Day Forty Three

Today was insane. We rode 138 miles from somewhere around 16 mules west of Kayenta to our hotel in Grand Canyon National Park.

It was really a day of accomplishments. First of all, we made it to the Grand Canyon, our biggest destination other than Los Angeles. Second, it was our biggest day of the trip, and that record will probably stand. Thirdly, we hit our 3000 mile mark.

We realized the night before that time in Arizona is strange. Apparently they don't observe daylight savings time. However, we had been on a Navajo Indian reservation since entering Arizona, so we didn't know. So, we somehow managed to pick up an hour, so we're essentially on pacific time now, sort of. So we woke up at 4, and were on the road around 5:15. We rode some fast miles, and were in Tuba City around 10:30. We got lunch and talked to Jason's mom, who had gotten our hotel booked for us. I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday (Happy Birthday!) and were back on the road around noon.

We'd also realized that the Grand Canyon had an elevation of about 6800 feet, where we had thought it was around 2000. That meant it was either flat or uphill, not a big downhill like we had hopes for.

After lunch it got really windy. We rode a very slow 22 miles to Cameron, where we snacked for a minute. Then it was off to do the last leg of the day.

It started with a huge climb. That was followed by another huge climb. All said, I put the total climb at 35 miles, except for about a 2 miles downhill near the middle. By the top it was dark, and we had about 26 miles further to go. So we snacked for a moment, took out lights and jackets, and headed out.

It was rolling hills, some of which were really pretty steep. We could see the canyon from time to time, to out right. it was pretty amazing having your first viewing of this place be by moonlight on a bike ride. While my spirits had gotten pretty low on the hill climb, I was feeling better once to started getting some downhills. We rolled into our hotel at about 11:30, putting our total risky time at about 18 hours and 15 minutes. Wow.

So I'm pumped to sleep in a comfy bed and take a shower and get a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow: The final rest day, taking time to explore the Grand Canyon.