Theresa · Mather

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is much closer to us than the more frequently visited South Rim, so it's where we go most often. It's higher than the South Rim, and heavily forested. The lodge closes for the year on October 16 although the park stays open until the snow seals it in for the winter, or November 30, whichever comes first. We decided to get a final visit in before the lodge closes.
At this time of year, we were expecting autumn color. We never expected to see the elusive park buffalo, which used to keep to the back country, yet there some were right past the park gates. Judging by the number of "chips", they come to this field frequently.

We saw lots of animals, including about 40 wild turkeys, grouse, deer and a rare kaibab squirrel, which is a large charcoal grey squirrel with a black belly and white tail.The regional deer population is teeming- we saw tons of them all the way back from the park.
( More pictures, clicky here )

Today's Route 66 trip meandered through Albuquerque and then into various tribal lands. Albuquerque is filled with lots of classic "Pueblo Deco" style buildings, a fusion of art deco and pueblo elements. There are lots of old buildings of all types, and new ones designed to fit the theme. It would be easy to spend days exploring and taking pictures. We did neither and settled for a drive by tour.
Next, we traveled through Laguna and Acoma tribal lands, where they don't want photographs or even sketches taken. We respected that, of course, and didn't take any.
We had lunch at Canton Cafe, a Chinese restaurant that dates back to 1956 in Grants, NM. It was quite tasty, and busy.


Then it was on to the border of Navajo lands and Arizona, where a billboard invites you to enjoy scenic Indian lands and get out your camera.
We stopped at this gift shop, which features "the largest tee pee in the Southwest."


( More under the cut including DINOSAURS! )