Grand Canyon Day 2

Today (Wednesday July 9) is all about the mule ride. When I booked the mule ride, I thought we would be camping at the North Rim of the canyon. Unfortunately, when I went to make reservations for the North Rim campground, it was full. You may say, no big deal, just drive up there for the mule ride, but since there’s no bridge across the Grand Canyon, you have to go around it and that takes about 4 ½ hours.

We really wanted to do the mule ride, so we got up early and headed up to the North Rim. We essentially drove all the way around the Grand Canyon. The landscape on the drive was quite breathtaking. We passed the Vermilion Cliffs, which were a wonder all to themselves.

We got to the North Rim Lodge in time to eat a quick lunch and check in. We got on the bus to go to the corral when we were surprised with our riding companions: a summer camp for middle school girls. Yikes!!! Fortunately, the guides realized that we may not want to be surrounded by them, so they sort of separated us.

My mule’s name was Goliath and Kate’s was Watoba, which means “Long Way To Water”. The guide said that Kate has the prize mule. I can tell you that they only prize her mule would win is a passing gas contest. I was behind her the whole way and I got a constant barrage of mule gas about every 5 mins.

Even though the mule ride put us in the car for an extra 9 hours, it was well worth it. The rides from the South Rim are twice as much and you don’t even get to go into the canyon. Our guide, Rich, took us down the North Kaibab Trail along the same path you would take to hike to the bottom of the canyon. I was never really scared, even though we were traveling along some pretty rocky terrain and sheer cliffs. I figured the mule didn’t want to die, so I felt pretty good about my chances. The mules have done it so many time anyway that they could do it in their sleep.

We rode down for about 1½ hours to the Supai Tunnel and took a little break. I found going downhill to be a lot more strenuous that uphill. We got back up to the top and then jumped back into the Jeep for another 4 ½ hour trip back to our campsite. It was well worth it and if you ever go to the Grand Canyon, make sure to try to sty on the North Rim and do the mule ride from there. It’s a lot less crowded. The North Rim looks different from the South Rim as well. It’s a little more green with more ponderosa pines on the cliffs.

We got back to camp right at dark and cooked dinner then got into bed. We were both really tired and had no problem going to sleep at all. The temperatures at night are perfect for sleeping, so I don’t have any problem going to sleep.

That’s it for Day 2 of the Grand Canyon.