On 7/29 we rode to Jacob Lake, AZ and it was one of our most difficult days - 80 miles of mostly climbing. We gained about 4000 ft of elevation and experienced all sorts of weather - extreme heat in the valleys, thunderstorms and chilly weather in the mountains. The morning started with some hills and then we descended one of our biggest mesas yet (see the pics). We rode into Marble Canyon which was beautiful and then we went back up with an 11 mile climb. The change of scenery was so drastic; I couldn't get over it. We went from desert valleys to mountain forests. Being greeted by the smell of pine trees and the sound of tiny road-side streams was fabulous after the horrible heat and dryness of the desert below. We were supposed to camp at Jacob Lake (there isn't actually a lake) but we worked our magic to stay at the Inn. There was a restaurant and gift shop and some of us enjoyed what we thought would be our 'Last Dinner' before 4 more nights of camping. Beer, ice cream and pasta never tasted so good. I slept really well that night on a real bed.
Our highest elevation yet...and yes I'm wearing my uni over my jersey for easy access...Bike & Build is not a fashion show :)On 7/30 we headed 45 miles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our campsite was literally 200 feet from the edge and it was beautiful! We arrived late morning and had the rest of the day to relax and explore. I finished Harry Potter which was amazing and just hung out. Dinner crew made some great burgers and we were all looking forward to our day off. Some of us went to Point Imperial after dinner which is the highest point in all of the Grand Canyon. We couldn't see the sunset or the moonrise but the lightening storms were spectacular. It rained most of the night but thankfully we didn't get too wet in our tents. I did have one of the most terrifying experiences of my life though that night...having to pee during at thunderstorm. It was thundering and lightening but not raining too hard and I really really had to pee. I was too scared to walk all the way to the bathroom in the pitch black so I walked about five steps from our tent and popped a squat. It was the scariest 5 minutes of my life, haha.
7/31 was our day off at the Canyon and I basically did nothing. Some people got up early and hiked all day and I think they are crazy. I slept in until 6:30ish and then some of us did the 1.5 mile 'hike' to the lodge. We had breakfast buffet and ate waaaay too much per usual. Then we just lounged around on the leather couches in the room with huge windows overlooking the canyon.
I realized that when you are moving around so much, you really learn to make each place you stay a home. We literally take over the places we go. In normal life, I would never take a nap on a random couch in a tourist location. But there we were, reading, sleeping, chatting amongst all the tourists. And we definitely knew we were around tourists from all the different language we heard. Lunch was again at the lodge. I tried to be sort of healthy and eat a salad. But per my Bike and Build diet, I was still hungry and ended up getting the molten chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert. yuummm. I am going to have to learn how to eat again once I stop exercising so much! After lunch, I headed back by myself (a nice, reflective hike) to clean my bike, shower, and start to make dinner for everyone. My chore group started our week of dinner crew and we made delicious burritos at the campsite, complete with s'mores for dessert. We could see the sunset that night which was beautiful and the stars came out. I star-gazed for a while before turning in.This morning (August 1st! only 2 weeks left from tomorrow!) we woke up kind of late (6:30ish) and took our sweet time cleaning up the camp site, like normal. We had to ride back the exact same 45 miles to Jacob Lake (so the Grand Canyon was a detour, but totally worth it - although there are rumors that the North Rim isn't actually part of the true Grand Canyon?). We stopped for lunch at Jacob Lake and then rode another 40 miles to Kanab, Utah.
The ride was uneventful, kind of sad actually because I hit the Utah sign while I was riding by myself, so I had to use my camera's self timer to take a pic, haha. But so it goes. Having internet is really nice, but stressing me out too. The whole apartment searching thing is way over my head and I'm considering just stopping until I actually get there. Anyway, the rain has finally stopped and the internet is slowing (hopefully I'll get my pics up) and so I'll leave you here. Hope everyone is well :)
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