I have come to the realization that it is highly unlikely that Greg will write any of our entries for this trip, and that if I continue to wait for him to do so, it might be next year until they are done. I will continue so as to not forget all the cool things we’ve seen. (He has posted every one of them on the blog site. So, not a complete slacker...)
Today was our first foray into the Grand Canyon. Our RV park is about 45-55 minutes away from the park, but is a fine spot to pivot from. Not being much for bus tours, we opted to purchase the GyPSy car tour. You purchase the tour for a very reasonable $10 and download it prior to departure. It provides interesting facts and narration as you drive at your own pace, using GPS coordinates as you go. They have these tours for other parks in the USA, and we all agreed they were a fun addition to our day.
Our first stop was the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and part of the Rim Trail for our first views of the Grand Canyon. I’m not sure what pictures or words would really do the Grand Canyon justice. It is beautiful. And large. My original plan to see the canyon from both the South rim (where we were, along with 90% of the people who visit the canyon) and the North rim (only 10% of visitors also see this vantage point) were squashed as it is a 4 ½ hour drive each way to get around the canyon, and I am just not up for a Rim to Rim to Rim hike, or any variation of that. There is no Grand Bridge. There are 2 main trails for hiking—Bright Angel Trail is the one that has a tiny bit of shade and a few water stops. Everyone says allow for double the time to hike up the canyon, as you take to hike down. I’ll wait for the bridge.
One fun note is that all along these heavily populated trails there are signs to not feed the wildlife. Please enjoy my series of photos. People, being people, largely ignore these signs and offer Cheetos and other various things to the animals—squirrels in particular. It is VERY easy to see how as many as 30 people a day require medical attention due to animal bites.
On to our car tour. There are numerous breathtaking spots to stop and view the canyon. We saw Duck on a Rock, Grandview Point, Moran Point, Lipan Point, Navaho Point, and Deset View Watch Tower. Some fun things. You can see Vishnu rock at Moran Point. Vishnu rock is located down by the Colorado River (way, way, way down), and is billions of years old. There are few ways to get to the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon—hiking (we already ruled that out), white water rafting (we were open to that but tours are mostly multiple days, and booked up), and by mule (again, overnight trips and booked up). I did once think that I would enjoy the mule ride up and down, but upon seeing the videos of those trips, I decided I wasn’t quite so adventurous after all. Plus, Kevin needs me in the RV, so I really shouldn’t be away overnight! There is limited access to the river via dirt roads but they are through an Indian reservation, and should be made with special arrangements/ tours, and are actually over an hour outside of the Grand Canyon. Oh, and another fun fact, it is generally 20-30 degrees hotter at the bottom of the canyon!
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