The Grand Canyon

We departed Panguitch Utah and made our way south to Arizona, crossing the Glen Canyon Dam before making our way, in heavy rain, to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. We stopped just inside the park during a break in the rains to see what information we could get at the visitor’s center (yay RV parking!). We then walked over to the Desert View Watchtower and did not expect to see very much since the clouds were hugging the ground. But with a little patience, the clouds cleared for a short period and I was able to get an interesting photo of the eastern canyon peaking through the clouds, before they closed in again.

We jumped back into the truck and continued another 40 minutes to our camping spot in the Kaibob National Forest to get ready for the next two days at this iconic National Park.

The next day we headed back into the Park and parked Ruby at the main Visitor’s Center near the south entrance and used the park shuttle system to make our way out to Pima Point. The road out to the western side is closed to private vehicles, so the shuttle was a necessity, and I was happy not to be driving. After taking some photos, we started hiking back east on the Rim Trail.

CA and I were both pretty dumbstruck by the view. It is difficult to describe the immense scale of the terrain. While the canyon does not have any of the very unique vertical structures we saw in Arches and Bryce Canyon, the shear scale of the Grand Canyon is in a league of its own.

The next day we again parked at the Visitor’s Center, then walked to a different section of the Rim Trail and went to the Yavapai Museum of Geology. Perched right on the edge of the canyon, it had tremendous views and some interesting exhibits on the geologic history as well as the people involved with the early explorations and mapping of the canyon. After walking a little further along, we inspected headstones in the Pioneer Cemetery, then drove out the east road to stop at viewpoints now that we were not pulling the trailer along.

Though our stop was brief, it was still a very enjoyable one. I have very vague memories of seeing the Grand Canyon as a young kid, but I did not have the experience then to appreciate the grandeur that the canyon truly is. Such a journey this has been.

We have arrived in Cottonwood Arizona to just sit and relax for four weeks. See you in a month when we head in to New Mexico to visit the Aliens in Roswell.