Welcome to the Grand Canyon

 I was more than a little intimidated to post on this most auspicious National Monument. It is so wonderful and magnificent, that no photos of ours could ever, ever communicate it adequately. However, it was the reason for this particular vacation...and we enjoyed our two days there immensely. In the photos below, be sure and click on them to enlarge. They are worth seeing much bigger!

 We enjoyed the best weather and therefore light for viewing the Canyon. We drove from Flagstaff, and entered the south rim park from the east on our first day. We managed to get the the center of the south rim by evening. We walked a lot between view points, and enjoyed the relative quiet this provided.

 What amazing colors and formations.

 Our next visit, we arrived at daybreak and parked in the large parking lot in the center of the south rim, and headed west walking and using the park shuttle. We got the two photos of the canyon in early light with a canyon raven included, surveying the majestic scene. There are two posted scriptures along the south rim, with psalms inscribed. It just added to the wonder. When we got home I looked them up and found that the original brass scripture plaques were removed in 2003, but thankfully two have been posted again in wood.

 Here is one of the most famous of spots along the south rim...the Bright Angel Trail. This is where the infamous mule rides go down to the bottom of the canyon. We walked down the trail about 1/4 of a mile until we passed through a stone arch (along with hundreds of other tourists).

 We eventually reached the western-most point of the south rim at Hermit's Rest, and did just that...rest. We each got an ice cream bar and sat and drank in the beauty as we ate.

The Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon doesn't look big enough to have have carved out all this, does it? From the bottom though, the river looks a lot bigger.

What a great experience it was, and will long be remembered.