Once again, we saw things that are hard to describe so someone can get the full impact of the area, its geography, geology, topography and its beauty. We spent one very full day at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, 4000 ft above the bottom of the canyon and the Colorado River. It is one of those vistas where you don't know where to look first or next.
We got to the park around 9:30am and wanted to take a hike before it got too hot. There are not as many trails as the other parks, but the The Bright Angel trail is listed as easy to moderate, 9 miles down to the view point. This trail is also the one the mule tours go down, so you have to share the trail which was only 4 ft. wide. We walked about 200 yds down and then came back up. All of the rangers said it takes maybe 1.5 hours to walk to the 1.5 mile marker, but it can take up to 3 hours to get back up.
The canyon is only about 10 miles wide as the Condor flies, but if you drive from the No. Rim to the So. Rim, it is 215 miles and would take you about 5 hours. You can walk across the canyon through the Bright Angel canyon, and we met two couples who had done it. Took them 4 days of hiking and camping to make it across.
Our friends Karen and Bill from Green Valley Az, were in the park at the same time we were, and we had plans to meet them for lunch. After our short walk down the Bright Angel trail, we decided to do the rim walk before lunch. This is a great path, that leads you right on the rim for spectacular views. Still amazed how few barriers are put up to keep people from falling off. After lunch we walked more of the rim until it was time for our sunset tour. A nice ride out to a specific point to take pictures and watch the sun set. We did not have much cloud cover, so the sun set behind the cliffs quickly. We were able to get some good pictures of the color changes on the cliffs after the sun had slipped behind them.
Once again I am amazed at how the National Park system lays out the parks so you can get the most out of each of them. If you do visit the Grand Canyon, we recommend you plan on staying at least 2 days, preferably 3 so you can see everything.
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Note for anyone thinking of visiting our National Parks, if you (or one of you) is 62, you qualify for a Senior Pass. It costs all of $10.00 and is good for a LIFETIME! We met a man who buys one each year because he feels guilty! Cannot tell you how much this has saved us.
We arrived in Mesa early this afternoon and after getting set up, we headed for the pool and hot tub. It is still hot here and temps are suppose to stay in the 90's during the day for the coming week. We are glad to be near chain grocery stores like Albertson's and Safeway, Starbucks and also back in suburbia.
We are staying in the Valle d'Oro RV park here in Mesa until end of January and would love for you to come visit. Just give us a call or drop us an email.
I will be posting less often now that we are stationary for the next 4 months. But I will continue to share our experiences. Thanks so much for sharing this part of our journey with us.