Into the canyon

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Well, we couldn't go on a southern road trip without hitting the Grand Canyon, could we?

We got a late start, enjoying the rest day, since drive days we usually get moving early. Serena and I went to the lodge for breakfast while Laura and Amit slept in a bit, then we all got ready to move out towards the Grand Canyon. It's about an hour drive to the North Rim from where we're staying, so we got in sometime in the late morning. We had three trails planned to hike. Originally, we were going to do a quick trip to the Grand Canyon and then another one of the several beautiful parks near us, but (luckily) the others talked me into just the canyon.

We started at Bright Angel, which is the point where most of the most famous pictures have been taken from, even though only 10% of visitors come to the North Rim. The trail runs over a thin peninsula, with several sharp edges great for dramatic - if scary - photos, and reaches a point with incredible panoramic views. We spent a while on that trail, before heading over to the North Kaibab Trail.

That trail is the north end of the rim-to-rim trail, and has two great points to stop at for the casual hiker. Although the trail is about 5 miles to Roaring Springs (which feed water to both rims), and the full length is about 14 miles, which takes you to the Colorado River, we only went the first 2 or 3. A bit under a mile in, we hit Coconino outlook, which affords a view over another part of the canyon. At our turnaround, we found the Supai Tunnel, which is a natural tunnel through the rock. It was a relatively large elevation change for such a short walk, so going up took a bit more time than the down. But we did make it both ways in enough time to drive the 20-odd miles out to Cape Royal, which is a great place to watch the sunset.

It was a long, narrow, super windy road out there. Probably one of the most fun roads I've ever driven, to be sure. We made it out, with a couple stops for scenic views, in pretty good time, so we could explore the area and get a good spot to watch the sunset. We sat out on the edge of the canyon and just enjoyed being there, and it was wonderful.

We left at about 7:30, after sunset, but the restaurant at our lodge closes (unwisely, in my opinion) at 8:00. So we stopped on the way back at the lodge halfway home for dinner, where I got a delicious pulled chicken sandwich. Headed back for sleep, and tomorrow we have a long drive on to New Mexico!

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