19 Nov Rollin’ with Karma #1 – Part II: Denver to San Diego

Tuesday – Nov 16

Given this was our first trip in the ol Karma ride, we didn’t plan too much by way of activities on the drive – aside from getting the van organized, and catching up on work when possible. One thing I immediately thought would be worth the added drive time & miles: a stop at the Grand Canyon. Neither Aaron nor myself had ever been — and taking inspiration from an episode of Parks & Recreation, where characters drive all night to wake up at the Grand Canyon – I planned and hoped our stop Monday night could be either just outside or better yet – inside the park at an overlook.

I picked one of the closest parking lots on the South Rim, close to the entrance gate we’d take. We completed the entire hour-long ascend to the park entrance in the dark, and to my delight found our chosen overlook – Navajo Point – was empty. We circled the lot and picked a parking spot with a break in the trees so we’d hopefully get an OK view in the morning. The forecast called for clouds the next day and I set my my expectations for a colored sunrise as low as possible. But I also set my alarm…

I woke up before the alarm and looked outside. Just a hint of bright pink was forming in the Eastern sky, opposite the canyon. It was still too dark to see into the canyon itself, but I shook Aaron awake anyway … “It’s HAPPENING!!!”

Dream. Fucking. Realized.

I am still in disbelief. Right time, right day, right car to get us there…  So much gratitude for getting to experience this. We basked in our early morning win for the day by taking the morning easy. We heated up some sweet potato hash we had made and froze before the road trip and topped with cheese and a hardboiled egg while we watched the canyon completely change with the growing light of the day.

We took our time on the way out of the park, stopped at another overlook or two. The views were incredible but we felt comfortable knowing this Grand Canyon experience was just the beginning, hoping to spend time hiking or rafting in the park at a later date.

We carried on our way south and west through Prescott National Forest and I reveled in my kitchen views while I made lunch on the windiest road ever — good thing I don’t get car sick!

The rest of the day was easy and uneventful as we crossed the state line into California and headed for our parking spot for the night – an easy 360 miles that day. Gaining an hour meant we had a little daylight left to do some van – arranging! With only 4 hours left to drive before San Diego, we felt great about our progress over the last 3 days and very comfortable in the van since leaving Denver.

Wednesday – Nov 17

We woke up with the sunrise, as is becoming our custom these days — and took a long morning to finish some van organization and cleaning. We hit the road about 9:30 for our final stretch down Highway 78 to San Diego!

We drove through North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area first thing in the morning, giving explanation to the sandy overnight stop we chose. The dunes were pretty massive and it was fun to drive though seeing the mountains in the distance!

The next couple hours of the drive were HOT. We drove through Anza Borrego Desert, then the Laguna Mountains of San Diego County. Lovely weather, the van drove great – and we made it into to San Diego by late afternoon. 1200 some miles, plus another 800 the van took on to get to Denver for our purchase – making 2000 miles in about 10 days on my new-to-me  1975 Ford E-250 Chateau Clubwagon — without a single hiccup or hitch.

Dream. Realized.