Kanab, UT and Grand Canyon, AZ - Days 163-171 ... and the rest of the story of the 178 trek

Diedre here: Sorry for the lag in time for this final post of the 2013 AB1 Trek, but as you read on you'll see that our final chapter didn't close quite as we had planned.  No worries though...all is wonderful.  After you finish your fine Thanksgiving meal you can grab a cup of tea or other fine beverage, put your feet up and read, "the rest of the story."  

Casey and Samantha looking out the bedroom window discussing the gorgeous view in Kanab.

On Sunday, October 13, we took off for our next destination: Kanab, Utah.  Our visit there had a twofold purpose: 1) to visit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on the outskirts of town; and 2) to visit Kanab itself, a historic western town also known as "Little Hollywood."  We were not disappointed with either.

     Best Friends is the largest animal sanctuary in the country.  They are situated on 4,000 acres of the prettiest mountain vistas this side of Sedona.  They're a no-kill animal sanctuary that at any one time has about 1,700 rescued animals living in shelter buildings that put our house to shame.  They have the prerequisite large number of dogs and cats, but also house over 100 pot-bellied pigs, pastures of horses, and flocks of parrots.  Their buildings are spread out over the scenic campus, and each building has a massive amount of space and amenities for every animal, so much so that I suspect a lot of the animals secretly hope they never get adopted.     We lucked out there on accommodations.  Best Friends has limited housing and only two RV spots, but Diedre managed to snag one for us.  It was on the edge of a cliff overlooking a massive valley with red rock mountains on the other side.  It was maybe the most scenic, and certainly the most secluded RV spot we had camped on all summer.
     We took their 1-and-a-half hour tour the first day, walking through the enormous "Dogtown" and the wonderful "Cat World."  "Horse Haven" "Piggy Paradise," and the "Bunny and Parrot Garden" were other stops on the tour.  The medical facilities are first rate; no animal, no matter how bad the condition s/he might be in, is turned down.
     BF has a wonderful volunteer program.  Even though they have about 300 employees, they still need volunteers to help out with the animals care and socializing.  DK and I were so impressed with their whole operation that we've decided to add BF to our 2014 RV trip.  Our plan is to go there in October after the Huntsman Games in St. George, Utah, and volunteer for a week.  I'll spend my time in Cat Heaven while DK, with cat fur allergies, will spend her week with the dogs.  Note: she has grown immune to the cat dander of our three kids, but immediately has nose problems when meeting up with other cats.
     It should be a great week next year.  If you're at all interested in joining us, let me know and I'll get you the BR info.  To check them out, go to their website at www.bestfriends.org  .
     

That afternoon, all animaled out, we did our own walking tour of Kanab.  Back in 1924, the locals pitched the great western scenery and mountains to producers in Hollywood as a natural place to film their westerns.  "Deadwood Coach" with cowboy star Tom Mix was soon filmed there followed by many more: "Drums Along the Mohawk," "Stagecoach" (with a very young John Wayne), the Rat Pack's "Sergeants 3," and "MacKenna's Gold" just to name a few.  Those oldies were followed by "Planet of the Apes" (both the 1968 and 2001 versions), "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (a particular favorite of mine ... best quote: "Dying ain't much a livin' "), and television shows "The Lone Ranger," "Have Gun, Will Travel," and "F-Troop" (got to love that Corporal Agarn).
     From the 30's through the 70's, nearly everyone in town was in the movie business.  The "Saturday Evening Post" even called Kanab "The Town That Learned to Act."  More than once the local high school was let out because additional "extras" were needed on the set for big cowboys-and-Indians fight scenes.
     

