Kolb Studio and Residence

Ellsworth and Emery Kolb built this studio and home clinging to the edge of the canyon. They photographed the canyon and the people who took the mule ride down the Bright Angel Trail. They were adventurers, the first to make a movie of a boat trip down the Colorado River in 1912. Doug and Terry gave us a tour of their residence which is only open to private tours. The Grand Canyon Association bookstore where they work occupies the top floor of this wonderful building. They also have an exhibit area where they play the Kolb brothers video and have wonderful displays. The view from the windows is amazing, both in the store and residence.

The following rooms were left in the original condition when the house was restored.

This is the dark room.

 This is their studio.

 This is the famous window where they photographed the mule riders near the top of the trail.

 Our photo from the famous window.

 The Kolb studio.

The studio is at the top right corner. The brothers took daily trips down to Indian Garden, four and a half miles down the trail, three thousand feet below the rim. This was the only source of clean water so they could develop the pictures which they sold to the tourists. 

Grand Canyon National Park with Friends

We decided to visit the Grand Canyon again, as it had been 23 years since our last visit. Also our good friends are working in the park, which gave us another reason. Our first day here we had a few showers, which made for interesting views of the canyon.

Steve, Terry, Kris, & Doug. It's great spending time with friends. 

Our campsite in the Kaibab National Forest, about a mile from the south entrance. Very quiet and dark here. A few elk wander by from time to time and the hummingbirds are frequent visitors to the feeder.

Paradise Casino Yuma, AZ

We spent about a week in the large RV parking lot behind the Paradise Casino near Yuma. We had road runners wander by every day.

We came home one day in late afternoon to find this brush fire, which was a little too close for comfort. We found out the next day that it was about one mile from where we were parked. We didn't go to bed until we saw that they had it under control. Larry took these pictures from our door.

Visiting Christopher

About a month ago we met our son, Christopher, in Corona, California for lunch. We wanted to meet with him again before heading further east and north. We drove from our temporary desert home near Sidewinder Rd to meet him, following mostly two lane roads. The first part of our route took us along the northern side of Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The early morning sun created wonderful shadows on the dunes.

After our lunch we took a walk along this interesting walkway behind the restaurant.The cover was made from steel and bamboo poles.

Some outings in and around the Yuma, Arizona area

Street Festival in Yuma. Fun with bubbles.

Waiting for root beer floats at the festival, Yum!

St Thomas Indian Mission Church, Winterhaven, California. The parking lot is across the street, in Arizona.This is where we attended church.

Views from the Church

Also from the Church. Here you can see the Ocean to Ocean Bridge over the Colorado River.

The flea market in Calexico, California where they are selling just about everything. More fun time.

Ocotillo Heights

We spent some time camped out with friends near Sidewinder Rd in southeastern California. They have named the location Ocotillo Heights. The weather was wonderfully warm, with a few windy days. The sand dunes to our west brought us some dust on those days. All in all, very nice weather for February and March.

Arriving, with "Scooter" towed behind the motorhome for the first time.

This large desert tortoise wandered by one day as we were enjoying social hour.

Our friend Chico with his Mexican rider.

The campsites are nice and roomy here.

Scooter, our Toyota Echo, which is getting great mileage, 38 to 43!