The Grand Canyon, finally!Oct 22, 2007
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Large elk in Grand Canyon NP
| After many years of trying we finally made it to the Grand Canyon. This was Rick's first time to the Grand Canyon and I was there many, many years ago. The only way to describe it is WOW! We went to the North Rim on Saturday the 19th, it is more remote than the South Rim, is higher in elevation at around 8,000 feet and is less crowded. The Grand Canyon Lodge is located on the North Rim but unfortunately it closes in early fall because snow will begin to fall there soon. We took a short walk out to the Bright Angel Point for our first look at the canyon and it was really magnificent. We drove alittle over 200 miles to reach the South Rim on Sunday. It's amazing that the two rims are only about 10 miles apart "as the crow flies" but you have to drive over 200 miles to see them both. We entered through the east entrance and saw the Desert View first, again it was breathtaking to see. We went up into the Watchtower for a bird's eye view of the canyon. It's amazing at each stop the view was more and more spectacular. As you can see from the pictures it was cold! The wind was blowing and the temperatures were around 40. We were really surprised how crowded it was for this time of year. We heard that fall was the best time to beat the crowds, but it was really crowded, the campgrounds inside the park were full as well as several of the hotels. The main thing I remember from many years ago was walking down into the canyon with my family and the mules carrying huge packs were allowed to walk on the inside of the trail and we had to walk on the outside toward the canyon. It's funny the things that stick in your mind about the past. We throughly enjoyed our trip to the Grand Canyon, it was definitely worth the wait. We drove about 50 miles south to Williams, AZ and will spend a couple of days relaxing and seeing the area before moving on. |
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