Road Trip Daily

All the signs at Grand Canyon warn you not to hike down to the river and back in one day , and I wasn't going to attempt it, in fact I was going to leave GC early and not hike down into the canyon at all. Then I read Bills suggestion of the South Kaibab trail and decided I should just go for it. The weather was ideal, this is the perfect time of year, 60s on the rim and 70s in the canyon and fewer tourists to degrade the beauty.  Starting down the trail later than hoped  at 8am , I basically ran down the canyon, passing folks left and right. Halfway down I slowed up as my knees began to cry. My hiking poles helped lessen the beating but the banging of knees on the way down was the hardest part of the hike for me-- the up was easier as I've been training and hiking for a while now. But Bill did not lie about the beauty of the South Kaibab. The views were expansive and the trail easy to hike despite being down down down.  If I wasn't feeing strong and my progress slow I was...

If I could change one thing about my road trip plan so far, I would've bought the van in North Carolina months in advance, got it insured, checked out metchanically and converted to a camper before setting out on the road trip. The van stuff has been a bit of a hassle-- but it has worked out int he end.  I drove five hours from Phoenix to Las Vegas on Tuesday in order to pick up my official proof of automobile purchase from the Hertz Dealer and get my car registered at the Nevada DMV. The last step to a legit legal Nevada vehicle.  I wanted to get the DMV registration done that day but would've had to wait in line all night to be seen. So I got a cheap hotel in vegas, lost $100 gambling at poker:(, and got an early spot in line to get the van registered. A family friend's address would serve as my Nevada address. After resolving a minor issue with my Nevada insurance, I got my Nevada plates, paying $434 in fees--thieves.  I drove to Walmart and bought a plug and play Siri...