DAY FIVE, part one: The Grand Canyon

DAY FIVE, part one: The Grand Canyon


After our dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge, we headed back to the Mather campground and parked the RV as close to a restroom as we could. Ya know, just in case. We were hoping to watch a movie, but sleepiness got the best of the kids, who decided they wanted to lay down.

I grabbed a few good old fashioned paper maps and began to plot the journey from the South Rim to the West Rim, and no matter how hard I tried, it was always a 5 hour drive. So I went online to find out the hours of operation for the Skywalk so we could plan to leave accordingly. One thing I didn’t want was for the time at this beautiful national park to feel (or worse, actually be) rushed.

Once online I found some different websites about the Skywalk. We were aware that it would most likely cost us about $40 per person to walk out on it. But what we weren’t aware of is that you cannot drive to the Skywalk yourself. You must park and have a shuttle take you. And therein lies the problem. The only way to buy shuttle tickets is to buy a “gold package” from the Indian tribe, at about $40 a pop. This does not include admission to the Skywalk. For $80 a person, I found an ad stating we could ride in a helicopter over the canyon. The crazy thing is both are more expensive than a ticket to Disney.

Other websites confirmed that the best way to see THE Grand Canyon was to stay at the south rim. The west rim is not owned by the National Park Service. So in an effort to see as much of the beauty of this place as we can, we made the executive decision last night to skip the Skywalk.

I woke up before the alarm, and John was already awake making coffee. It was pitch black outside still. Rather than he and I sit there and look at each other, I asked him if maybe we could drive to a lookout and watch the sunrise. You remember from previous postings, that I am not a sunrise kinda girl. But an opportunity to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon just seemed too wonderful to miss.

While the kids slept, John drove and I navigated. In the absolute darkness, it was impossible to tell what view would await us at each turn off. So we’d venture down each, and if it seemed too “tree-ish” we would keep going. At Moran point, we could see a clearing in trees with complete darkenss beyond it. So we parked parallel to the darkness and began to wait for the sun to do its thing.

As the light began to turn the shadows purple, I took my camera outside in the freezing cold, and set it on its night setting. And got an amazing glimpse of what was to come. Mother Nature didn’t reveal much in that shot, but like a burlesque dancer, as the time went on, she kept showing off more and more of her wonders.

The sky went turned blue, and the greyish red rock formations started to come into focus. And the depth of the canyon was apparent. As the sky went pink, we took more photos. The canyon kept a cloak of clouds and fog around her shoulders, and it made for some beautiful pictures. But I hoped the sun would burn off those clouds by midday.

We were all still in our pajamas, and desperate for photos for facebook and friends. : ) So we began the dance and shuffle of everyone changing. The views were amazing. The colors were amazing. The light on the rocks was amazing. The clouds on the rocks…yes, amazing.

I went back in the RV and we had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and sausage at the table with the sun still taking its place over Zuni Point out of our picture window. After eating, we went back outside to take more pictures. Photographers with huge cameras and tripods began to show up, and neglect the safety of the rock walls to get a better shot. I snapped a picture of John out on the rocks with one of the photogs, and got a beautiful picture. Kaylin and I wondered if I was able to grab such a fantastic picture from a cell phone through the window of an RV from the safe side of the wall, why do those dudes need to be out on the rocks with their thousand dollar equipment? : )

We drove back to the point of entry into the park to see all of the things we missed driving in in the snow and dark. The first lookout was the Watchtower, and the fog and clouds rolled in so heavily that it was very hard to mask our disappointment. We walked out to the overlook and started to take pictures of us in the clouds. I snapped one of Kaylin, and then the clouds started to clear. And for 5 minutes, we saw what the Watchtower lookout had to offer. It was gorgeous.

We climbed up the watchtower, and the numerous windows surrounding the cylindrical structure offered numerous views of white paper. Clouds and more clouds. It reminded John and I of the time we were in Switzerland and we ventured up to the Schilthorn to eat at the revolving restaurant offering views of the mountains. And the clouds stole the show. But we can say we were there. And for me, it offers and excuse to go back. Just like I want to come back here, but in warmer temps!!

At Lipon Point, again the clouds obscured the view, until we stopped. Then God smiled. The pictures prove it! And again at the next turn-off. It looks as if we may get to see the canyon after all! If you’ve never been here, it is a definite MUST! Please look at all the pictures we have posted. They only do it a small amount of justice : )

One thing we were all amazed by is the amount of trees here. When I pictured the Grand Canyon in my head, I pictured rocky desert, very flat and very barren, with lots of wide spaces to walk. The Rim Drive, is very tree-lined. It is heavily forested offering a rare glimpse of the canyon at intervals of a couple miles or so. There are turn-offs, with places to park and then small areas to explore. It is fun to walk out on the rocks, knowing from our vantage point the complete safety we are affording ourselves by the next ledge a couple of feet below. But from the eye of the camera, the pending “danger” is almost palpable.

The eyes play tricks on you here, too. Depth is so difficult to gage. But the mountains and rocks and trees seem to go on forever. Even under a cloudy sky. The clouds add an heir of mysticism to the scenery. Like little grey ghosts the wispy clouds drift in and out of view. I personally loved taking pictures that had a little smoky cloud haloing a rock or billowing up from the canyon floor. It does give a haziness to the photos, but I think its beautiful.

For lunch we found a market near the lodges (and I found a post office too to mail the rest of my Christmas cards!) and bought sandwich fixin’s. We enjoyed sandwiches and potato salad and the like all from the comfort of the RV. It cracked me up, though. We sat in the parking lot, enjoying a slide show of all the pictures Desirae has taken so far. It was fun and we laughed, but with all the scenic vistas nearby that we could have eaten at, to sit in the parking lot made me smile.

After lunch we headed to the final lookout of the trip. Desirae and Kaylin stayed in the truck. I suspect it was partly to text, but I also think the cold weather may have been to blame. Reagan, Ava, John, and I took pictures, went into the observation station (a warm windowed building with the most unbelievable views ever), and marveled at the colors and the way the light danced on some rocks but not all.

I went outside and when I lifted my camera I noticed snow falling on my coat. The ranger said a “huge” snow storm is expected tonight. I had asked what time the sunset, because I had read Hopi Point was a favorite for watching the sunset. She informed us 5:16pm, but recommended that if we weren’t planning to stay the night in the park, that we head out to our next destination. So these tiny little flakes were simply precursors of the white blanket to come. I realized I do miss the big, fluffy snowflakes just a little. But I think I need to invest in some Gortex before I meet up with that again. : )

QUOTES:

“I coulda made better tortellini. I mean, how do you f**k up a noodle?”

“Oops. Desirae has to stay outside. No pets allowed.” “But dad, I’m helping the disabled”

“That would have been an awesome picture…if the snakes hadn’t screwed it up”

“What kind of trees are those, Reagan?” “Pine trees, dad.” “Thanks smart ass”