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Published: August 8th 2013
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Our second drive-by was Hoover Dam as we left Las Vegas. Maneuvering the RV across the dam amidst the throngs of tourists was an adventure in and of itself. While an impressive feat of engineering, Todd had already enthralled us with the tales of all the men who died while pouring the concrete, and the most startling sight was the dramatic change in color on the rock walls of the reservoir behind the dam. But it was interesting, and not too far out of our way, so worth the minor detour to see this well-known accomplishment.
From there we had a long drive to our ultimate destination for today, the Grand Canyon. Todd drove, while Marcia and the kids passed a lot of the time continuing the Rail Baron game. We found a cute lunch place in Kingman, AZ called Siren's Cafe. It was a mermaid-themed cafe with eclectic deli creations with a European flair. Go figure. Maggie pronounced her Vegetarian sandwich the best sandwich she's ever had, and wanted to know why we don't eat bean sprouts more often.
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we headed to the Visitor Center to get info and our Passport
Book stamped as we only had about 20 minutes before they closed. Ironically, we had our first real overcast, cloudy day here, dampening the impact of our first views of the canyon since we couldn't see as far. But even with the less than ideal weather, the views were stunning and picturesque. The ineffable beauty of what we saw is hard to convey.
Standing at the overlooks, gazing down the mile-drop to the bottom of the canyon, felt like getting a history lesson in the earth's life itself. The striations in the rock, layer upon layer of rock revealing stories of how the very globe we live on was formed, was fascinating. We rode a shuttle bus out toward Hermit's Rest from the Village on the Southern Rim. We walked the Rim trail between two stops. Walking along the guard-rail-less edge was heart stopping and captivating. The rim is lined with scraggly, twisted trees and bushes, a few cacti and plenty of loose gravel to make a parent's heart palpitate.
Once again it was totally worth the effort as we made it to an overlook just as the sun was setting. The purple sky adorning the far edge
of the canyon was spectacular. The clouds cleared just enough to form a thin band of sky between the horizon and the cloud line, and the show the sun put on was five star.
We truly roughed it at Mather campground, in the park itself, with no electric, no water, nothing but the still, quiet night. Best night's sleep yet we've had. We toyed with the idea of trying to catch a sunrise, but the sunset was spectacular enough, and we're all pretty tired. Instead we'll head to Zion National Park tomorrow, about a 5-6 hour drive if all goes well. It's hard to believe we only have a few parks left before we return the RV on Monday. The kids are growing increasingly attached to our "second home," and I'm sure saying goodbye will be bittersweet.
But there are plenty of great things to see and do between now and then, so stay tuned!
Marcia
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U. Kevin
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Dramatic color change
The dramatic change from white near the water to probably at least 50 feet above is because the water levels have dropped so dramatically in the last 2 or three years. The white part shows where the normal water level used to be. The color change from white (to the normal color striations above) is the same at Lake Powell, where the ferry across the lake no longer runs because the ramp to get on it is too far from the water. They are running out of water out West, and it's a very serious problem.