The Grand Canyon

The morning sun in the desert is hot, especially when it’s beating down on your tent.  We went to sleep in cool comfort and awoke a sweaty mess. At 8 am, this does not put one in the best mood, but we pushed through it because we knew something that would exceed both our expectations was before us.

Before heading out on our adventure for the day, we ate breakfast at The Road Kill Café.  The menu items had great names.  For instance, Josh and I both had the Awesome Possum, which was a regular breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast.  The best part of breakfast were the signs on the way in explaining that fire arms were not allowed in the establishment.  I keep forgetting that I’m in the West.

After breakfast, Josh needed more film for his camera, so with some advice from the locals we headed to Williams, AZ.  Sure enough there was film available in the grocery store there.  It’s becoming harder and harder to come by this stuff in these days.  We’re hoping that when we get home there will still be a place to get it developed.

The trip to The Grand Canyon was about 90 miles from our campsite.  This can be a grueling task on one-lane highways with all types of buses and RV’s and tourists! It was worth it.  The view from Mathers Point is... ridiculous is the only word I can muster.  I had no idea it was going to be so spectacular (I found another word).  The elevation and the distance you can see out into the vastness of Arizona are things I cannot describe in words.  The pictures speak for themselves.

As travelers at this point, we have become incapable of staying on the recommended paths the NPS has established.  We are adventurers and had to climb down onto all types of cliffs.  Nothing too “Cliffhanger,” but at a few points I could see things going terribly wrong. 

Of course the day we go to The Grand Canyon it rains, no better yet, pours!  We walked to the car to change our clothes and eat a sandwich.  The bad weather gave us an opportunity to explore the various gift shops and visitor centers which are filled with a plethora of information the canyon itself and the people who have come to be synonymous with the exploration of the canyon.   It’s cool. I myself wondered what it must have been like to stumble upon such a wonder as The Grand Canyon.  

This entire trip has brought us to places we’ve only seen in books and postcards and on The Discovery Channel.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined being given the opportunity to see three National Parks, never mind seeing them all in one week.  I am truly blessed and humbled by this experience and hope that our journey, though it is not over, will inspire you to see this amazing country that we have the privilege to live in.