Day Thirty Three

Grand Canyon

The sunset last night was beautiful. The intensity of the sunlight truly brings out the richness of color in the canyon.

This morning we had an elk visit the rv. It is probably the closest I will ever be to an elk. At one point we thought the elk might walk right in.

Mom and I hiked the South Kaibab Trail to Oh Ah point. It is the same trail that the mules traverse to reach the bottom of the canyon. It was steep at parts. Here is a photo of the switchbacks at the start of the trail.

A little less than a mile later we reached Oh Ah point. The view was spectacular. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but I didn’t have the courage to step out onto the rocks any further.

We took a photo together.

The hike back was not as strenuous as we both thought. It was really neat to be inside the canyon instead of looking down into it. Here is a photo of the final switchbacks.

We went to the El Tovar Hotel for lunch. It was the most luxurious hotels built in its time with electricity, fresh water deliveries, a dairy, and greenhouses for fresh fruit and vegetables. Today, it is still the most luxurious and lunch was delicious.

Later we went to the National Geographic Grand Canyon Visitor Center to view an Grand Canyon imax. It was a great way to see what the bottom of the canyon is like, and how strong the Colorado River is.

Tomorrow we are off to Needles, California. It is a little less than half way to the Sequoia National Park.

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Day Thirty Two

Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona does not adopt Daylight Savings. Therefore, we are currently three hours behind the East Coast. It is much brighter in the morning, and dark earlier at night.  Mom and I hope to catch the sunset over the Grand Canyon tonight, which will be around 7:30pm.

Today we took the shuttle and explored Hermit’s Rest. This is the western part of the south rim that is not accessible by private vehicles. The sights were beautiful, but the canyon doesn’t seem to change that much at each viewpoint. What does change is your view of the Colorado River.

The Colorado River is running through the center of this photo. Keep in mind it is over a mile away in depth.

We had lunch at Bright Angel Lodge and took more photos outside at Lookout Point. This was a common view that the first tourists would have seen.

We took a photo outside Lookout Point.

Tomorrow, Mom and I plan to hike a little ways into the canyon. I want to see what it looks like below the rim. The daytrip mule rides into the canyon are no longer in existence. The rides now require an overnight stay in the canyon at Phantom Ranch. These reservations are made 13 months in advance.

Off to sunset tonight and a hike tomorrow!

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Day Thirty One

Bryce, Utah to Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

278 Miles

Bryce was beautiful and in the middle of nowhere. Last night we went to buy a newspaper at the general store. It is attached to a popular hotel. Mom and I searched the store and could not find a newspaper anywhere, so we asked a clerk. “We don’t get newspapers”, he replied. I thought he was joking and laughed. But a clerk beside him said she had not seen a newspaper since she arrived. We were truly in the middle of nowhere.

This morning we left for the Grand Canyon. The drive was all desert and canyons. We drove over the Lake Powell Dam and the water was extremely low. Today was our first interaction with a highway closure. Our GPS isn’t always the most reliable. Google Maps is extremely trustworthy and told us just were to go. It isn’t common to have an entire highway closed.

The Grand Canyon is breathtaking. It doesn’t even look real. It very easily could be mistaken for a mural. The park itself is the largest we’ve seen. It is huge. The best way to get around appears to be with the shuttle buses. The shuttle system is very similar to the city with color lines and directional flow.

We are staying at a campground within the park. This is our first time staying inside a National Park and it is really nice. My blog posts may be at different intervals throughout the next couple days. We have minimal cell service at the campground, and the wifi is at a market nearby.

I can’t wait to start exploring the Grand Canyon tomorrow!

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Day Thirty

Bryce National Park

Today was absolutely spectacular. We arrived at Bryce Lodge at 7:15am to check-in and see if we were going to be able to make the half-day horseback ride, as we were on standby. We were able to go and it was the best thing we could have done.

I rode Strawberry, an easy quarter horse; Mom, Red River, and it was all she could do to make it go; Dad, Ike a good mule. There were about 30 in our group, and we were divided into groups of about 10 with a guide. The ride was spectacular.

This is the view from the start.

We rode deeper and deeper into the canyon until we reached the bottom, and climbed back up the other side.

I don’t have many photos of the ride past this, as my focus was on the horse and the views. 

There are steep switch backs up and down the canyon. Some views are outstanding. One is call Devils Slide. You climb up a narrow trail between the canyon walls, ride through a small tunnel, and the amphitheater is directly in front of you.

This is a view of the amphitheater from above. We were inside this while riding. (We took these photos later.)

On the right and in the center, you can see a portion of the trail we took through the canyon.

It was an unbelievable day. We are off to the south rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

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Day Twenty Nine

Moab, Utah to Bryce, UT

265 Miles

We left Moab early this morning for Bryce. The drive was primarily desert, but much more mountainous than we expected.

The second half of the drive was pretty.

This is a water reservoir about 70 miles from Bryce.

Before entering Bryce, you drive through a portion of the Dixie National Forest. These “tunnels” were pretty neat.

We went to Bryce National Park to gather information in order to plan our day tomorrow. Originally, we were going to see Bryce and Zion, but it is going to be too much, and we would rather enjoy one park thoroughly instead of being rushed through both. With that said, we are on standby for a half day horseback ride through the most beautiful parts of Bryce. More pictures to follow.

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