southwest: grand canyon

It's finally time for stories from the southwest. If I can remember any... it's been a month since we got back, and somehow the task of going through my thousands of pictures and picking out a few to put up here just felt too daunting for a while.

ANYWAY! We arrived in Phoenix late on Friday night (September 19), picked up our car, and stayed in a crappy airport hotel for the night. Our hotel was in a really strange part of town, and literally the only place to eat happened to be a Waffle House - the chain with those really stark yellow and black signs. We had a hearty breakfast of waffles, grits, and sausage and gravy biscuits, and then drove all the way to the Grand Canyon. We were pretty exhausted by the time we got there, and had about enough energy to set up our tent and nap in it for a while. We got up in time for dinner and to see the sun set over the canyon - beautiful. (I stood behind all the professional photographers and stole the settings off their cameras... considered it a free lesson. I also bought a polarizing lens for this trip, and I think it was very well worth it - it made the blue skies look as blue in the photos as they do in person.)

shadows at sunset

As tired as we were Saturday, we woke up really energized on Sunday morning (which felt like a feat, considering we were getting up before sunrise), and headed off to hike down into the canyon.

the sun starts to rise

looking down the trail into the canyon

we tried forever to get a picture of the two of us...

this fat squirrel was hanging out right at the edge...

This is the way to see the canyon - at sunrise and by hiking in. Standing on the rim, it's almost too vast to be believable. Once you start walking in--and down--the landscape becomes real, and it's so much more awe-inspiring. The harsh midday sun also washes out the vivid canyon colors, so it's best appreciated in early morning or late day light.

We hiked back out in the late morning, around 11 AM, and after getting some lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring the rest of the South Rim, driving all the way up to the eastern-most look-out where there is a great view of the Colorado River that cuts through the canyon.

That night, we cooked over our open fire and went to bed pretty early. We were really cozy in our tent in the cold desert air, and the starry sky was incredible - so many more stars are visible from the Grand Canyon than anywhere in the northeast.

The next morning we got up again before sunrise to watch the sunrise from a lookout. It was gorgeous, although we were shocked how many people joined us at 6 in the morning! One thing that really surprised us about the Grand Canyon - and all of the parks actually - was how little English we heard. Most tourists seemed to be European, and we heard a lot of French and German, even in the smallest towns. We stayed in a teeny town in Utah, and went out to the local steakhouse/BBQ pit, where we were the only table that spoke English. Not sure if this is normal, or a result of a weak dollar, or what, but it was a bit surreal at times...

sleepy...

The Grand Canyon was as incredible as everyone says it is, but I wish we had had more time to hike through it - I would have loved to get down to the river, or do a couple of days backpacking, but unfortunately all the permits were taken by the time we made our reservations. Next time we'll plan further in advance because the scenery just becomes even more amazing when it surrounds you on all sides.

Up next: Zion!