10-13-08 Monday (Buffalo vs. Cow)

We had a little bit of a late start again. Between sleeping in longer than usual and waiting for the hose bib to thaw, we hit the road at about 1pm. It seems to be the new ritual. Shower using the reserve tank and then refill it before taking a trip. When we get home in the evenings, it's been below freezing.

Jim and I have noticed tons of rental RV's. elmonte.com and cruiseamerica.com are 2 popular companies. I guess I never thought about it until today but anyone interested in meeting up with us once we extended our city to city stays is welcome to. Here's some quick research I did based on 7 nights:

$560.00 = $80.00 X 7 hotel
$175.00 = $25.00 X 7 rental car
---------
$735.00
*add for eating out every meal ($20.00 breakfast, $25.00 lunch, $30.00 dinner?)
$450.00 = Maybe $75.00 a day X 6
--------
$1185.00



$1100.00 Average 7 night RV rental
$ 245.00 = $35.00 X 7 campground
$?? = groceries
----------
$1345.00


Naturally, you'd have to adjust the amounts based on your needs.

Anyways, today we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. As spectacular as it is, I liked Bryce Canyon better. I loved the odd formations at Bryce. However, I'm glad I got to experience the Grand Canyon. We even went to a Ranger led presentation about the California Condor. She only had pictures, not the real thing. The information was interesting but not enough to keep us there throughout the whole thing.



Jim had made dinner reservations at the Grand Canyon Lodge for 5pm. Since sunset here is 6ish, he thought ahead to dine through it. We were close to one of the many large windows and enjoyed the color variations at sunset. Although it's rare, I tried a new food tonight. I ate Bison. It was OK, but I think I'll stick with beef. Moo! It was hard for me to eat it. At times I almost gagged and had to mentally talk myself through it. When we visit the South Rim, we may do the same and have dinner at the lodge.

I've included a slideshow of today's photos but be warned, the Grand Canyon didn't photograph well. The colors seem washed out. I swear, I didn't wash the memory card.

I found an interesting comparison for distances of Fort Myers to other towns. In 20 minutes, travel distance is diminished in Fort Myers due to traffic. In these small towns, we've been driving through, 20 minutes may take you far, but typically 1- Still not near any signs of life or 2- miles of road but all so indirect. The curved road signs are more like waves or sharp like u-turns. It's definitely unique to the mountainous trails thus far.