Diamond Peak as seen in the rearview mirror as we leave our first-ever campsite next to the Colorado River.

The feeling that we are driving in the Grand Canyon makes this exit a thrilling experience.

We’ve been making frequent stops on the way out for extra photographs, so we might linger in the memories of this experience should we never again get to camp out in the Grand Canyon.

There were the remnants of three or four elk carcasses near this old cabin from hunters who decided this was as good a place as any to butcher their kill; I’ll spare you the photos of bleaching rib cages.

Trains are kind of like forests; we’ll always pause to check them out and admire just what they are. One carries beauty and delivers oxygen, while the other carries freight and delivers stuff.

Time for some hot food here in Ash Fork on Interstate 40. Our stay out next to the Colorado on Diamond Creek was a calm respite away from most everything. The only thing missing was the opportunity to jump on one of the rafts and have a short ride downriver to a trail where we could have walked back to our camp. I’m not sure something like that even exists, but I can dream.