Grand Canyon

We arrived at the Grand Canyon at about 10 am, and apparently everyone else had decided to come to the Grand Canyon today too. There was no parking in the visitors center parking lot, but we did find parking on the side of the road, and this was the view that greeted us.

 

We walked along the south rim trail.  Because we had only one day at the Grand Canyon, we did not hike down into it.  We walked over to the visitors center and watched a short film.  It was amazing to me that the early explorers saw this as a wasteland and a barrier to overcome.  How can you not be in awe by this?  Then we walked down to the lookout, where hundreds of Asian tourists were taking selfies of themselves with their selfie sticks.  Geoff grumbled that selfie sticks are an abomination, and took this lovely picture with his camera.  If you aim the camera carefully, you don't see any humans!

Then we walked back on the rim path.  These were some views along the way. 

The colors are amazing and different depending on where you are, and the shadows from the clouds. 

We walked to the end of the trail, and saw this lovely view. 

After a quick lunch, we drove to the desert tower.  We climbed to the top. 

On the way back, there were several lookout points, as well as an interesting little museum about the native people who lived here a long time ago. 

You can see the various layers clearly in this picture. 

These pictures are lovely, but they don't really capture the grandeur and size of the canyon. 

At the end of the day, I realized I was quite sunburned, even though I had put on sunblock!  That is what happens when you spend the day on the rim of the canyon.  I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to see it in person.  It really is amazing!