9:40 am: I'm heading out of town, a little sad at leaving Tucson, I don't feel like I've had enough. If Mark hadn't left for Chile, maybe I would have stayed longer. But no final lap, no final taste, no final impression for future reference, just drop some postcards in a mail bin and back onto Rte. 10 North to Flagstaff and Grand Canyon.

2:50 pm, Flagstaff, 6960': Drove straight from Tucson to Flagstaff and stopped in desperate need of coffee and food. I couldn't tell which the lack of was affecting me more. I assumed it was coffee. After three days of sketchy coffee, I treated myself to a Starbucks from inside a Safeway.

6100', Rte. 180 to the Grand Canyon: Rte. 180 is absolutely gorgeous. The road already peaked out at about 8000'. It's so weird being here after the Sonoran desert of Tucson. Just hours and all of a sudden the climate and the landscape are completely different, sort of the way the fauna and vegetation changed climbing Mt. Lemmon. I don't know if this is considered mountain or high plains. I must say that I like being on the road more than exploring any single place, trying to figure out what's where and what to do. Sometimes I think company would be nice, but all in all I'm fine doing this solo.

7:00 pm, Grand Canyon: Ah, money takes care of everything. I waffled a bit on what I should do, but there really wasn't much choice, I needed to stay overnight. But when I found the only lodging left would cost a hundred bucks, I took pause. But then it was what the hell, that wasn't totally outrageous. So I got a room for the night, and oh what a nice room it is. It smells like a new house with that wood, paint smell. The first thing I did was pump up and hop on my bike and ride around Grand Canyon village and back out to Mather's Point, the first viewpoint of the Grand Canyon. We've all seen photos and posters of the Grand Canyon, we all know what it looks like, but there's nothing like that first actual, first-hand look, absorbing the size and scope of the thing.

The plan is to wake up early tomorrow morning and ride the 23 miles to Desert View and back, shower and check out and spend a little more time here before heading out.