The GRAND CANYON

Monday afternoon we headed north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We arrived at the east entrance around 4pm and registered at the Desert View campground. The lady at the visitor's center was especially nice and said she thought we happened upon the best way to see the park -- from east to west. We walked to the Watchtower which is a very cool stone building with a tower from which we got our first spectacular view of the canyon, and we walked a little ways east along the rim. Saddened by word of the death of our friend, Tom Geyer, we retired to our campsite early.

Tuesday morning we drove west along Desert View Drive, towards Grand Canyon Village and the main Visitor Center, stopping at several overlooks along the way. At the Visitor Center we watched the park film. From there we took the free shuttle bus to the outskirts of Grand Canyon Village and started hiking along the paved Rim Trail west of the village. We walked about 2 miles along the rim until we reached Powell Point where we caught another shuttle bus and rode to Hermits Rest with several stops to take in the view along the way.

Of course the views of the canyon were awesome and impossible for me to capture with the camera. The weather was perfect, warm with a nice breeze. At the end of the route (Hermits Rest), we caught another shuttle bus and returned to our vehicle parked at the Visitor's Center. Along the way we saw several mule deer and elk grazing along the road in various spots. It was a long day and by the time we got settled in at the Mather Campground and had our coin operated showers ($2 for 8 minutes) we were ready to crash for the night. We heard animal sounds, including an elk bugling, after dark. Kinda neat:)

 

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