After two days and more than 25 miles backpacking across Grand Canyon Esplanade, where temperatures exceeded 95°F, we were ready for something a little less strenuous. And cooler.
What better way to get both of those things than wandering - or in our case, hobbling - into a lava tube that's often sporting a little ice in the back corners, even on the hottest of days!
Having made the decision to high-tail it out of camp in search of a soft bed, warm shower, and nachos at one of our favorite eateries, we had several hours of wheeled travel ahead of us. I figured that a little more - detouring to Paiute Cave - was worth it, since I'd really enjoyed my first visit and wanted @mrs.turbodb to see some of the most colorful pictographs I've ever encountered. Plus, this time I wouldn't have to worry about getting stuck in the mud or snow as we navigated the remote roads to reach this special spot!
Naturally, my feet sore, liberal use of the skinny pedal was all I could muster, there were no photos of the journey.
It's strange to find a logbook out here, but funding to protect these places is based partly on our public agencies understanding of how many people are visiting.
Into the depths.
Descending into the cave was a mixed bag. After our hiking ordeal and then sitting in the Tacoma for a while, the walking part itself was both difficult and painful. Hopping from rock to rock, balancing - things we usually take for granted - were a chore. And boy, was it cold. If you'd told me I'd be wishing I'd worn a puffy just two hours earlier, I'd have laughed out loud. Still, if I hadn't been so sore, I would have definitely gone back to the truck to get one!
Of course, all of that was offset by the brilliance of the pictographs! There aren't many here, but the red and yellow pigment - untouched by sunlight and so not at all faded by time - is fantastic. We each wondered at them for a while before @mrs.turbodb headed back up to the warm evening air as I wrapped up a few photos.
These faint figures at the entrance were probably once just as bright as the rest. (left) | Yellow man. (right)
Dripping rainbow.
Back wall bullseye.
Main panel.
Three different designs.
Man on the grass.
Legless.
Golden armor.
Ultimately, we only spent about 15 minutes at the cave, the cool temps chasing us back to the surface and toward the tasty treats we knew awaited us once we reached civilization. We were in no rush, at this point, as the clock in the Tacoma read 4:55pm; plenty of time for eateries to still be open. What we didn't realize - until about twenty minutes later - was that the clock was two hours slow! I'd forgotten to move it forward for Daylight Savings Time and of course both Utah and Arizona were another hour ahead of our usual Pacific Zone wanderings.
A newer vehicle would probably take care of this automatically, which I'd call just another good reason to keep the Tacoma!
There was only one solution once we did realize that it was getting late: speed. The roads we were travelling were in splendid condition - either recently graded or lightly travelled or both - and with the Kenda Klever RTs aired down to 18psi and the ADS + Chevy 63 leaf springs nicely tuned to our mode of travel, we easily pushed speeds of 60+ mph. Or whatever the speed limit was. We definitely didn't go faster than the speed limit.
Canaan Mountain signals a return to civilization.
Ultimately, we made it to our tasty taco spot with only a few minutes to spare. Splitting a plate of carne asada nachos with a generous slathering of guacamole was a great start to the end of our day. Showers followed not long after, and then it was time to climb into bed. Only this last part was a little disappointing; the well-worn mattress was no match for the Exped in the CVT. Setup on a cliff on a cliff - on the edge of the Grand Canyon - would have been so much comfier!
The following morning...
I suppose we slept in a little, but probably not as much as we should have. I realized that the parking lot would be the perfect place to do a minor adjustment to my alignment - something that's been going out more and more regularly and will require a bit of thought when I get the Tacoma home for the summer - as long as I got it taken care of before the sun started baking the place to a crisp.
So, even before heading to breakfast - we're suckers for the waffles at a Best Western - I pulled out a couple of long wrenches I'd brought exactly for this purpose, and quickly got the skid removed so I could get the alignment squared away.
These two 16" long beasts - made by either toolant or FLKBOX, depending on which side of the wrench you happen to be looking at, or which door in the factory they came out of - made quick work of the alignment job!
After another shower and breakfast, it was time to wander off into the wild again. I'd found a reference to some petroglyphs that seemed intriguing, and with nothing else on the docket for the day - we'd planned for a leisurely departure from the North Rim, and a few stops along the way back to Las Vegas - we steered the truck back onto dirt roads and headed in the right direction.
The right direction always benefits by getting a little flexy.
Climbing up the shallow slope of a 1,000-foot-tall anticline, I figured we were approaching the petroglyphs from the back side, and that we'd have to find a weakness in the headwall to make it around to the face of the cliff. But no! As I wandered my way along the edge - looking for somewhere to shimmy down - I noticed the glyphs were easily viewable, right on the point of ridge. Yay!
Bear tracks.
The real gem though was right around the corner. Here, where a chunk of sandstone slab had fallen, someone had spent a good deal of time etching features into the freshly exposed surface, hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Artsy alcove.
That bear made it around this way, too!
Only one with dots.
Sandstone sunstar.
A closer look at the main panel.
As with the Paiute Cave, this little adventure hadn't taken much time, and after pondering what to do with the rest of our day, we ultimately decided that relaxing in the shade at a local park would suit us just fine. And, it would allow us a final trip to the taco shop, for another round of nachos!
So. Yum.
And with that, we headed back toward Las Vegas. Our flight wasn't until way-to-early the following morning, so we hunkered down in a spot we've used before near the Muddy Mountains, another great trip in the books!
The Whole Story