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking while we searched out their cowboy Walk of Fame plaques located like parking meters in the downtown area.  We found Clint Eastwood's as well as John Wayne's and Gregory Peck's, but the highlight was coming upon Peter Brown's plaque.  Peter was the star of the '50's "Lawman" and the 60's "Laredo," cowboy TV shows, and he is also the subject of a wonderful biography by yours truly coming soon to fine book stores near you.  It took us awhile, but eventually we found Peter's star.
     Monday night is "old movie" night in Kanab at the venerable Crescent Moon Theater downtown.  You could tell we were in small-ville; two movie tickets, a large popcorn, and a large soft drink ran us $6.50.  I'm not sure what that would have cost us at the Phoenix Harkins Theaters, but I'm sure we'd need to take out a home loan to finance it.
     The name of the movie was "Reap the Wild Wind."  It was an early John Wayne flick from the 40's.  The ushers had actually let us vote on which movie we wanted to see.  Being in the old west town of Kanab, I naturally wanted to see a John Wayne western, so I cast my vote thusly.  The rest of the sparse crowd voted instead for a naval adventure on the high seas.  Not quite what I was desirous of, but oh well.  You knew it was an old movie when Ray Milland got into a fight with John Wayne and kicked his ass.  I mean, what were the odds of that?

 The next morning we took a hike to Hidden Lake, but never found it ... at least we don't think we did ... maybe we did ... who knows.  After all, it was a "hidden" lake.  (OK, we did find it; here's a picture to prove how unhidden it was.)  In the afternoon, we went to the local library to catch up on some blog-typing.  I'm always hesitant to go into these small town libraries, because as  a published author ("The Fastest Gun in Hollywood"--you remember), I'm always afraid of being mobbed by the local populace.  But this afternoon must have been "Shush Day" at the library, since none of the locals even dared to ask me for an autograph.  My clever disguise (a pair of Groucho glasses) must have thrown them off.

     

We finished off the evening with a real cowboy movie, "Ramrod," at the theatre barn at the famous Parry Lodge, which for 80 years has been the heart of Utah's "Little Hollywood."  This resort has had famous guests stay there since back in the 30's.  Rooms are named after their various famous occupants: The Mae West Suite; The Frank Sinatra Guest House; and The Keanu Reeves Broom Closet.

     Wednesday, October 16, represented our penultimate trip with a short hop to the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, it would prove to be our final trip once I put the tire covers on at the campground.  It was only then that I saw the tread completely gone on the left front tire, a tire that had barely more than 10,000 miles on it.  As it turned out, it was the beginning of the end ... of our trip, I mean.  More on that later.
     That night we relaxed with a cocktail and some incredible scenery.  You know, when you're sitting there with good company and the incredible scenery of the Grand Canyon, it just made me stop and think:
     "This would be a great place for a 7-11."

     Thursday was our first full day at the Grand Canyon.  There is nothing like being at one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  We took advantage of our amazing environs by taking the day to comb the cats, beat the rugs, and work on one particularly vicious in-grown toenail of mine.  I also relaxed in my easy chair and partook of one of my favorite hobbies: paying bills.  It was especially fulfilling to be sitting there amid all this beautiful scenery and watch that idiotic interweb little blue circle go round and round and round ... ad infinitum.  Only cocktails at the majestic El Tovar hotel could bring my blood pressure back to something approaching normal.

   

 The next day we shook out the cobwebs and stormed the park.  Our first of the five hikes that would cover the entire south rim of the canyon went from Mather Point to the South Kaibab trail head (2.4 miles).  Once there, we actually took part of the South Kaibab trail down toward the bottom of the canyon.  It was a little tricky, of course, because, as you'll recall, we're both in our 60's now, but I was pretty proud of what we were able to accomplish that day.  We decided not to do the whole trail which was 7 miles down and would take at least 6 hours to get to the bottom, but instead we did, oh, ... what was it, Dear, three or four miles?  What's that?  Three or four FEET?  Really?  Well, I knew it was something like that.,
    

On a crowded Saturday, we picked up the trail once again, this time venturing from Monument Creek to Powell Point (3.1 miles) named after my aunt Sally Powell Alexander's great-great grandfather.  Here's a lovely photo of DK at the Grand Canyon rim after a slight misstep.  Dang ... I thought that life insurance policy was finally going to pay off.  Pretty good picture, huh?  We like to call it "Senior Daredevil Photography."

