Travelin' Geezers (TM): Canyons and Cookies - It Doesn't Get Any Better!

Do you know what the only drawback to staying two nights in the same hotel is? You might forget your inhaler when you leave to go sightseeing. Is that going to stop me? Not at all! We stopped at the visitor's center before we left Kanab to make sure we knew where to stop to get the best look at the Grand Staircase. Remember, that view is not in the Grand Staircase National Monument. Instead, it's at a little-marked pull-off just past Fredonia, Arizona. That's where I noticed I didn't have my inhaler. The walk up to the platform was only a few hundred feet, but it feels like miles when your lungs close up! Thankfully, they had benches on the platform so I could sit until I could breathe again. Most of the formations that make up the Grand Staircase can be seen from this platform, including the stack of the Chocolate, Vermilion, White, Gray, and Pink Cliffs.

After stopping for the Grand Staircase, we headed to the Grand Canyon. This was my first trip to the North Rim. I was glad the lady at the visitor's center told us to make sure to go into the lodge for the best view of the amphitheater! It was breathtaking!

Here are some shots from various other places on the North Rim. Words just can't express, so I'm not even going to try.

After touring the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and leaving the park, we stopped for lunch at the only eatery around, the cafe of the Jacob Lake Inn. We couldn't complain about the sandwiches, but the defining food of this place is their gourmet cookies, which were delicious. I thought I took some pictures, but I can't find them, so maybe I didn't. Maybe I was just too busy eating them. I know the super blackberry filled milkshake didn't survive long enough for a picture. Oh well, food pictures weren't the focus of the day, and I spent almost all the time in the car sucking on the oxygen compressor because my inhaler was back at the cabin or huffing and puffing to enjoy the magnificent views!

After lunch, we drove over to the Vermilion Cliffs. This is a more up close view of one part of the Grand Staircase stacked cliffs. The Vermilions are the second lowest cliffs. The rain stopped just as we pulled off the road by the cliffs.

We considered going on to Marble Canyon, but the weather was threatening, I was having trouble breathing, and we are going to make another trip to this area for Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, and some other things in the area, so we decided to head back to Kanab to our cabin at the base of a cliff. The drive back, even in the rain, was phenomenal. If you're here, be absolutely certain you drive Highway 89A from Arizona to Utah. These are some of the best views of The Grand Staircase, but there is no place to pull off and take pictures (other than the pull-off just south of Fredonia), so here are some pictures that I shot off while we were driving.