2022 Aug 24 – Zion, UT to Cameron, AZ (near the east entrance to the Grand Canyon) – Kelly

State Count – 12

After a long drive, we pulled into our Native American run hotel which was named for the Cameron Trading Post built on this river crossing way back when and used by pioneers following the Mormon Trail which ran from Utah to Arizona and into Mexico. Once we had Pasha watered and “de-watered” we eagerly headed out again to see the queen mother of them all, the Grand Canyon!

Jim and I had similar, vague memories of seeing the canyon when we were kids: standing as a family on the rim, gazing down into it, nodding a few times and acknowledging its grand-ness, and then hitting the road out of there just like the Griswold’s in National Lampoons Vacation. But it was different this time as a grown up (perhaps because we were taller?) – it was amazing, it was awesome, it was – yes – so grand! And each pull off along the well-maintained 23-mile South Rim drive provided an impossibly better view than the last. Well done, Colorado River! Well done!

A fun side-bar is that at the second overlook we met a French family who were smitten with Pasha. All of us adults laughed as the two kids (8 and 10) were standing right smack dab in front of one of the seven natural wonders of the entire world, and all they had eyes for was a panting white dog. We kept seeing the family at each scenic overlook and Pasha happily accepted the kids’ ear rubs and attention, but then we got out of synch toward the end and they were gone. Fortunately, at the very last stop, we saw each other again and had a “grand” reunion (see what I did there?) With the help of google translator, their broken English, and Jim’s impressive ability to count to ten in French, we found out that they are traveling the world for a year, too! They asked to have a picture of all of us and Pasha (the real star!) taken together,. My big regret was that we didn’t exchange contact info, and I didn’t get my own copy of that picture. I’m hoping we bump into them again in another amazing place during our mutual travels.