Day 7 - Doctor, Pharmacy and journey to the Grand Canyon

[fillmore]

My bites were still massive and had blisters on top of blisters so we decided to see a doctor. I have had bad reactions before in Italy and needed antibiotics so didn't want to head off to the remote Grand Canyon and need a doctor then. I made a quick call to our travel insurance to explain the problem whilst DS and DH went for breakfast. We set off to the Flagstaff NextCare Urgent Care recommended to us by the Front Desk at the Sonesta. We were lucky to arrive with only one person in front of us and it didn't take long before I was seen.

DS and DH had gone to the supermarket next door to get sweets for the journey and left me holding DS's sticker books. The triage nurse called me through then asked if I liked Lego Ninjago! DS found this hilarious when I told him. The triage nurse and doctor were amazed that I'd managed to get bitten and explained that Lowell Observatory was the only place where it could have happened! The doctor gave me instructions to dose up on Benedryl and sent me off with a prescription for topical steroid cream. He also drew around my bites so I could tell if they were getting bigger. I looked like a walking target practice! I was very impressed with the doctors ($200!)

The prescription had been sent electronically to a local pharmacy so we had a coffee and breakfast for me as I hadn't eaten at the hotel. It must have taken an hour to fill the prescription! We were clock watching as we hadn't packed and needed to check out by 12. We made it back to the hotel at 12 and explained we needed more time to check out. This wasn't a problem so we could relax a bit. DS was desperate to use the pool so once we had packed the car and returned our key he splashed around for a bit before we headed off on our journey. The benedryl and steroid cream had kicked in so I was feeling more comfortable too.

Our first stopping off point was the Cameron Trading Post. We bought a few gifts in the shop and bought DS a book called "Who pooped in the park?" about tracking animals in the parks which he devoured. I had my first taste of frybread at lunch when I ordered the Navajo Taco. The portions were huge and I didn't do it justice really. I know it's a really touristy place but we enjoyed our lunch and a wander round all the gifts.

Onwards towards Grand Canyon North Rim. The scenery was amazing. I had never really appreciated how vast the US is until this trip.

Our next stop was Marble Canyon. It was hot here! You could feel the heat through the soles of your shoes! DS was not impressed with the eco-friendly composting toilets!

After a few photos we were on our way, heading for the penultimate stop of the day...Jacob Lake. This is DS's name so he was very excited to see a lake named after him...despite there being no lake in Jacob Lake!

The inn had a good selection of gifts and you could eat at the bar area or the restaurant. We chose some cookies and headed on for our final destination for today - the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The drive was spectacular, passing through forests and fields with bison! There was one section in particular that was very eerie as all the trees appeared to be dead. We thought maybe it was storm damage. The bison were amazing to see although some other visitors were parked in very dodgy places to view them.

We came to the Grand Canyon as DS wanted to see it. DH and I had been to the South Rim years back and we were both underwhelmed by it. The view of the North Rim took my breath away. You are so close to it at the Lodge and even in the car parks you are steps away from the rim. It is certainly worth the journey and whereas I wouldn't go back to the South Rim I would certainly come here again.

We watched the sunset then headed for the lodge for our dinner reservation. We really enjoyed our meal and DS declared it 'the fanciest place he'd ever been to!' We headed back to the cabin (well I speed walked to avoid being out in the dark any longer than I needed to as I had developed a bit of an irrational fear about getting bitten again) and looked forward to seeing more of the North Rim.

Tomorrow: a hastier than planned exit from the North Rim

[tclaireh]

Great pics, I totally agree about the South & North rim difference, a friend at work suggested the North after we did the usual helicopter trip to the South on a previous trip. Although a long way from Vegas it was so worth it! 👌