Author Archives: John Rintoul

Watchtower Whimsy

Shortly after leaving Cameron Trading Post we had our first encounter with the Grand Canyon at Desert View Watchtower. To our seacoast-trained eyes, the watchtower looked like a long-abandoned lighthouse set to warn travelers down the Colorado River that ‘here … Continue reading

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Heading across the Navajo Reservation to the Grand Canyon

Saturday morning we headed out of Sedona to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped at the Oak Creek Overlook so that we could look back down the mountain at the switchback road that we had just traveled. At … Continue reading

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Kaibab Trail down into the Grand Canyon

Sunday morning after breakfast we headed to the Kaibab trailhead. The trail takes hikers down into the canyon for over seven miles. There is no water along the trail. In places the trail is steep and it is easy to … Continue reading

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Bright Angel Lodge on the Rim of the Grand Canyon

We arrived at Bright Angel Lodge in Grand Canyon Village around 4:00 and checked into our cabin. The cabins are historic and formerly “rustic.” They are extraordinarily small by today’s MacMansion standards. Fortunately the bathrooms have been updated to 21st … Continue reading

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Our Evening in Flagstaff

We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Flagstaff, Arizona to catch the train to Los Angeles. Half way between Grand Canyon Village and Flagstaff we got a call from the station agent in Flagstaff. The Southwest Chief – originally … Continue reading

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And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

Our day began bright and early. We boarded the train for Los Angeles at 12:01 a.m. – two hours after its originally scheduled departure. The porter showed us to our room in the sleeper car. Our room included a bath … Continue reading

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Heading to San Luis Obispo on the Coast Starlight

Stepping off the Southwest Chief in Los Angeles we were told that we had about ten minutes before we were scheduled to board the Coast Starlight for our journey up the coast. We had originally hoped to have at least … Continue reading

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The Goldilocks Conundrum

Around 4:00 we arrived in San Luis Obispo, referred to as SLO by the locals. At the rental car office the National rental agent proudly announced that he had upgraded us from the intermediate size car that we had reserved … Continue reading

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Tuesday evening, Joey and Sam drove up from Paso Robles to have dinner with us at Indigo Moon in Cambria. It was wonderful to have more time to visit with them. We were very happy that they took the time … Continue reading

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We headed north to Paso Robles to have dinner with my nephew, Joey. He and Sam, his girlfriend/partner in merriment had just moved in to their new house two weeks ago. We were stunned at how organized, decorated and fully … Continue reading

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