We arrived at the Grand Canyon early afternoon on Monday and decided to go straight to the visitor's center to catch a glimpse of this masterpiece landscape. Didn't have to pay an entrance fee as Ed had obtained the Senior Pass for all National Parks several years ago and it worked!!
The visitor's center area is quite touristy, as expected, but after eating some lunch we had brought with us, we finally took the short walk to the rim of the Canyon. It did not disappoint and it's almost impossible to put into words or capture in a photograph the grandeur and sheer size of it all. We even caught a glimpse of the Colorado River (through the camera lens) as it was showing a beautiful blue/green color. The next day that same river would show a muddy brown as there had been a rain storm the previous afternoon/evening and all the sediment washes down into the river and turns it brown.
But then we set off to find our camping site, which was about 30 minutes away. Check out the blog about "glamping" for that part of the trip.
On Tuesday, we returned to the Grand Canyon mid-late morning - parked easily - and spent some time checking out the gift shop, visitor's center as well as walking a bit along the rim trail. Lots of people, lots of cameras, lots of unhappy children, but the day was shaping up to be beautiful with blue sky and hot sun.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a cafe located near the meeting point for our bicycle tour. So after lunch and checking in, we were fitted for our bike helmets and bicycles. There were six of us in the group (a family of four and us) and our bikes were loaded onto a trailer as we climbed into the van that would take us to the starting point.
We rode the Hermit Road Trail, stopping at least 5 times for photos and informational chats by our two guides. So glad we did this tour. You're riding your bikes on the same roads that the buses use so you have to stop and dismount when a bus comes along. The ride was not difficult and much of it was downhill so peddling was not necessary - braking was necessary! And we almost fell off the canyon only to be pulled to safety by our guide!
When we left the South Rim, our route heading to the Lake Powell, AZ area took us along the Grand Canyon toward an area called Desert View. So we had the opportunity to stop several places along the way for more exquisite views of the canyon. The Park Service was also doing what they call "prescribed burns" (we call them "controlled burns" at home) and it was along this route where you could see the smoky burning going on. And at one of the stops, the Alpine Hotshots were there monitoring the burning of the dead brush. So Ed had the opportunity to chat with the men - some of whom were from Rocky Mountain National Park and a couple of others were from Texas and Oklahoma. They told us that this has been an amazingly slow year for forest fires (which I would think is a good thing) which is why they were traveling around and helping out with these burns in other National Parks - pretty cool stuff!
The Desert View area had an historical 70 ft watchtower perched on the rim of the canyon. This Watchtower reflects the architecture of the ancestral Puebloans who lived in the Four Corners region. We had seen this watchtower on our bicycle tour (although it was pretty much a speck in the distance) so it was cool to be there in person and realize how far away it was located from our bicycle tour.
From there we said adieu to The Grand Canyon and headed north toward the Lake Powell, AZ area and Navajo land to visit Antelope and Cathedral Canyon - more blogs to come!!
Best photos!
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