The Grand Canyon!

Wednesday was our day to visit the Grand Canyon and, just as a disclaimer, no words or photos can do the place any justice. It's something you have to see for yourself to understand the immense scale and natural beauty. I think I'm still in awe about it nearly 24 hours after first seeing it!

We headed to the bus stop to catch the free shuttle into the park around 10:30AM, and soon enough we were on our way! One thin worth mentioning is that our hotel was right next to the airport out of which the sightseeing helicopter tours fly, so we spent our time waiting on the bus watching dozens of helicopters fly back and forth overhead - if only the tours weren't upwards of $300!

The weather dyeing the morning was mostly overcast, cool, and drizzly - we were warned by multiple bus drivers that we'd probably get wet, but we tried to keep our spirits up. We got to see an elk on the way into the park, just chilling in the woods by the road, and came to find out later that was pretty normal!

After transferring buses and making our way to the village on the rim we finally got our first glimpses of the canyon. I found it to be absolutely breathtaking, humbling, and simply awesome - it's a scale of immensity that I've never experienced before. Nearly 8,000 feet down to the river at points (with sheer cliffs of up to 3,000 feet) and 10 to 16 miles across to the north rim, it's something that makes the rest of the problems in the world seem to melt away as you stand mesmerized on the edge. According to some signs I read, the rock in the canyon was formed over 1,800 million years ago - talk about making our lives seem insignificant!

We spent most of the day - up until around 3PM - exploring the western trails leading out of the visitor center, going all the way out to Hermit's Rest before grabbing some lunch. The views got better and better as we went as the clouds started to break and sunlight began to flood onto the red, orange, and brown sandstone. We saw in many places where the mule trails led down into the canyon itself, something I'd definitely like to do te next time around!

We took tons of pictures, even a few that had Mom's stomach turning as i got too close to the edge for her comfort - sorry, Mom! By midafternoon we made our way back to the central part of the park before heading to a vantage point to the east to catch the sunset. We took the bus out to Yaki Point at the far eastern edge of the main park grounds, a large bluff that jutted out into the main canyon enough so we were able to look down th canyon to the west.

As the sun started to set it appeared that some clouds were going to block the best view but, sure enough, it popped out below the clouds for only five minutes or so before dipping below the horizon. Those few minutes were enough, though, to illuminate the western-facing walls of the canyon with bright reds and oranges. It was absolutely incredible! The sun's rays stretched out over the desert in beautiful golden strokes with puffy white clouds and blue skies above - such a beautiful sight, and something I'd recommend to anyone to try and see in their lifetime.

Catching the bus back into the town we had the joy of watching a herd of elk crossing the road right in front of us! There were a good two dozen or so females and calves being reared up by one HUGE bull elk - so cool! It was a great end to the day having seen so many awesome sights. We grabbed some Wendy's on the way in - I know, classy dinner - and headed back to the hotel to catch some rest.

Grand, indeed.

(photos forthcoming in a post later today once we arrive in La Jolla!)