Day 8 - Grand Canyon

We got up early this morning and had breakfast in the hotel.  It was sunny and windy and the air was cool, in the upper 30's so we wore our fleece jackets, packed our camera/ipad and binoculars.  Before we  headed to the canyon Randy got a cap (the first time I had ever seen him wear one) and we were afraid that the wind would blow our hats off our heads.  We searched in vain for one of those croaker hat clips that they sell at the beach.  I could just imagine the wind taking a hat and one of us falling off the side of the canyon trying to catch it!

It was a very short drive from the hotel, maybe 10 minutes, to the entry gate.  They charged $25 per car for a 7 day pass.  We drove straight in to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center at Mather Point.  There is a shuttle system that will take you to the various overlook points as well as a walkway for those in good physical condition.  We started here, walked a ways and then once we had formulated our plan, we got on a shuttle to catch the eastern part of the park.  Mather point was our first glimpse of the canyon.  It was unbelievable.

The canyon is so huge, so vast, so beautiful, that it looks unreal.  It looks like an illusion or dream.  It makes you wonder how it is possible for that tiny river, way down there at the bottom could possibly cut away so much ground to hollow out such a canyon.  The canyon is some 277 miles long, as much as 18 miles wide in some areas and one mile deep.  Water can be a powerful thing!

At the park entrance there were signs saying that it is not only dangerous to feed the wildlife in the area, it is also illegal.  Still, it was hard for some to resist feeding the chipmunks that were so used to visitors that they would allow people to get close enough to touch them in exchange for a piece of apple.

We took the bus to Yaki Point where we could see hikers and donkeys heading down zig-zagging trails into the canyon.  You'll have to click on the photo and enlarge it to see them.

 

The landscape along the rim is fairly flat but rocky, with ponderosa pines, sagebrush and various cactus type plants.  

We took the shuttle to the Grand Canyon Market Plaza and had lunch.  There was a gift shop and we were able to find gifts to bring home to the kids - cactus plants.  After lunch we took another hike along the rim toward the Bright Angel Trailhead.   By this time it was getting near 3 pm and Randy wanted to book a helicopter ride for the next day.  We went to the room to do that and rested for a little bit then took the car back to the GC Market and picked up the Cactus plants.  We hunted down the laundry facilities and washed some clothes and then had dinner in the hotel.  Our helicopter ride was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and we were both EXCITED!