While we waited...

After numerous phone calls, both to my regular bike shop in LA and the local Yamaha dealer, we came to the conclusion that repairs at this point would, in effect, cancel the rest of our trip. After much consideration, we've decided to make other arrangements. I will leave it up to you to figure out what we did. Suffice it to say that the trip is still on, although an abbreviated version.

Originally, we were planning on spending just 3 nights in the Grand Canyon. After the Roadrunner died, I registered us for a week, hoping
that will be enough time to decide on and implement a plan of action. The Thursday was wasted making calls - as far as the bike was concerned. It wasn't all work and no play by any means!

We did some hiking and even saw a mule team being brought from Phantom Ranch, the campground at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The mules are used both to carry cargo down to Phantom Ranch and to bring up people. If you want to hike down, then get a mule ride back up, you need to make reservations close to a year in advance.

Even if advance notice was not required, I don't think I would try a mule. Some of those trails are about a foot wide. And those mules are just a tad wider than that! They say mules are very sure-footed but I saw some stumbling and sliding going on. I'd rather fall by myself that with 600lbs of mule wanting to land on me.

We saw chipmunks and elk walking right through the campsites, and the ever-present and super obnoxious ravens. They literally take the lids off foam coolers and steal food. And those suckers are huge!

Oh, on the trail to Ooh Ahh Point (hey, I didn't name it!), Dennis made a friend. To that squirrel, Dennis fingers looked like Cheetos. It actually grabbed a finger and tried to nibble on it!

We actually went lower than Ooh Aah Point, which, by the way, is very aptly named. We made it almost to Cedar Point before we decided to turn back. That was roughly 2.5 miles, with an elevation change of about 1000 feet. 

Of course, not everything was fun and games. We also took time to do laundry... and take real showers. The showers were an interesting experience for YoManBob. No, I don't mean that. He's familiar with the concept of showering. The water bill can vouch for that. 

YoManBob was not familiar with the concept of timed showers. You put in your quarters, the shower starts flowing and 8 minutes later - bam! - water shuts off. No warning. Not even a trickle left. So YoManBob, not wanting to get stuck sudsy and without extra quarters, took a really fast shower... then spent the next 4 minutes just standing around in the warm shower, waiting for it to shut off.

Let me clarify, all of us did the exact same thing. We washed as fast as possible, then relaxed. None of us dared re-wash ourselves for fear of running out of time. And, to add an element of excitement to it, some of the showers actually ran longer than others. So, if you happened to pick a short-timed one...