August 8: South Rim to North Rim, Grand Canyon

Rising at about 5AM we broke camp and prepared to leave the south rim to drive to the north rim. We left the Mather Campground just in time to catch the worship service at the campground entrance. It was provided by Interdenominational Christian Ministry in the National Parks. We had music by guitar accompaniment and a service led by young people who work as maids, etc., at Grand Canyon and serve the Christian Ministry on the side. A banner at the front of the service said:

Dear God,

I saw the Grand Canyon today. Good work!!

We left the area and drove out on the East Rim Drive again for breakfast That was a fantastic 3-day custom. Then we continued along the East Rim Drive to Desert View where we exited the park.

Driving on toward Cameron the land got drier and more desert-like with the smaller rugged canyon on our left. North of Cameron it was quite hot and we were really in arid desert - the Painted Desert. It was quite beautiful. The only signs of human habitation were small shacks and roadside stands where Indians sold beads, jewelry and handcrafts.

Then northward the country grew more beautiful with red hills rising to our right. Taking the branch of Highway 89 to Page we traveled over a very dramatic highway - rising steeply through the red bluffs, running along a high desert plain and then descending for about eight miles in a long swoop to Page. We made that run to see the high suspension bridge and the Glen Canyon Dam. The top of the dam was at about 3700 feet, the bottom at about 3300 feet. We ate lunch and explored a bit there.

We retraced the route to the junction at Bitter Water and took 89A toward the Marble Canyon. I really loved that stretch of highway. The red bluffs grew more dramatic on the right and also rose on the left across the Marble Canyon. The desert country was exhilirating to me - we really haven't gone through any boring country.

We finally came to the Marble Canyon Bridge - whick was much prettier to me than Glen Canyon Dam, etc. We stopped there briefly for the boys to throw rocks and me to take pictures.

As we drove out through the desert from Marble Canyon the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs rose on our right to the west. We had to drive quite a distance south to get around them. Finally cutting west we still saw the high cliffs - brilliant in the afternoon sun. The desert plants were green after the rain and it was really a matchlessly beautiful setting. Across the wide green desert plain to the brilliant cliffs!

Suddenly the road started to rise, giving even more expansive views of the plain and cliffs. We entered the ponderosa pine stands of the Kaibab National Forest. The looping road rose to 6000 ft - then 7000 ft and finally to 7910 ft at Jacobs Lake where we took a campsite.

As we drove to the campground we saw a lovely mule deer just out in the woods. It just watched us for a while and we stopped and watched it until it ambled off. After checking into the RV park we returned to Jacobs Lake Trading Post and bought some groceries.

Brenda cooked eggs and sausage and had bought some good bread similar to that we had in Wales. It was like a feast! We turned in for a nights rest in the cool mountain air.