After a hard day on the trail, we dined at the 100+ year old El Tovar hotel, a place I had read about for years, but only now was eating there for the first time.  The place was packed as usual, but we had the foresight to make reservations for 8:45 that evening, so there wasn't much of a wait.  The meal was sublime.

Sunday was supposed to be a much more casual hiking day, so of course, we ventured 1.5 miles down the Bright Angel Trail, not remembering until it was too late that we would indeed have to venture 1.5 miles UP the trail as well.  Nevertheless, an inspired DK decided afterwards that in the future we needed to do the whole hike from the rim down to Phantom Ranch and back,  about a 16-mile, multi-day trek complete with pack mules, llamas, and Sherpa guides (We're requesting Tenzing Norgay Jr.)  You need to make reservations 13-months in advance, so a determined Diedre Kaye is planning for us to do it on her 65th birthday.  I just nod assuredly, hoping that the line will be busy or that DK will soon comes to her senses.

     We met an incredible couple from, of all places, Iceland, on our way down the trail.  Diedre and I raved to them about the wonderful fjords of Iceland.  It was sometime later we remembered that fjords are a Norway thing.
     After the hike, we went out to dinner with them.  We were all having a great time, but after a couple of courses, I suddenly realized they couldn't speak any English, and my Icelandic knowledge was limited to "La funcher daw verrie, sed ela bannochin e graemee," which loosely (very loosely) translates to "my uncle is sick, but the highway is green."
     I have no idea how we got as far as we did.  I'm sure alcohol was involved.  All we could figure out for sure was their true Icelandic names: her's was , "Elkavarkinaan" which means "blue ice" in their native tongue while his was "Larry," a very traditional Icelandic name which references the ancient Icelandic god of sulfur.
     OK, back to the true parts of this essay.
     

Monday's hike went from Monument Creek to Hermits Rest (2.8 miles); during that trek, I'm pretty sure that of all the people we passed, we were the only ones who spoke English.  We the drove to Grand View for a wonderful picnic.  I swear, every time you think you've seen the best the canyon has to offer, you immediately stumble upon something even more beautiful.

   

 From there, we drove to The Watch Tower.  This photo is what I call "The Rapunzel Picture."  It was taken inside the massive Watch Tower.  My hair may be long, but it ain't THAT long.  Diedre had to take the stairs after all.

   

