Road Trip - Day 8 of 11

April 4th:

I have been to the Grand canyon before, but had never spent a whole day there.  I loved it, I couldn't get enough of it (ask Upalika Akka!)  By the end of the day, she (and the others too) had had their fill of the Grand Canyon (quote:  It is beautiful and majestic, but it all looks the same no matter where you look at it from).  Everyone had had more than enough, but I still wanted to stop and look from each view point.

This is where we stayed

The views - note the little people on the ridge

The views

Getting the perfect shot
Hard to do because of the haze
Even though it snowed hard the day before,
there still was a haze

A glimpse of the Colorado river, near center of picture

Scenery

I like these dead trees

Scenery

I was fantasizing about hiking down to the bottom, to the Colorado river.  I was envisioning the sounds I would hear, the feeling of solitude of a long hike (13 miles one way), looking up to see the canyon walls etc.  I get in to my "zone" when I hike, even though there are always other people with me - I never hike alone.  I would really like to hike there.

Switchbacks - close up

Same switchbacks (middle left) with majestic background

A hiking trail way down there,
disappearing in to the trees

Same hiking trail - different perspective

Start of one of the hikes

Trail

Someday I will do more than just
pose at the trail head  :)

Much to everyone's relief, the sun went down and I was finally ready to leave the Grand Canyon.  We got to our next destination - Las Vegas - about midnight.

Interesting bumper stickers

Interesting bumper stickers at the Grand Canyon