Hovis at the Grand Canyon AND the BIG surprise – Day 3 of 4
7 photos in this post
What got more photographed when we took Hovis to the Grand Canyon? The canyon or Hovis? In all honesty it was the canyon BUT Hovis did get a LOT of photos taken. It was quite amusing to see folks walking/running behind Richard with their cameras clicking. Of course some also stopped and talked. She is a wonderful ice breaker and truly brightens up people’s days. (Even today a truck driver asked if he could take her picture.)
Saturday morning we had to move campgrounds. This was a choice we had planned as the special lady we were going to be surprising was going to be camping in one of the campsites at the Grand Canyon. Our rig was too big to camp with them and the other campground in the park was full. SO we moved from Williams up to Tusayan which is just a mile south of the Grand Canyon and stayed at the Grand Canyon Camper Village. Gravel sites, basic campsite but great to be close to the park. Rain came in (August is monsoon season) so we were in no rush to get back to the park. In fact we had originally planned for the other party to arrive before us. However they were running late so when the sun came out we decided to head on in and walk some of the areas we had not done up to this point, specifically Mather Point and around the walking path west of there.
The kids, especially Caleb enjoyed climbing the trees on this portion of the trail:
Caleb is quite the poser when he feels like it:
Here is Daniel “holding” part of the canyon in his hand 🙂
We ended up having longer there than we thought so walked further but we did get to see the sun setting which makes the colors that much more vivid. It was nearly dark before the call came that the party were in the park setting up camp and ready for us.
Drum roll please…..
SO exactly why were we in Arizona and more specifically at the Grand Canyon? A reunion? Yes! Richard’s nephew, Nathan, married Emily in California last year. Due to visas they were not able to plan far enough ahead to have a proper wedding last year so decided to renew their vows at their one year anniversary/wedding celebration this year. We had originally been unable to attend due to lifeguarding all summer but when those plans did not work out we found ourselves free to make this trip. When our plans changed we (Nathan and us) all agreed to keep us coming as a surprise for his mum and dad, Jackie and Paul. Nathan then shared his sightseeing itinerary with us and as they were planning on being at the Grand Canyon August 5th we decided to meet them there and for Richard to walk up behind Jackie, his sister. Here is the video:
Wonderful to see them all again and meet Emily face to face for the first time along with seeing Josh, Nathan’s son again and Kira, Emily’s daughter. More photos will follow in next post. I was hoping to get you all caught up with where we’ve been but alas, for the last two days we have been parked where the internet has been pathetic!
Blessings,
Liz
RV Tip: We wouldn’t advise touring/driving around the Grand Canyon with your RV/fifth wheel/travel trailer. Unlike the Petrified Forest it is not designed for big rigs. There is WAY more traffic, the pull ins are for the most part smaller and it is definitely not encouraged. There were several smaller rented RV’s in the parking lots, in fact I have never seen so many of those as at the GC and surrounding areas but all the information advises folks to leave their rigs outside the park and catch the shuttle in or like us, park at a campsite nearby. Your other option is Trailer Village which is in the park, open year round and accepts rigs up to 50′ long, full hook-ups. Maximum length at the other campground, Mather Campground, is 30′ and this has no hook ups at all, not even for electric.