Saturday, September 29, 2007

Grand Canyon-North Rim

Today we decided to visit the Grand Canyon. This is not the Grand Canyon that most people visit, the South Rim, but the higher, pine tree surrounded North Rim. Our location in Kanab, UT, is about 75 miles to the North Rim.

When we left the campground the wind was starting to blow a little. Kanab is located on the high desert, with a lot of sand and not much else. As we drove towards the Grand Canyon, the landscape began to change from desert to pine forest. In the forest were a lot of Aspen that were just starting to turn golden. It made for a very scenic drive.

As we drove, the road climbed, the weather got colder, and the wind picked up. The highest point we reached was 8860 feet, just outside the entrance to the park and the temperature was 48 degrees. We continued on to the visitor's center to orient ourselves. The visitor center is located next to the lodge which was built in 1928. The windows looked out over the canyon with a beautiful view through large windows. There is a deck outside with chairs and an outside fireplace, which we were sorry to notice was not lit.
The first thing we did was go to the gift shop and buy John a jacket. John must think he's still in the desert. Luckily, there was a season ending sale.
There was a path that led down to a point overlooking the canyon that we went out to get a close up view.

Since it was about lunchtime we decided to eat at the lodge. The dining room had a view of the canyon from our table. We shared a very good lunch and just drank in the atmosphere.
After lunch we hiked the Bright Angel Trail, which leads out to a point that juts over the canyon. It's a short hike, but with steep drop offs on both sides of the trail. Normally it would be an easy hike, but with 30 MPH winds blowing, it made it a little, well a lot, scary. The view was spectacular, but because we were on the North Rim, we couldn't see the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon.

We took turns taking each others pictures at the point between wind gusts. And then it was time for the windy walk back up to the parking lot. We thought about doing some more hiking, but with the wind and the cold we decided to just relax and take in the fantastic sight.

Everyday we try to take a moment and remember how lucky we are to live in this great country and be able to explore it many great lands. As the shirts say, "Life Is Good". As Fall begins, we look back at a wonderful Summer on our adventure and the wonderful sights we've seen. Hopefully, you've enjoy sharing this with us. And we know it will just continue to get better.
If you would like to see the rest of the photos, please click on this link:

2 comments:

Dkalla said...

Wow, I don't think I would have had the guts to hike a narrow path...I am too chicken!

Thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures!!

Love,

Donna

Jeni said...

wow, very windy but beautiful pictures! How did you do it Mommy? The golden Aspen trees are sure bright and nice aren't they!?