Grand Canyon
Monday morning we got up and had breakfast at the rental house. Then we left for the trip to the Grand Canyon. We passed by the Snowbowl again (San Francisco peak) and saw some snow at the very top. Looked like maybe some of the ski runs were open now also.
We didn’t stop this time just wanting to get to the Grand Canyon. As we got close to the park entrance, the traffic was quite backed up and it took about 20 minutes to get through the gate. Who would have thought that the Monday before Thanksgiving would be so busy!! We used our Golden Pass and went right through so it was quick once we got to the window. It is a few mile drive after you go through the entrance, plus the rangers were doing a controlled burn so that slowed the traffic a little.
We finally came over one of the hills and got our first glimpse of the canyon. Parking near the canyon was a challenge and we ended up parking at a perimeter lot and hoped on the bus that takes you to various points. It was chilly as we expected, and we all dressed in layers. Once on the bus we got off in a few stops and walked towards the edge of the canyon where the overlooks (and people) were. Experiencing that first look at the Grand Canyon is something that has to be experienced to be explained. It is massive, yet it is difficult to actually gauge how far down you are looking. I think we were all in awe for the first few minutes just trying to take it all in.
Of course you would walk further along the trail and you would get more and different views!! We were at the South Rim, which we have been told is the best view. But I will have to say it was very touristy with a good amount of people. I cannot imagine the size of crowds they experience in the summer!!
There are spots where you can step out on the edge and WOW did that make my hands sweat if I got to close. Just crazy that there is no barrier from people going over the edge. Of course Jason and Jen had to drive both David and I crazy by standing at the edge for photos!!
We spent a couple of hours there and was happy that we could help Jen cross something off of her bucket list! If we went back, I think we would take the red bus trip that goes around the east side — it is a 90 minute round trip and we just ran out of time to do it this time. The South Rim is always open, but I can imagine can get pretty chilly during the winter.
After the Grand Canyon experience we headed back to the rental house in Flagstaff and decided to order food to be delivered via Uber. Kind of a nice benefit of being in a bigger city.
TIFN
Dandy Ventures 