May 7, 2017

May 7, 2017

With cool nights, I chose to sleep outdoors on a cot with Aimee in the tent next to me.  Right above me shined the Big Dipper.  When I awoke in the middle of the night, I was amused to find the constellation had revolved 90°. Without consulting a watch, I knew I had been asleep exactly six hours or one quarter of a day.

Despite being in paradise, three days of camping is our limit.  We are ready for showers and a nice bed.  We begin the long process of returning.  We are up at the twilight of dawn to pack up.  After dropping our bags at the corral, we start the 10-mile hike.  In Supai, we see a long line of people hoping to get the few helicopter rides out of the canyon.  It is not expensive but apparently it is first come-first serve.  By luck, today is cloudy and unseasonably cool making the uphill grueling hike a piece of cake.  We complete it in 4.5-hours.  Surprisingly our bags arrive by horse shortly after.  Despite what I had read on the Internet, the Havasupai turned out to be very friendly and good at keeping their tourist operation running efficiently.

The hardest part is now the 6.5-hour drive home.  We have stop for cokes and coffee to stay awake.