A little girl in the back seat was asking if we were there yet before we got out of town. Oh, I remember those days with my kids! The driver gave us each little water cups. They are like plastic pudding cups but have water in them. How cute. I've never had these before.

Everything is green from the rain and a shrine on the access road shows up well with it's dark rock. Marana is miles of look alike houses. They roof of choice seems to be pink tile. It is such a boring looking place. Why do people want to live in places where everyone is alike? The Pinal Airport is full of planes shining in the sun. This is a small airport in Avra Valley and is mainly private planes so there must be plenty of rich people around here.

At Sky Harbor airport I rush around to find the Greater Arizona Intercity Transportation desk. They handle several van shuttles to various towns around Arizona and the Nava-Hopi Bus. Nava-Hopi is a Gray Lines tour bus company but they also have scheduled runs from the Phoenix airport to Flagstaff and on to the Grand Canyon. They are the Amtrak bus connection from Flagstaff also.

The bus isn't very full and I get the front seat and enjoy the scenery as we head toward Flagstaff on I-17. This is a great trip as we go from the desert to ponderosa pines and alpine country in a couple hours. We start really climbing around Black Canyon City and finally level out on a flat plateau. We pass Sunset Point rest area which is called the most scenic interstate rest stop in the country.

Down we go into the Verde Valley and then up again till we reach Flagstaff. The only stop is at Camp Verde at the Cliff Castle Casino. Flagstaff is a pretty town but a bit schizophrenic. It's a combination of 60s countercluture with new age overtones and a logging, hunting, fishing NRA culture.

It was a short wait and then I boarded the Nava-Hopi bus to the Grand Canyon. Usually they go along US-180 but due to construction the driver took I-40 to Williams and then AZ-64 north to the Grand Canyon, joining US-180 at Valle. We go across the Kaibab plateau which is so flat. It's always a shock to drive across this flat plain without a hint of the Grand Canyon till you stand on the rim.

I got a good deal by taking the bus as it's only $6.00 entrance fee per person on the bus but $20.00 per car. That's fine if you have a whole family but for just me it's an irritant. It's so nice to drive into the park again. I think it's such a great place. We get dropped off at the Masiwik Lodge and I haul my stuff over to the Masiwik Transportation Center (and only got lost for about five minutes). Even with the wheels on my suitcase it's heavy with the duffel bag of camping stuff on top.

I catch the shuttle over to Mather Campgrounds and my heart sinks at the long line of cars. I decide to just boldly walk up to the booth on the opposite side and see if I can get in. The ranger was very nice and got my reservation for me. It was clear at the back of the campground, up hill. I was pooped by the time I hauled everything to the campsite. I set up camp and loved the way my tent looked as this was the first time I had used it.

It was six by then so I walked over to the rim with a stop at the general store for bananas and milk as I was hungry. I got to the rim just in time to see the sunset. Oh it was so beautiful to see the Grand Canyon again. It is so spectacular and so different each time I see it. Everywhere people were talking German and Japanese. One of the rangers said that 50 % of the visitors were from overseas. Even with my language tapes work I was totally out of my depth.

What I think is interesting is that I can usually know what language people are speaking, even if I speak very little of the language. They just sound different.

I stayed for a few minutes of the campfire talk but it wasn't too interesting and I was too tired. I, as usual, hadn't slept well the night before as I was nervous about traveling. I went back to camp and snuggled up in my sleeping bag. It was nice to be there.