Shirley Goodness: Friday in Arizona

We said "see you later" to the Grand Canyon Friday morning! After checking out of our hotel...

The indoor waterfall at the hotel

...we drove down the Desert View road to get one more opportunity to see the South Rim of the canyon.

It's hard to explain and even see in these pictures, but this end of the canyon looked different than the other end. Maybe a little more green. But definitely different.

You can see the CO river from this view.

Desert View Watchtower. It was closed to visitors because it is on Navajo land, but we could see it from Navajo point.

An even better view of the CO River. I saw some white spots on the river and then they changed positions! I figured they were rafters. A couple near us had high powered binoculars and let us look at them. Really cool!

Beyond this canyon is the Indian Reservation.

We planned on driving to one or two scenic view stops, but kept going to the end of the road (it was closed before the actual end) and were really glad we did so. We got to see the Desert View Watchtower, rafters on the river and more magnificent views. At Lipan Point, there was a trailhead for a trail that went into the canyon. Many years ago, there was a hotel at the bottom of the canyon and that trail.

As much as we didn't want to leave the Canyon, we had to get to Page for my run. On the way we stopped in Flagstaff for lunch. We ate at a pizza place, looked at a few stores, and drove on Route 66!

Route 66

We bought some pastries here

Downtown Flagstaff

We made one brief stop on the way from Flagstaff to Page. We saw a National Memorial, and even though we didn't have time to drive all the way to the memorial, we did get to see some ruins of Native American houses.

This was called Lomaki-The beautiful house

We arrived in Page and checked into our hotel...which was actually an apartment named Desert Coyote Inn. And it was on the Street of Little Motels! Highly recommend this inn!

We then went to pick up my bib for the run. While I was getting my bib and buying a tank top, mom and Camden explored the rock formations at the natural amphitheater. Camden really had a good time climbing the rocks! I was also able to meet some of my team mates. I joined a running team that a lady started online. We were the VR Friends and our team placed 3rd in the race!

First ever placement medal in a race (as an adult)

We went back to the hotel to park the car and walk to dinner. It was right around the corner! We went to Big John's BBQ and were able to eat outdoors while listening to the band! It was a nice evening for eating outside and the music was good too!