Today was really a zero day but we walked back to on-trail McDonald's for fast lunch calories. Then we continued on to buy fresh resupply food at Albertson's on Route 66 which is on-trail, too, so we are farther along than we were yesterday.

For dinner we liked Larry George's idea of the Brewery down by the train station but it would have been a long taxi ride. We settled for a short walk to Black Bart's. I ate COW while we listened to wait persons sing familiar tunes from musicals that I played. Fun.

As we walked on sidewalks beside Flag's busy streets I jumped every time a vehicle passed...the speed and noise!

A side effect of my new Leki's is that I am exercising my triceps. First they were sore. Then the soreness progressed to tri-tip stage, butchered and roasted. Now, after a day of rest, they are are triceratops, roaring. Maybe I need a gym membership again.

I forgot to mention that we are using a new fence variation in AZ that I haven't seen anywhere else. Where the trail crosses a fence without a gate a PVC tube is cut length-wise then pushed over the top barbed wire strand. We push the tube down and slide over the fence being careful of the barbs on the second strand. It's such a simple effective solution. It also keeps the horses and ATVs from passing the fence.

Early breakfast tomorrow because we

The AZT started on Flagstaff city streets, climbed up to urban trails, progressed upward to FS trails that gradually became back roads. We went from 6800' to 8800', dropped to 8000' and climbed back to 8800'.

We walked through aspen groves today. I think we saw them earlier but neither of us can remember where. We also saw tiny "handprints" in the dust that look like small raccoon prints. An elk was drinking from a tiny stream flowing across the dirt road. She wouldn't stop drinking so we could pass by her.

I think we both are excited about the Grand Canyon. We had talked about summiting Humphreys Peak but when we got to the junction to the peak we both wanted to move along on the AZT.

At tea time we were near the Snow Bowl which was our water source for the next twenty miles. Ken took our bottles and hiked the off trail mile up and back. Way to go, Ken!

We left the Ski Bowl parking lot on trail but soon ran out of trail. Our next six miles will be walking cross country on large tufts of grass, under ponderosas and aspens.

We camped under the trees above Lews Tank. When the last glow of sun was gone the coyotes sang to the small sliver of moon.

This morning's hike started cross country again. We used game trails or former roads as trail as long as they tended to go towards our next waypoint. We work so hard that time flies very quickly.

Trail, when we find it is, is a combination of roads and trail. Both just wander and we amble.

Cedar Ranch has said that hikers are welcome to get water from their corral tank. We have to go through two gates to get to it. We eat an extra bar at the corral and drink lots. Energized we dash down the road. The roads are not fenced so we are sharing pastures with cow & calves or horses or bulls.

We get desperate for a flat private camp site. The wind is still blowing so hard that it pushes me around so some shelter from the wind is also on the list. At dusk the list is narrowed down to a flat spot. The spot is just the wide spot at a road junction.

We are making the dog at Tub Ranch bark. We both remember the barking dog and his owner with a gun on the ADT in CO (the dog stopped barking after the owner fired shots) and hope for a peaceful night.

It wasn't hard to wake up because there was no shelter to shade us and the wind was still shaking the tent violently. We heard the ranch rooster crow when we started hiking.

After we walked under a powerline I still heard buzzing. Cicadas are in the junipers. I tried to shake them out so I could see them but they were only silenced.

Our water stop for the day was Lockwood tank. We couldn't see it right off so we dropped packs and split up. I went right and found the tank. Ken went left and found an old ranch house and a small corral.

In the water tank I saw many 2" black insects with rust colored wings. I guessed that they were the elusive cicadas. We also saw a hawk and elk today. Coyotes left prints several times but we didn't see them.

We didn't see Moqui Stage Station. It was off trail. From there we were on a dash to Russell Tank because it is a trailhead and has a modern outhouse.

I don't know if I explained the difference between tanks. The word refers to metal trough or a pond. Lockwood was the metal sort, Russell was the pond sort. We wanted to filter water out of the metal tank. We are still sharing with all kinds of critters but only the insects have walked in it.

So we carry water for most of the day to Russell. The trailhead has the promised outhouse and gorgeous camping AND a garbage can!

Life is good so we

We are in the Kaibab National Forest on the Coconino Plateau. That adds up to the Grand Canyon vicinity. However, we only get small brief glimpses of the rim from the forest. Our hiking seems to be through a gate, switchback down into a wash, switchback up to a gate; repeat.

We had some flat forest walking to Grandview Tower for a two hour lunch with the ranger and his wife. We really enjoyed their stories! We also picked up water that is piped then trucked to them from the north rim!

We saw more elk than cicadas today. The elk are huge and sleek, the strange weather year must agree with them.

We stopped two miles short of Tusayan (TWO see on) because our guide doesn't give information on the town. We had to walk through sage to get back into the Ponderosas to camp. We are below the rocks in the trees so it's a great site.

Coyote Chorus woke us just before daybreak. The were immediately over us on the rocks but I didn't want to stick my head out in the cold to look. It sounded like a big pack with no pups (still in the den?)

We reached town before 7 am. The trail goes into a campground with a pay phone for PocketMail. The PO is on the far side. As we walk through another camper asks if we spent the night there.

The dust is so fine and thick that we walk farther apart so as not to choke on the dust. It also seems to have jammed the pocket zipper on Ken's new pants so he can't get his Visa out. He is also carrying a Senior Pass for entry into Grand Canyon NP.

I buy our breakfast at McDonald's, one of the best stops ever. The sound system is playing chamber music that sounds just like Humboldt Chamber Music...best ever! Hello to all you fellow musicians. We eat both our breakfast and the muffin for the road so we go back to buy the third order. My shorts can go up and down now without unzipping so calories are good.

We got back on trail walking north to the GC. We don't enter and pay where the cars do. We walk through an unattended gate for free. Trying to get to the Village (PO and grocery) in one area and the permit office (BIC) far from everything is frustrating.

Grand Canyon Village: PO returned tracked mail by mistake, my telling my woes to a second clerk results in the Postmaster finding photo chips ready to be sent back to Linda. We get a room at Yavapai! It already had someone's luggage in it. We walk back, clear that up and have a room of our own! Back Country Ranger is a PCT and AT hiker. We are cleared to hike but must start no later than 4 am. A hiker express bus starts then but both stops are miles from our room. The Park Transportation Expert solved that by setting us up with a taxi to the trailhead for $11 at 3:30am. Whew!

Early dinner and bed because tomorrow we