Day 9 Up with the kwa-kwa birds again and discovering yet one more way to pack up the car -- this time with damp stuff. When we first left Oakland everything was packed in perfectly and geometrically, with nothing sticking out into something else's place; but now the trunk was a free-for-all: if the lid can close, it's good enough. And that's after the two cases of beer had disappeared.
We headed up the road to Jacob's Lake for a great breakfast, then down through the pine forests and out over the top of the cliffs again. This time we had a different perspective of the cliffs, the painted desert and the reservation -- having already been where we were headed. We started trading post shopping in earnest -- by now we were buying as much as we were looking.
We turned up Highway 64 towards South Rim. All the guide books describe North Rim to South as a 5-hour drive, and it took us almost that long -- but what scenery! Even on our second pass, it was still outstanding.
South Rim of the Grand Canyon was much like Walnut Creek during a multi-store sale -- cars, people, shops, Winnebagos and shuttle buses were the rule of the day. There were a lot of canyon-view spots along the road, unlike the BANG! SURPRISE! effect of North Rim, but the crowds and traffic jams were completely distracting from the beauty of nature and the serenity of the canyon itself.
We had a reservation at the Thunderbird Lodge which was pretty nice. We took a shuttle bus ride along West Rim Drive (in the sprinkling rain and distant thunder) and got a few more versions of the canyon. We saw a one-armed man and a lot of deer along the way. Then to dinner: real food, real service, real prices and it was a real pleasure. Jason was pretty burnt out so he went back to the room; Lucy and Barbara watched sunset over the canyon. It was cold, windy, and magical. Back to the room -- beds and showers were very welcome after 5 nights of camping.
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