 On our last full day at the GC, we did the most fun hike, going from the wilderness of Powell Point all the way back to the civilization of El Tovar (2.2 miles), having the resort area perched on the mammoth canyon cliffs in view the entire way.
     The tire repairman showed up that afternoon after having driven all the way from Kingman, a good two hours away.  As he changed our tire, he happened to notice a large air bubble in one of the tubes leading to our leveler mechanism.  He said we should get that checked out in Kingman, and since it was on the way for us the next day, we agreed to do so ... and THAT was the beginning of the end.
     On Wednesday, October 23, we were supposed to travel to Lake Havasu, AZ, home of the original London Bridge.  I know that doesn't make much sense, but trust me on this one, will you?
     Now, a day spent at a tire and truck repair shop in Kingman, AZ, is not as glamorous as it sounds.  In essence, we had tire and axle problems of which we, Mr. & Mrs. Anti-Goodwrench, were not aware.  Here was the problem in a nutshell (a huge nutshell): the tires (frayed rubber) were connected to the axle (bent); the axle was connected to the leveler's hydraulic line (air bubble); the leveler's are connected to the slides (loss of use); the slides are connected to the ankle bones ... the ankle bones are connected to the shin bones ... You can see where this was all going.
     To make a long story not much shorter, we could see that our best option was to forgo going to lake Havasu and instead, get AB1 into the shop for some well-needed R&R.  And so with that, abruptly, our first big trip in our sparkling new RV was over, about 7 days less than we had originally projected.
     But still, we were thrilled with what we had accomplished, of the sites we had seen, and the people we had met.
     Our trip totals were as follows:
     177 days;
     7,897 miles;
     $6,009 in campsite fees,
     3 cats (at the start and at the end),
     Seven major league and two minor league baseball stadiums visited
     and 0 arguments (Are you buying this one?)
          For me, the highlights of the trip were, in chronological order:
-getting just my 2nd eagle in golf in 58 years in Lusk, Wyoming;
-visiting Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane's graves in Deadwood, South Dakota;
-doing my first book-signing at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota;
-touring the pro-football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio;
-with my Over 60 softball team, the Rox, winning the golf medal at the senior Olympics in Cleveland, Ohio, followed by a tour of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame;
-having a book signing party at my boyhood home in St. Louis Park, Minnesota;
-meeting with artistic director Steve Peterson  to set up him producing the first play I wrote, "Buzzard Ball," in St. Paul, Minnesota, in March;
-talking with the playwrights of both "Wicked" and "The Book of Mormon" in Chicago at the National Dramatists' Guild Convention;
-finding and being invited into my mother's girlhood home in Downers Grove, Illinois;
-touring the very court room where the 1842 Dred Scott trial took place in St. Louis;
-sitting on the sidewalk in front of Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola's boyhood homes;
-seeing the electric city of Memphis including a visit to Graceland, standing on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was shot, and standing in the studio and holding the same microphone Elvis used for his first recording at Sun Studio;
-exploring the grounds around and the museum on the 6th floor of the old Dallas School Book Depository;
-meeting for lunch with Billy Huckaby, owner of Wild Horse Press, and publisher of my first book, in Fort Worth, Texas;
-hiking the country's 2nd biggest canyon, Palo Duro, outside Amarillo, Texas;
-helping my Rox team win the Mesquite, Nevada, softball tourney;
-helping my Rox team take 2nd place in the huge Huntsman Games softball tourney in St. George, Utah, complete with a 25-run, last inning rally in one game;
-and, of course, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and the Grand Canyon.
     OK, that's it for this year's trip.  Watch for us leaving April 1, 2014, on RV Trip 2 and writing more blog blither from Austin, Texas, to Miami, Florida, to Bar Harbor, Maine, and then back to Phoenix via Cooperstown, New York, Branson, Missouri, and all points between. (WHEW!  I'm exhausted just writing all that!)
     Stay tuned till then, and thanxx for following us this year.
     Alexx and Diedre ably assisted by Charlie, Casey, and Samantha

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Diedre here again:  Many dittos on what Alexx said about best places on the trip.  I also have to add the joy of spending time with family and friends even though it often was in places we'd been before.  Our time in Michigan was especially wonderful for me because I got to spend time and reconnect with dear friends from college and teaching days when I lived there.  I also loved the opportunity to see family members.  Especially memorable was the boat trip on Lake Walloon for a mini-family reunion highlighted with my dear Aunt Jane Smith.  And of course I loved our rainy day in Paw Paw and spending one last time with Mom's memorabilia before donating it to the library's historical collection and the Girl Scouts of America in Kalamazoo.  And when I look back on the six months, besides all the beauty we encountered in Kanab, Monument Valley, Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon, I also loved the serenity I found walking along the Mississippi River in Memphis and around the town of Grapevine, Texas.  I found as much joy in sitting at our breakfast table each morning, sipping my coffee and absorbing the company of Alexx and our cats as much as I did exploring new towns and visiting with friends and family.  Having six months of togetherness is scary for some people, but I adored it.  This trip was pretty much how our 22 years of marriage has been - always unpredictable and fortunately full of humor.

  I must say that we are clearly blessed to have had as little troubles as we did considering we are amazingly ignorant when it comes to the mechanics of a motorhome.  We are thankful for all the good mechanics we found along the trip and especially for the angels that watched over us.  AB1 is still in Tucson awaiting the final repairs that are covered by the warranty - so happy to have bought a new one so the costs are all covered - and we are already planning our 2014 adventure.

  Thank you all for following our 2013 trek and many of you joining us for a part of it...we look forward to bringing more friends and family into our adventure in 2014.  Tune in again in April when we head down the road again and Alexx's story of truth and lies continue (seriously, he had me going on the Icelandic couple - I thought I'd lost my mind when I couldn't remember meeting them!) and I add photos to complement those tales.  Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and God Bless you all!