The Grand Canyon, North Rim

      I have never been to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  So I definitely did not want to pass by without seeing it.  We live in an age where superlatives are thrown around so easily.  But the canyon is beyond that in its size and beauty.  It is simply grand.

The Great South West

     We left Albuquerque and took Interstate 40 to Gallup, New Mexico.  At Gallup we jogged north to Highway 264 at Window Rock.  Highway 264 heads west through the Navajo Nation.  We spent the night in Tuba City.

The next morning we headed west to Lee's Ferry where we rode across the New Navajo bridge and walked across the old one.  From 1872 to  well after 1928, when the Navajo bridge was built, Lee's Ferry was the only place to cross the Colorado River between Needles, California and Moab, Utah.

       The Vermilion Cliffs extend for miles along Highway 89.  They are the second step of the Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau.  The five steps are Chocolate Cliffs, the Vermilion Cliffs, the White Cliffs, the Grey Cliffs and the Pink Cliffs.  Sounds like I'll be planning some more trips to see the other cliffs.  Don't worry I'll post the photos as soon as I take them.

Aunt Ruffio's House

     Marie's great Aunt Ruffio built a two story adobe house in the town of Valecitos high in the mountains of New Mexico.  The house was built around 1880. Marie has always wanted to see the house so we rode into the mountains above Santa Fe.

Aunt Ruffio built the house with her own hands and the construction is quite remarkable.  The walls are over two feet thick which was probably necessary to carry the weight of the second story.  Marie's cousin Rufus lived in the house as a boy and remembers the house to be warn in winter and cool in summer.

We met Maryanne Snow, who is now the owner.  She was very gracious and showed us around the house.  She no longer lives in the house and the house has fallen into disrepair, as has the little town of Vallecitos.












But it's not hard to imagine back to a time when Vallecitos was a growing little town and the house was nestled in the little valley, warm and cozy

Famous Road Signs

So, Colorado is having a half price sale on speeding tickets, right?

Leaving Sturgis

We left Sturgis on Hwy 385 and went south through the town of Custer.  In Wind Cave National Park we came across a herd of buffalo that were grazing near the road.  We stopped to take a few photos and the heard began to get closer and closer.  When they started to cross the road we decided it was time to go.