Not to bore you with our vacation photos, but the Grand Canyon is some spectacular photo op! We drove north from Williams for about one hour and only visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. We are talking about 30 miles of the park. That is the smallest part as the park follows the Colorado River from north to south and is bordered by many Reservations such as Navajo. The Norther Rim is closed at this time of year because of snow.
We stopped along the road at the many vista points and took so many pictures. The temperature was rather brisk, perhaps 50F in the hot spots and cool enough to snow in the cooler spots where we stood. Luckily we were well dressed for it, although I wish I had brought a tuque. Lord knows I’ve made enough of them in the past year!
Although the clouds were overhead and the wind was blowing, you can see from the pictures that the shadows they create only add to the mystery of the landscape. I want to acknowledge my husband for his great photography. My camera battery needed charging after the first stop, so he did most of the snapping while I just watched where I was walking. Those ledges make me so nervous!
We thought of camping in the park for the night but the price was much higher than the KOA back in Williams (and I knew they have nice hot showers in Williams). So we drove, snapped pictures, had a cup of tea at the visitors’ center and drove back south (?) to camp for the night. Before we left, I noticed an elk walking in the parking lot. Then there were several, a whole heard in fact. Great way to end our visit!
The overnight temperature will probably drop below freezing, so we will rug up and stay cozy. Tomorrow, we are headed to Las Vegas. Never been there either.
A word of advice if you are planning to visit the Canyon, this is the best time of year as the summer crowds are very large. The Grand Canyon gets over 5 million visitors a year. I can imagine long line ups into the park, reservation only camping, and trying to look over someone’s shoulder to see the canyon. So take my advice. Come during the winter. It’s seems like a perfect vacation for March break.
Beautiful photos. There are some places in the world that you just know about and never imagine you’ll visit and this is one of them. I hope we do get to see it one day. Good advice too, about visiting out of high season. The snow is pretty along the ledges. Looking forward to seeing Vegas with you.
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Yes, it was so much better than I imagined. I was reading the literature from the tourbook and was starting to expect a very commercialized area. But it wasn’t like that at all!
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I totally agree with your time span for visiting the National Park. During the summer season you can’t drive your vehicle on a good part of the canyon rim. Their busses are the only access!
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I would have been so disappointed and just turned away.
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Every time I visit the Grand Canyon it is just as impressive as the first. Such beauty and vastness is beyond description.
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Vastness indeed! I couldn’t believe we were only seeing a small part of it.
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