the road yet. That is Mark and FabGrandpa out there on the fin.

Yes, of course I went out there, too. I’m not afraid of heights at all.

After a short break, we were back in the vehicles to go the rest of the way to the end of the road. The view out there really is sublime!

If you click on this photo to make it bigger, you may be able to see the water. I think it was the Colorado River, but not sure. This view is awesome–that point is covered with trees, they look like shrubs from here.

This was a view from the edge, looking back towards the road. I like this photo, the sky was so beautiful that day!

Dennis and FabGrandpa just enjoying the view. Yes, standing on the edge, again.

I know I keep saying this is gorgeous, beautiful, and awesome, but I can not think of any other way to describe it.

Point Sublime, at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

And yes, that is me, sitting on the edge of the world, at Point Sublime, while the laundry waits for another day.

And eventually, we had to leave, and head on home.

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Scenic Sunday

Karen · 7 Comments

This was taken at the entrance station to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Friday, September 4, 2009. A thunderstorm was coming in, with lots of big, dark clouds.

For more Scenic Sunday photos, click here.

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