Grand Canyon.................

With the weather prediction for the coming days to be in the high 90's and 100's, we wasted no time planning an outing while the temps were still in the 80's. Wednesday, our first full day here in Williams, we headed out bright and early for the Grand Canyon. It is only an hour away, but we still headed out when the sun came up so we could beat some of the crowds. Its summertime! We also wanted to get in an easy hike before it got too hot. 

At the South Rim, there is a wonderful shuttle system throughout the park, and we took full advantage. During the summer, it comes every 10-15 minutes, and the earlier it is in the day, the least crowded. Since we got to the Visitor Center before it opened, we began our day with starting our "hike" on the South Rim Trail. It is not really a hike, but a paved walkway around the rim of the canyon. We took the "orange" shuttle to the farthest point on the shuttle bus route, and walked 3 miles back to the geology museum at Yavapai Point. The views were spectacular, and we had the trail to ourselves. Can you imagine viewing the Grand Canyon with no one around? Wow! Awesome experience. For more information, click here.

elk eating breakfast at the Visitor Center

gathering info....the Visitor Center doesn't open until 8

taking advantage of the shuttle bus service

The shuttle dropped us at the South Kaibab Trailhead....a hike I WISH I could do. My fears won though! Besides, there was an extreme heat advisory, 120 degrees down in the canyon. Yikes! After checking out the trailhead, I am ashamed to say I couldn't even handle the beginning switchbacks. Too much for me! I did admire the views though, as we headed back to the Rim Trail. Poor Tom...I feel badly that I am the weakest link, ball and chain, wet towel, etc. I think he would have loved to do that trail! Luckily, he did the Bright Angel Trail many years ago, when he wasn't saddled with me!

donkeys getting ready for the day

what a view!

colors were awesome (can't really tell from the pics!)

would love to do this but I'm too chicken

the views before going down the Kaibab trail (we didn't go there!)

gorgeous

From the safety of the Rim Trail, we admired views all along the way. We had the place to ourselves! Amazing! Most of the trail was wide, and all of it was paved, so I really had no problem even though the heights were dizzying.

Sorry Tom....can only manage the Rim Trail

we walked about 3 miles before taking a shuttle back to Yaki Point

awesome views

wow!

one more :)

the Rim Trail goes around the rim, but not too close (usually)

pretty nice, huh?

it was still a little chilly and very breezy....ok....windy!

the views were spectacular

this is only a little area of the Grand Canyon!

hanging on to my hat!

a view of the South Kaibab Trail from above

Warming up now!! The sun is just brutal at 7000 feet elevation

good thing there is some shade!

wildlife

gorgeous day....glad we came here before the heatwave!

 As we neared the Visitor Center, and Mather Point, we met up with a lot more visitors. You can see the crowd at the lookouts. You can also see some of the visitors that just can't seem to get close enough. You know from the few pictures I post on this blog that I like to take pictures. We were both amazed though at the lengths people go to for a "better" shot. WOW! Its frightening to watch. I think the park is going to ban selfie sticks soon...people do such risky things! I took a few pictures of some examples, but some I just couldn't even watch! Like the family with three little kids standing on the very edge of the canyon, with no railing or rock wall, bending over to get a better view of the canyon. YIKES!We both had to turn away....it was too scary to watch them.

Mather Point overlook (behind the Visitor Center)....a busy area of the park!

Trying to get a good pic? Watch your step!

a long way down!!

the trail is very close to the edge here.....dizzying!

ahhh...the views!

isn't this amazing Susie?

wow!

the colors were awesome

of course you can take our pic together!

amazing what water can do!

we found the crowds!

going for a grand picture at the Grand Canyon?

let's put it in perspective!

Hanging on!

Mr. Blue wants a good pic too

some perspective

do you still see Mr. Blue?  We saw this throughout our travels here....lots of crazies taking extreme pics

We continued on from Mather Point, which is behind the Visitor Center and therefore pretty busy, to head out to the Yavapai Geology Museum. The views were a little different and just stunning. I can imagine how gorgeous it must be in the right light (sunrise/sunset). My pictures do not even begin to show the beauty of the canyon!

Glad I have this dorky hat...it is saving me from the sun!

awesome views everywhere

a view of the Colorado River

another viewpoint (guess its not good enough for the young girl with the dark hair...see her crawling dangerously close to the edge?)

again, more great views

the Grand Canyon is huge...so expansive!

hanging on...having height issues!

hope its air-conditioned in here!

the views from the window were awesome! (I see they are whited out in the pic!)

That concluded our walking portion of our visit, and we took another shuttle to the other side of the Visitor Center to catch the views at Yaki Point. The views were outstanding. It was near lunchtime, so afterwards we took the shuttle back to the Visitor Center to have our little picnic of peanut butter crackers...hahahha. Seriously, we were heading back so we would have enough time to explore another section of the park (Desert View) that we needed to drive to. The shuttles were awesome, and moved a lot of people through the park without all the auto traffic. No shuttles to Desert View though.

waiting for the shuttle to Yaki Point...at the other end of the shuttle route (no rim trail there, so we missed it earlier when we started the walk on the rim trail)

again...more incredible views!

wow!

love the colors

amazing

a beautiful place!

 After our delicious and nutritious lunch, we caught the movie at the Visitor Center. The line to speak to the rangers was incredibly long, and the parking lots near the Visitor Centers were all full and closed. It pays to go early! Things were starting to heat up as well, with the strong rays of the sun at 7000 feet elevation starting to make things a bit warm.

Our plan was to travel to the Desert View end of the South Rim, which is a 22 mile drive to the Desert View Watchtower. Along the way were several viewpoints and the Tusayan Museum, with ruins on site.We stopped at the Ruins on our way to the Desert View Watchtower, the end of the line for us, before heading back towards the Visitor Center and stopping at those viewpoints I mentioned.

note the flag....Orlando Massacre

ready for the movie?

snacking along the side of the road on our way towards Desert View

a quick trip through the museum

checking out Puebloan ruins

a walk among the ruins

the "housing" ruins

lots of rooms and a kiva

At the Desert View area of the park, we were treated to more spectacular views. This area was a bit built up, with a gift shop, snack bar and such in the area. While Tom went up into the watchtower, I headed to the snack bar to get out of the sun (yeah - right), and took a seat on the cool porch to eat my giant cookie. I cannot be trusted to be alone near a snack bar! As I was savoring the cookie, I spotted Tom in the Watchtower Window.....and he spotted me! Nailed!! Thankfully, I bought him a cookie too:)

oh why yes, you can take our picture!

the watchtower

check out the desert in the distance (the colors were gorgeous too)

another example of extreme picture taking!

nice view of the Colorado River

Hey Tom....do you think I should sit on the edge like that girl did?  

I would sit on the edge but its too hot

heading up to the watchtower

There's Tom! Looks like he spotted me eating a giant cookie hanging out in the shade!

another view before heading back

pretty

don't drop those cookies Tom!

We stopped at a few different scenic points on our way back to the Visitor Center and back out of the park. The views all along are just incredible. Again, my pics don't really give a good view of what we were seeing.

still enjoying the views

another view of the river

love the colors

an amazing geological wonder

Wish I had no fear of heights! Yikes!

its a long long way down

close up of the river....see the blue rafts right before the rapids?

gorgeous....for miles and miles

not good

the Grand Canyon really is grand!

sad to see fires

another view

 On the Desert View Road, we spotted a sign we had never seen roadside! Hhmmm. I would love to have seen a mountain lion.....from the safety of the car!! We didn't spot any though.

I'm looking!!

a wonderful place!

amazing views!

One more overlook....we just couldn't get enough of the views! An incredible place for sure!