Grand Canyon National Park

We are finally getting a slightly good cell signal, so posting this using my phone as a hot spot.

Grand Canyon National Park – first impressions

We finally arrived at GCNP at around 5:30 PM on Sunday, June 4. The day’s drive was broken up by two main stops. The first was at the Petrified Forest National Park. After checking in at the Visitor Center, we drove the main road through the park for about 19 miles, stopping at overlooks to view the Painted Desert and the Blue Mesa. At Blue Mesa, we walked a 1 mile loop trail down into the canyon to view the various colored stripes through the formations, each layer representing an era of time. Scattered throughout the walk were segments of petrified trees; downed tree trunks turned to stone by the immense pressures exerted on them over the ages. It was quite hot along the trail, but we completed it in less than an hour and resumed our drive.

Viewing Petrified Forest we were impressed by the landscape of stark semi-arid desert with the sculpted features exhibiting an endless array of shapes, sizes and colors. This was, we believed, just an appetizer for what we’d find in Grand Canyon National Park, just about 4 hours further west and north.

We needed to restock grocery items so we found a Super Wal-Mart in a small town called Winslow, Arizona. It immediately suggested the hit Eagles’ song “Take It Easy”: “Well, I’m standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see … “. So we took it easy (it was hot), found the Wal-Mart, took some pictures in front of the Winslow Ford dealership “It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford …”, and posted it on Facebook. Such fun!!!

Shopping done, lunch done, we hit the road again for the final stretch of the very long drive from Fredericksburg to GCNP. We pulled into camp, registered, and set up the RVs for a long stay. After dinner, we walked the campground to find the few amenities, planned for the first full day at the Rim, and retired for the night.

While it’s hot during the day (80’s), as the sun sets, the air cools rapidly (very low humidity is an oddity for us east-coasters) and we awaken to cool, comfortable 50’s in the morning. Even in the heat of the day, a shady spot offers relief from the heat and usually a nice cool-feeling breeze.

We are camped in the RV-Trailer Village; the only campground in the park with full hook-ups. The sites are more like a commercial campground than a public park, but nice enough. The pads and roads are paved and “yards” in between sites are gravel and weeds – no grass.

GCNP runs several shuttle busses that transport folks throughout the park. This is nice as we don’t have a vehicle (GCNP does not have rental cars anywhere, even at the local towns). On Monday, we boarded the Blue westbound bus and headed for the South Rim Visitor’s Center. We viewed a short film about the canyon, got our National Parks Passport book stamped as proof we were here, then made the short walk to the Rim. The crowds were not bad; the views were spectacular.

I don’t think the English language has a word that describes the awe and beauty of this place. If Petrified Forest was the appetizer (Buffalo wings), the Grand Canyon is expensive wine, shrimp cocktail, filet mignon and lobster, and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake all at once. The perspective changes with every step, the lighting is constantly changing with shadows from clouds and the sunlight reflecting off the multi-hued buttes, temples and rock ledges. There is little sound – even the din of the crowds is attenuated by the enormity and vastness of the canyon.

On day 2 (Tuesday) we went to the Village where allegedly there was good WiFi. NOT!!! But we did have a good strong 4G cell signal so we were able to take care of some personal business like paying bills and checking our bank accounts. We got in a few phone calls and text messages, then set out to walk the Rim Trail through the village stopping to take in more canyon views while also diverting to shops within the village. We had lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge, then rode the bus back to camp.

We gathered up our laundry from the past week, and walked .7 miles into Mather campground which also had Campground services: showers and the laundry. It took 30 minutes to wash, but over 2 hours to get everything dried. Many of the dryers were not operating and some did not work correctly. Then we walked back to camp, tired and ready to relax before dinner.

On Wednesday, we continued our walk/ride along the Rim Trail, this time visiting the Hermit’s Rest Trail at the West end of the park. This was served by the Red bus. We walked about 2 of the 7.8 miles and rode the bus from overlook to overlook for the rest. The trek ended at Hermit’s Rest where we had lunch. We rode the bus back to camp.

Thursday and Friday we continued to walk parts of the Rim Trail and even traversed a few feet down the South Kaibab Trail. From the rim, the trails look rugged and steep. 10 years ago, I think we would have hiked them; now, it’s only a dream.

Photos to follow soon. We leave GCNP on Sunday to head north to Hurricane, UT and the big five national parks there.