Day 8 - Ooh Eeh Ooh Ah Aah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang

Jim standing on point of Ooh Aah Point

Today we left the Grand Canyon and headed to Flagstaff after one last hike.  We actually left the Grand Canyon a day earlier than scheduled because we felt we really did everything we wanted to do, which was hike along the rim, try to see the stars, see the sun rise (I wasn’t going to fight people for a spot for sunset photos), and hike down below the rim.  

Our day started early, because Jim got up at 4:15 AM due to us going to bed super early the night before due to being up since 1:45AM the previous day.  This allowed us to pack the Crosstrek up and check out of the hotel by 5:30 AM, and drive over to the visitors center to catch the shuttle bus over to Kaibab Trailhead. Kaibab Trail is the “fast” way down into the canyon because it is steep and has fewer switchbacks. Most people if they are going down and up will go down Kaibab and up Bright Angel which is long because it has a more gentle climb.  Kaibab Trail is also how you get to Ooh Aah Point, which is 2 miles round trip (there and back) and about a 600 ft elevation change.  For reference the canyon ridge sits at 7,260 ft above sea level.  We did the hike to Ooh Aah Point in about 2 hours, quick down, slow up with stops for water.  It is a nice view from the point and a decent hike.  You just have to be cautious mule poop along the trail as the mules use this trail to go down.  After the hike we hopped the bus back to the visitor center.  We stopped at the gift shop to pick up a last minute item and then it was on the road to Flagstaff.

Ooh Aah Point (yes we went OOOH AAAH when we got there)

View from Ooh Aah Point

We did not eat breakfast before the hike, so we stopped in the town of Tusayan, about 10  minutes from the park entrance for breakfast.  We ate at the Foodie Club, which was decent, and a bit better than the food inside the park.  All the food at the restaurants inside the park seemed to come out lukewarm, not hot.  The breakfast sandwiches and potatoes we had at the Foodie Club were hot and had a good flavor.  From there it was on to Flagstaff, which was only about 2 hours away. 

When we arrived in Flagstaff we couldn’t check into our hotel right away, because it was only 10:30AM.  So we went to the Lowell Observatory and did one of their tours.  The Lowell Observatory was founded by Percival Lowell over 125 years ago.  They still use his original 24-inch Clark Refractor telescope, and that telescope was also used by NASA to help land people on the moon.   This observatory was also chief in discovering the planet Pluto in 1930. Pluto will always be a planet to me, even if the international scientists demoted it to a dwarf planet.  On the tour we got to see the original telescope, which is still in use.   From there it was on to lunch at Freddie’s and checking into the hotel.

Original Clark Refractor Telescope

We decided not to do anything after checking into the hotel. We had to make a Walmart run to pick up some rubbing alcohol to get some goo off the windshield.  We originally thought it was a chip, but no it was just some clear sticky goo that looked like a chip from inside the car.  Since we weren’t going to do anything else I picked up a cheap swimsuit from Walmart and went to the pool for a bit.  I was the only one at the pool so I just floated around and relaxed, while Jim stayed up in the room and read.  

Tomorrow we head back to Albuquerque.