We drove through part of the night (and past the Petrified Forest National Park and Wilson, AZ) and arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park in the pitch-black darkness. We found a nice park lodge that was still open and went to visit it in order to see a map of the area. The lodge was the perfect balance between folk art, craft and mountain man aesthetics. The large wooden furniture and human sized fireplace harmonized nicely next to the brightly colored doors and wall. We walked out on a patio and the winds felt strong and cold. After our eyes adjusted to the darkness we saw the massiveness before us. This canyon is grand! Energized from the sight we just saw and cold from the bitter weather we ran back into the lodge, through the brilliantly colored doors and reviewed the map.
Lodge at Grand Canyon
We camped in the van at first place we saw available. Waking in the morning to our fellow campers, tucked into their RV, probably making breakfast with the loudest industrial-strength generator known to
Us, Grand Canyon
man. It could wake the dead. We too made some food, turned up the stereo and proceeded to fending off the mobs of crows attempting to steal from us. After we went to take a light walk around the canyon in daylight. It is really beautiful but it was too much of a time commitment to actually hike beyond the rim. It was a mule, multi-day sort of a trip. We decided to shower then take off for Zion in Southern Utah. After a nice shower, as we sat in the parking lot another VW pulled up next to Rosie. It was a newer model VW Westfalia, painted with a really cool “Grateful Dead meets nature” scene. Inside Kaya the VW van, was Lucy, a sweet medium sized, black dog. And also her people, Francois and Lisa. We said hi, and James and Francois chatted about VW’s, New Hampshire, Vermont and VW culture. After awhile we took off for Zion.
Kaya, '89 VW Westfalia
On the way we were passing through Navajo land. We stopped at a collective, roadside storefront. A few local artisans were selling jewelry and pottery. This mostly consisted of juniper berry necklaces, dream catchers, sand-cast silver or tufa-cast silver, horsehair pottery and various types of bead work. We pick a few things up.
The Painted Desert, AZ
As we drove we were using our new GPS, please keep in mind we are in the Painted Desert, with rolling mountains and nothing “urban” for miles. We start to get hungry and there is nothing; no signs, no gas, nothing. Eventually we see a few signs indicating 20 miles off our track, a town called Tuba City. And no, we did not see a single Tuba. We drive into Tuba City, ate food and then proceeded to use the GPS to get back to the interstate we were on. We ended up on a road that was not made for 1980’s vans like ours. It was a dirt and rock path and it zig-zagged down a large hill, past the packs of dogs playing, ponies in small corrals and mobile homes. I guess GPS does not always indicate things like dirt roads vs. paved roads?
The landscape between the Grand Canyon and Zion slowly changed before our eyes. The red mountains turned into golden colors and the plants became more sparse on the landscape but gradually taller and brighter in color. The mountains had bands of earthy colors, like a stack of bracelets. We saw the huge Glen Canyon Dam, power stations and crazy power lines in Arizona, all set against the sun setting on the horizon before we reached Utah.
Landscape of No. Arizona
We pulled into Zion National Park, into Watchman’s Camp. In the dark we spotted Kaya, (the VW we met in the Grand Canyon) parked a few feet away from us. We stopped in to say hi and share some nice wine and cheese. We are very glad we had a chance to meet some nice people on the road. In the morning we went on a short hike, our bodies are sore from sitting for so long in the car.
Hello Zion National Park!
Noon at Zion
Clouds move quickly, Zion
Dusk sets in, Zion
Tags: VW, VW Van, across america in a vw van, VW Van blog, Grateful Dead, Navajo, AZ, Arizona, Grand Canyon, VW Westfalia, Zion, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Southern Utah, UT, Glen Canyon Dam, Painted Desert, Watchman's Camp, Tuba City, Hopi, "Utah", GPS, VDUB, Westy, Vee-dub, Microbus, art bus, Kombi, Vanagon, Campervan, Volksie Bus, combie, Petrified Forest National Park
