The Grand Canyon
April 14th, 2008Flagstaff
We left Holbrook and the Petrified Forest on Sunday and made our way to Flagstaff where we did a little grocery shopping at the local Safeway (we used to have those in Texas) and we stopped at a carwash to wash the dust off of pixeldust. The carwash proved to be a challenge because the truck and trailer are quite long and the carwash did not have enough room for us to ‘pull through’ and exit. I found that I had to back out of the stall that I had pulled into. This was most fun…but I managed.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon later that afternoon. I was amazed at all of the Indian Gifts and trinket shops along the route. It’s interesting to see that some Indians still scalp the white man even after all of these years.
We made our way into the park and found our way to the campground only to find that it was full. The man in the booth said that there was a place just outside of the park that always had room. “Great”, I thought, “a place where nobody wants to stay.”
Actually, it turned out to be a decent place called Camper Village. Although we did not have any cell service or internet capability, it was actually nice and was just one mile from the GCNP.
Plumb Drained
We settled into a nice shady spot and set up camp. I spent the rest of the afternoon using my old dull hacksaw on the vent stack on the roof. WHY?, you ask. Because the kitchen sink has never drained right and, on this day, decided not to drain at all. I am quite certain that I looked most dashing in the trailer park with my dirty old t-shirt, on the roof of our travel trailer with a hacksaw in one hand and a water hose in the other. I could probably qualify as the Camper Village Idiot, but I didn’t care.
I felt that the problem had to be a clogged vent stack so I attempted to remove the darned thing and have a look. Since it was riveted on, I decided I would cut it off. LUCKY for me, I actually had a spare vent in my inventory! This brings up the interesting side note that I was once in Boy Scouts and learned to be prepared…although nothing could have prepared me for all of what was to happen next!
Upon the removal of the vent stack, I found several dirt dauber nests had clogged the pipe over the years. I removed those. Still no draining. I bought a hose and a power nozzle from the general store nearby and blasted the pipe out. The only thing was that it blasted back up at me and soaked me. So I said, $%##%^&%$! in no uncertain terms.
Two hours of nozzeling and $%##%^&*!!, and I still had a clogged drain. I had pipes undone, the toilet out, two sinks unseated, and still had a clog somwhere. I did happen to find that there was a TON of rusty material in one bit of the line, so I blasted and plunged and blasted and plunged (hmmm - think I could write a romance novel with that language?) Finally, the sink would drain, but still slow. Hey, better slow than not at all.
So I put everything back together and called it a day.
The Grand Canyon
The next day, Elizabeth and I went to the south rim and took our hike. I’d say we got in couple of miles and took several pictures and some video ( which I hope to post for you all soon). It truly and literally was breathtaking. I am not used to physical exertion of this magnitude! We had a great time though and I suspect that I would have walked another ten miles if time had permitted. Since we didn’t have two weeks for me to accomplish this, we decided to return to camp.
Back at camp, I had myself a nightcap and slept better than I have in weeks! I think I am learning to relax a little. In spite of plumbing issues which obviously had me drained. Yes, I was just PLUMB tired! I now understand why liquor stores are often found near trailer parks…they are a good place to get plumbing supplies for all your trailer needs.
Thought for the day:
I prefer the sky scrapers of the Grand Canyon much more than those found in the cities.
