Road Trips and The North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Hi from Page AZ everyone!! Sorry it's been long between updates but Amangiri has been so super busy, and Derick And I have been working A Lot!

So, on our few days off we always seem to hit the Road to explore this amazing part of the country. The photos uploaded in a weird way so out of order it's going to be a bit of jumping around to explain them all, but, here goes!

Derick on the 4th of July trying to get firework photos..........neither of us succeeded however, though Page does put on a good show.

So, On Wednesday, we were both a little tired of 100F heat so we decided to head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. at 8,000 to 10,000 ft above sea level, the temperatures dropped to the 70's F and it was just amazing to drive with the Windows down and no A/C!!

Ok, so before his mum kills me, let me just say that it looks a lot more dangerous than it really is in the next few photos............really nice trail to get to these vantage points, with only a little rock climbing at the end to get there.....

 Almost thinking of making this my new blog photo.

 Careful boy!!!

 Yeah, it's like sitting at the top of the world!

Ok, so this photo is of the Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon AZ that you have to cross to get over to the GC North Rim. 

One of the beautiful meadows that line the road on the way to the rim at about 8,000 ft.

 Ok, and Now some of Derick at work in the Amangiri Pasty Kitchen. He has been doing both Breakfast and Pastry, and has done great a both, but the Head Pastry Chef has decided that Derick is good enough that they need him Full time in Pastry.

 He's learning a lot and is quite popular at the hotel. Knew he would fit in great here!

 And this is the view at the Top, of Bright Angel Canyon.

If you happen to be a Twitter follower of mine you got more pictures than these, right as we were there. How great is it that I could "tweet" right from one of the most beautiful and inspiring sights on the face of the Earth?

Well, Again sorry for the long Pause, more photos to come soon!

Have an Amazing Day!!

CB

Longest Day and Sonic, Derick without piercings, around the Resort and town

So I sorta missed "The Longest Day of the Year" post by a few days.....but we were busy!

 After a Long, Hard day at work it was time to Hit Sonic for their 1/2 price shake special on the Solstice.....and load up on some American classics..........

 Like Cheese covered Tater-Tots!

 Derick had never been to a Sonic before so this was all new to him...........

 .............Like the size of the Large Snickers Sonic Blast ordered. And look! No Piercings!!!!
(He had to take them out for work at the Resort! All part of my plan to get rid of the damm things!)

 After imbibing that many calories we hiked down to the overlook for the Glenn Canyon Dam that forms Lake Powell.

 The Stones are so unique here

 ....But watch out for that next step!!!

 In addition to working in the Pastry Kitchen Derick also has a few Breakfast shifts a week which means up at 4am to get to work............(here's a hint, He's not a "morning person")

 And then last night after getting out new Satellite Internet and Direct TV in and basically sitting around while the installers did their thing for a few hours we decided to go for a sunset drive as it was getting cooler. Ended up in the back end of nowhere, but it was still pretty cool.

 And around the resort life continues as normal........at least Normal for here........

And someone really likes their Mum and Dad....(all this set up for their arrival)

Back to work for me!
Have an Amazing Day!!
Cb

Derick Arrives, Chef Davide, His wife and a Trip to Zion National Park!

So, Mamma Was was of course Right, Derick is working at Amangiri for the summer!!!

On the Plus side for all of us he will have to take out all his piercings at work so I should be able to get some pictures of him without all the "bling"!

 Here is Derick with his first look at Lake Powell At Walweap right down from my apt, Yeah, it's so beautiful he was like speechless for a minute.

 So, We flew Derick into Saint George UT, Which is about 3 hours away from the resort, (and A LOT cheaper then flying direct to Page) but on the way back you can drive right through Zion National Park. Just for kicks I invited Chef Davide and his wonderful wife to join us, since she just arrived for a visit and HE had not gotten away from the resort for like two weeks. Needless to say we had an amazing time!

 Unlike when I was there as a kid the "scenic" route is now a shuttle only route that bypasses the main road, where shuttles run between all the major stops every 7 minutes.  The view from the shuttles themselves are amazing..........

 ............but getting dropped off and going for hikes is even better!!!

 The scenery is utterly amazing............

 ..............and evidently in Davide's case a little romantic. (His Wife and him are SOOOO Cute!)

 We did two hikes and the second was my favorite, because we got to walk up a narrowing canyon, partially in the stream that is named "The Virgin" River.

 Lots of Sticks are left at the beginning of the trail for eager hikers to make their way upstream

 Almost but not quite.......so no shots of Derick or Davide slipping into the river. We all made it through Dry!

 Even me........damm, look at my tan!!

 Climbing out on rocks for even more pictures!

 And then on the drive home at about 6000-7000 feet the stone formations are really cool

 And we even saw some bighorn Sheep. (Expand the photo and look carefully right in the middle of the one bellow. There were to many cars to stop right down by them.)

So, now that I have a traveling companion expect a lot more trips around this amazing part of the country!

Have an Amazing Day!

CB!!