Memorial Weekend - Grand Canyon, Sedona, Dodgers/D'Backs (pics)

[Psychobroker]

This past Memorial weekend was perhaps the most wonderful time I've spent with a woman in my entire life. In the 4.5 years I was married, not once was I on the same wavelength with my ex as I am with my girlfriend. With my ex, I was usually left wondering ¡§where the hell did THAT come from?!". I know what Michelle is thinking before she even speaks it, and vice versa -- it's a great feeling I've never felt before.This road/camping trip was a true testament to how well we work together, how much we both love the outdoors, nature, and spontaneous travel (oh, and let's not forget our mutual love for the Dodgers!). I truly believe I may have found my future wife. Ok, enough mushiness and on with the story...It started out 3 weeks ago with an idea from Michelle to see a Dodger game in either SF or Arizona. Soo, I hopped on my laptop, checked the schedule, and bought tickets for the 5/29 game against the D'Backs in Pheonix, Arizona. I then said, "hey, why don't we check out the Grand Canyon while we're at it?". Neither of us had been there before, so we were both excited about the idea. Of course, all hotels in and around the GC had been booked for months, so I suggested we go camping -- something both of us love to do, but have yet to share together. Due to not having anyone in our lives who enjoyed camping, it had been about 2 years for me and SIX for her since our last camping trips.Mather campground, the largest of the 4 campgrounds in the surrounding area, was booked months in advance. This was fine, because neither of us wanted to camp in a city. With roughly 300 sites and RV hookups, that's about what it would be. So, I jumped on the phone and called the ranger station up there to get the scoop on the non-reservation sites - Ten-X (4 miles south of the park) and Desert View (inside the park). Ten-X was the consensus favorite, but we had to get there early to snag a spot. Just in case, I reserved a site at the Grand Canyon camper village, the only other reservation "campground" (Later, I'll touch on why you should NEVER go there if you like to camp!).We finally left L.A. around 8pm Friday night, about 3 hours behind schedule thanks to work (me) and family (her). No worries, we'll get there when we get there and spots should be available, right? Wrong! We arrived at Ten-X around 3:45am Sat. morning, and found a FULL campground... man was I bummed! This was one of the most beautiful campgrounds I've seen in a while, nicely hidden away in the Kaibab National Forrest, surrounded by thick woods of ponderosa pine. I would have loved to camp there, so of course I walked all the way around the grounds a couple times making sure it was full..and it was...bummer! So, off we go to the Camper Village 4 miles north on the 64, just outside the park.We arrive at the Camper Village and literally find a dirt lot on which to pitch a tent, directly adjacent to a convenience store. No campfires are allowed (yet there ARE allowed in the park and anywhere else in the Kaibab forest? Pfft!). I'm sorry, but this is no way to camp!! I was even more disgusted now, so we pulled out the AAA book & map and decided to drive another 40 miles to Desert View Campground, which is at the eastern end of the canyon, just inside the eastern gate.Man are we happy that we kept on moving, because we never would have been able to catch the sunrise on the rim (first pics), family of Elk crossing the highway, and several lookout points all to ourselves had we settled on the Camper Village. What a breathtaking sight the canyon is at daybreak, especially having it all to ourselves!We arrived at Desert View around 6:30am, only to find another "FULL" sign posted in front. Like hell were we going to simply turn around... we drove through and found ONE site at the very end of the campground with the wild as its backyard. It was just sitting there for our taking, which we promptly did! We then decided that neither of us wanted to stay in a hotel over the weekend, so I called and cancelled our reservation for Sunday night at the Hilton in downtown Pheonix. We were still going to the game, but would also drive ~250 miles BACK to the Grand Canyon to camp another night...I know, we're nuts .Saturday afternoon was awesome...a brief thunderstorm rolled in around 4pm, providing wonderful views and a romantic setting . Of course, it didn't help me keep the fire going, but we still managed to grill up some carne asada before the deluge began. After the storm passed, we took a walk around desert view, and down to the lookout tower for a bit (daytime pics near the end of the slideshow). Sunday morning we were on the road to Pheonix by 8am. On the way down we decided to veer off to drive through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona ¡V wow, what a drive!! Driving down the canyon was absolutely beautiful...being the driver taking the twisties, I was in heaven .We get to Pheonix, watch the Dodgers win, and drove back up the 17 headed for the GC. On the way up we veered off to check out Montezuma's Castle -- yet another awesome sight to be seen! If you've never seen a Native American cliff dwelling, go check this one out! We got back to camp around 8pm, cooked some dinner, drank some Cazadores tequila, and hit the sack.On the road by 10am Monday morning, we decided to veer way off the road home to check out Meteor Crater, which is about 35 miles East of Flagstaff ¡V yet another awesome sight that we don¡'t regret detouring to!And finally, on the way home, heading west on the 40 through Needles, I veered off yet again so we could take a dip in the Colorado River -- how refreshing! All in all, I drove nearly 1800 miles (she can't drive stick -- yet ) in 3.5 days - nothing compared to Phil & Hope's trek, but it's the most I've ever driven in my life in such a short time, and I loved every minute of it! Our next camping trip should be to Yellowstone, camping at different spots along the way.Well, here are the pics..I sure hope this link works:http://www.kodakgallery.com/Sl...eed=1

[damronjr]

Yep, linky no worky!! Oh, and congrats on the 2000 posts as well as your awesome Memorial Day weekend!

[AKLGT]

you have to sign up..... damn! but sounds like a fantastic time you had. so glad you finally found that special someone, christian!

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Link says N/A... crud Let's try this one: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Br...der=0If anything, you guys can sign up using a bogus name and email...it's only so that my guestbook tracks the visits. EDIT: teasers PS Thanks Jason - i didn't even realize this was my 2000th! woo hoo! And Hope, you know the crap I've gone through (at least some of it)...and Michelle's a great woman. Thanks for the well-wishes (match.com finally came through haha)

[drunkenmaxx]

not bad, can i borrow her?

[AKLGT]

ok that one works! you guys look happy. glad that worked out for you finally! email me sometime, we should catch up! it's been awhile!

[Ponyota]

Very nice! Looks like you had a great time! Best wishes to you both.

[Psychobroker]

Thanks everyone! And Hope, we do need to catch up! EDIT: Posting a couple more pics in case it doesn't work for everyone. Of course I had to snap a couple pics of jetBlue Representin'! GO BLUE!Don't forget to select slideshow from the column on the right Thanks for taking a look

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenvibe »not bad, can i borrow her? nah, she's off-limits

[damronjr]

Looks like fun man, congrats!

[ArcsVibe]

Great pics C! Glad you guys connected