Monday, June 1 – Our final stop on our way out of the Grand Canyon was Desert Point at the east entrance. It was another great perspective, although back in the Tourist Trap category.
As at every tourist lookout point, there were several of those telescopes that you have to put a coin in to activate them. On this one, it said that you could put your camera up to the viewfinder to take a picture. Only 25 cents? What the heck. Well, you can see the stellar results. Kinda looks like the moon.
Me on the edge. Well, not really… it just looks like that. There was a bit of a slope below and another ledge below. You know that I’m not a risk taker like that…
Monday, June 1 – After breakfast we headed to Shoshone Point, a place not publicized by the park service but recommended by my friend Josh, and it was also mentioned in our guidebook. It is essentially “off the grid” for tourists, even though there’s a picnic area there that’s often used for private events , like weddings. It’s out of the way, because you have to walk a mile from the road to get there. But, boy is it worth it.
We walked out on the point, and after a group of 4 people left a few minutes after we arrived, we literally had the place to ourselves for about 45 minutes. We were just sitting there absorbing it all, and there was not a man-made sound. Only the wind and some birds. And then it was shattered by getting a promotional text message from Showtime. At least Andre and Dan are hard at work back at the office!
Out on the point, there was an unobstructed 180 degree view of the Canyon. Take a look:
We then took a hike along the rim for about another 30-45 minutes. Again, not a soul. No sooner than I said to Sandy, “I’m surprised we haven’t seen anyone else out here in a while,” we see a couple walking up toward the point. I took a second look… and it was our friends the Reas, who surprised us in Flagstaff yesterday! While Josh had recommended this place to both of us, we had no idea that we’d be there at the same time! As my mom says, make sure you’re always doing what your supposed to be doing, because you never know who you’ll see. :) It was a great surprise – and we hope to bump into them again in Utah.
Monday, June 1 – There’s a strange phenomenon in Grand Canyon National Park. The trees click. It’s really insects in the trees. We heard it first last night when we got out of the car to take a picture by the sign at the park entrance. We captured it on this video today.
Monday, June 1 - We went back to El Tovar, the 100+ year old lodge on the South Rim, this morning. Had a very hearty (and mostly healthy) breakfast before our hike - steel cut oatmeal and a breakfast burrito for some extra energy.
However, we just had to order their "famous" cinnamon roll, which ended up being the size of a dinner plate. We had a great view of the Canyon right from the dining room.
Sunday, May 31 - I know it sounds cliche, but you truly don't comprehend how vast the Grand Canyon is until you see it for the first time. Amazing. We got there just in time for sunset, so we saw some great views as the colors changed as the sun was setting. After the sun went down, we went over to El Tovar, the famous 100-year-old lodge, for dinner. We plan to do some hiking around the canyon tomorrow.
Road Trip 2013 (RT13) marks our 5th road trip in six years. This year: Shenandoah, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Last year was
the South. We did the Northeast in 2010 and the Southwest 2009. After 2008, we learned to cover fewer miles in order to spend more time in each place. More like a vacation; less like The Amazing Race.
Monday, June 1 – Our final stop on our way out of the Grand Canyon was Desert Point at the east entrance. It was another great perspective, although back in the Tourist Trap category.
