Day 15- The Grand Canyon

the wildlife

Our day at the Grand Canyon began with a 3 mile (round trip...you have to hike back up!) hike into the canyon. The view was so amazing it takes your breath away. Even though we looked at the same view it is amazing how the canyon changes depending on how the sun hits it. It took us about 3 hours to hike down, take a break, and hike back up. We could have shaved an hour off our time if it were not for the pack mules carrying dirt up and down to repair the trail. It was neat to see but got annoying real quick!

We congratulated ourselves on a successful hike with a hamburger and a local brew at the Blue Angel Lodge before hoping the shuttle back to the visitor center. From there we walked around the rim to the geological museum to educate ourselves about just how the canyon was formed. The view...still beautiful! Later we did a little shopping and people watching. Fun fact! Did you know that the primary consumer of National Parks are international tourist. Its like the Tower of Babel out here. Another fun fact is that the Grand Canyon is one of the best places to people watch. Totally beats the mall and the airport. Our favorites are as follows...

Most Under-Prepared: Family of 8 walking down the canyon in flat designer type sandals with two bottles of water dragging a crying 3 year old with them. Wonder how long it took them to get up?

Most Over-Prepared: New York family of 8 who looked like they just handed REI a blank check for top of the line hiking gear they obviously did not need for their mile and a half walk.

Just Plain Dumb: Three canyon necks obviously to cool for school walking down in jeans (one sagging so slow I kept waiting for him to trip and fall into the canyon) and his two buddies with root beer and cigarettes as their only provisions.

Funniest Outfit: foreign gentlemen in a red polo shirt tucked into his blue and grey stripped cotton bike shorts...YIKES!

Best Mullet: 5 ft 10 in. Camaro fem mullet. You know...big spiky business it the front and long straight party in the back.

We finished our Grand Canyon visit with a drive east for some desert views of the canyon. This side was cool because you could see the Colorado River snake its way through. We loved it here and are already planning our trip back to hike from the north to the south rim!