Wed to the Grand Canyon
We had no connectivity from the Grand Canyon so tonight is a double dose of Opal and Earl, sorry about that. We again got a late start out of Williams, primarily due to a bed that Opal could not get comfy and insisted on sharing this information at various intervals during the night with Earl. We finally got to the Grand Canyon (about on time because Earl passed on breakfast) and found a place to park (not an easy task, much like Ala Moana Mall during Christmas rush). We then took the shuttle to see all the best view points on the west rim road all the way out to Hermits Point. The weather continues beautiful and much cooler at the canyon.
Back to El Tovar to register for our room in the Kachina Lodge. Unload the car (long walk from parking spot but you DO NOT take chance and move car) and sit back to relax - noticing it is about 3pm, Opal notes that this is also nap time,,,,Earl, being the loving and understanding spouse agrees.
The scenic grandeur of the canyon is beyond the normal expletives and the size, the scale, is hard to fathom as you keep staring, and oohing and ahhing. We saw a condor, many ravens
and hawks, squirrels, etc, but no larger mammals.The day ended with dinner at the El Tovar. I enjoyed the chef's special, roasted pork loin
with cornbread dressing, sweet potato coulis, and green beans ( I left them for Opal). I also had some pretty good french onion soup. Opal had black bean soup that looked more like a bowl of chocolate frosting 
.... but it was quite good and had a distinct 'bite'. . . . . she also had a penne pasta (vegetarian). Afterwards, we hit the wall and didn't even want to hear the word dessert.Thu to Flagstaff.
Opal again had a hard time sleeping on the bed and it was pretty much the same for me. . . . but not at the same times so between us, we kept waking each other up with tossing and turning. Opal said it was a combination of eating too much too late and a too soft bed. I made the mistake of telling her she could pick times and meals. So, for breakfast Opal had a vegetarian scramble and she ordered raisin bran for Earl. Earl immediately rescinded the rule about who picks the food, etc!
On the way out of the park to the Eastern entrance we saw the rest of the scenic viewpoints - we totally agreed that Lipan Point is the best.....you can see more of the canyon AND the river - you can actually see and a little bit hear the rapids 2-3000 feet down.
We then drove onto the Navajo reservation and shared a full order Navajo taco
at a trading post in Cameron AZ, Best non meat taco I've ever had, period. It is typical of the pueblo style cooking that makes use of lard (the indian flat bread is deep fried, but oooooo so onooooo). Between the two of us, we could not finish it.
Earl insisted we share the full taco and Opal insisted on the half order. Naturally the man won out and we had the full order and naturally it was not the right decision!Then south to Flagstaff, arriving about 530 or so.....we should get a good nights sleep. It seems a bit chillier and we are about 7000' high (about the same as the GC).
Flagstaff is home to Northern Arizona University (about 19,000) which we hope to see tomorrow before we strike out for Sedona.
With that I am closing and heading off to bed.
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