Grand!

The Trip – Day 8

The Grand Canyon

48 miles

Throughout this road trip there had been a gradual building up of grandeur – first the distant sight of the Rocky Mountains, then Glenwood Canyon, Colorado National Monument, the ever-changing landscape of the Colorado and Utah roadways, culminating in the overarching...awe...some... heights of the red rocks of Zion. I didn't know what to expect from a canyon called “grand”. 

It did not disappoint. The Grand Canyon truly is grand. While the Kolob Canyons and the rest of Zion National Park overwhelms one's senses with its towering heights, the Grand Canyon overwhelms with its depths and distance and ever-changing canyons and colors. It took my brain a good part of the morning to wrap itself around the immenseness of what my eyes were seeing.

We arrived at the south rim early, got a parking spot, and started walking. Accepting that we were POACA*, we decided to stay on the relatively flat rim trails all day and not venture, even part way, down into the mile-deep canyon. The morning was jacket-cool, but the day would be in the 80s on the rim, in the 100s down in the canyon. The entire canyon was carved out by 277 miles of the Colorado River, but the “official” National Park sections consist of the somewhat remote north rim and the more popular, more touristy south rim, where we opted to visit. The south rim area of the park stretches over 30 miles along the canyon, with a mostly paved level trail running along 13 miles of that distance. A road also runs parallel to the rim, though parts of it are accessible by shuttle bus only. We headed west to that section of the park closed to cars but rich with overlooks. We had been so happy with the shuttle bus system at Zion that we left our car in the parking lot in the Grand Canyon all day and took the bus to various overlooks (There are many!) and walked between several of them along the rim trail. The park got crowded later in the day, but the Grand Canyon shuttle system was efficient, though the buses did not come quite as frequently as those in Zion. They also didn't make us feel quite as old, probably because there was more competition for the coveted front seats from other POACA**. 

The Bright Angel Trail

Though we did not venture into the canyon, we did go to a viewing area overlooking Bright Angel Trail, a popular hike down to the Colorado River. There are camping areas available in the canyon as the 15 mile or so round trip will take approximately 12 hours, and the National Park Service warns against trying to make the trip in one day. There is a small bridge over the Colorado River for those who have the days and energy to hike from the south rim to the north rim. + For us, it was enough to wander from overlook to overlook along the rim trail, just soaking in the magnificent ever-changing expanses of canyon and glimpses of river. In certain sections, we could see rafters on the Colorado River. One of the bus drivers told us that on a quiet day you could hear their screams as they go through the rapids. On the day we were there, the rafters could be seen, but not heard. My husband's paparazzi lens came through again, and we were able to capture several rafts going down the river in the canyon.

The bridge over the Colorado River down in the Canyon

Rafters on the Colorado River

View of Grand Canyon Village

The Grand Canyon has been a tourist attraction since the early 1900s and is one of the most developed national parks, with lodges, campgrounds, restaurants, markets, a train station, several museums and visitor centers. After a long day of walking and looking, we were hungry, tired, and knew the dinner choices were none back near our hotel in tiny Valle. We tried one of the restaurants in the park, in the Yavapai Lodge, and found it had great food, an informal setting and unlimited drink refills. Revived, we hopped on the shuttle again one last time before leaving, this time heading east to view the changing light in the ever-changing canyon as the sun dropped low in the sky. It was...grand... 

Evening sun in the Canyon

 

End of the day

* People Of A Certain Age

** I don't really have to explain this anymore, do I?

+ We personally know two people, ultra-marathon runners, who ran down from the south rim, up to the north rim, and back (!!!!!) in one day. They considered it a training run. Don't tell the park service...

...the Grand Canyon is a sort of landscape Day of Judgment. It is not a show place, a beauty spot, but a revelation. The Colorado River, which is powerful, turbulent and so thick with silt that it is like a saw, made it with the help of the erosive forces of rain, frost, and wind, and some strange geological accidents; and all these together have been hard at work on it for the last 7 or 8 million years. It is the largest of the 18 canyons of the Colorado River, is over 200 miles long, has an average width of 12 miles and is a good mile deep. It is the world's supreme example of erosion. But this is not what it really is. It is, I repeat, a revelation. The Colorado River made it, but you feel when you are there that God gave the Colorado River its instructions... - J.B. Priestley, from Midnight on the Desert

Nearly everybody, on taking a first look at the Grand Canyon, comes right out and admits its wonders are absolutely indescribable, and then proceeds to write anywhere from 2,000 to 50,000 words giving the full details. . . . When the Creator made it, He failed to make a word to cover it. - Irvin S. Cobb

Next:

Sun and Gun

The Trip – Day 9

Valle, Arizona – Bakersfield, California

483 miles