Grand.......indeed!

Now for the main reason we stopped off at Cameron for two days......the Grand Canyon!  We both wanted to get an early start as our 53 mile drive into the Grand Canyon via US 64 would take between 1.5 and 2 hours, and we wanted to maximize our time there.  As it turns out we were rolling out of the RV park by 8:15 am.

The drive north along US 64 is extremely scenic.....for a while the highway parallels the Little Colorado River gorge, which while not nearly as spectacular as the Grand Canyon, catches your attention immediately.  There are numerous Vista Points along the way in this section......the down side is each one of the turn outs is festooned with up to a dozen Native Indian jewelry booths that you must walk through to get to the view.  I guess if the little booths, and the vista points were better maintained it would not be so off putting.   Please don't get me wrong here......I have nothing against Native American Indians setting up "shop" on their own lands to make a dollar, but I think they might do better if they made more effort to make these enterprise zones look more attractive, but that's just me.

Little Colorado River gorge

The posted speed limit for most of the drive is 65 mph, but as soon as you pass the park entrance the speed drops to 45 mph.  Nevertheless, we made good time on this very nice, uncrowded highway and were passing by the entrance kiosk by 9:30......once again we saved the entrance fee of $25 by presenting our Golden Age passes.  Just a side note here.....you only have to present one pass for the car and everyone in it, whether, nor not all passengers are 62 or above.  The rangers do ask for ID to verify that you are not using someone else's card.

The first scenic point (Desert View) is just a few hundred yards past the Kiosk, and is home to the iconic Desert View Tower.  It looks quite old, even a little ancient, but was built in 1932 to look old.  It is a beautiful structure, and provides beautiful views of this portion of the Grand Canyon as well as the desert to the south.

The interior....we are on the 3rd floor here

Looking south back toward Cameron

We spent about half an hour at this first vista point just drinking in the view.  I was wishing I had more than the long sleeved hiking shirt and vest on as the temperatures were still in the low 40's at 9:30, but as long as we stayed in the sun it was not too bad.

I have always wanted to hike one of the numerous trails here on the South Rim, so after stopping at a few more vista points we continued our drive to Grand Canyon Village to take a hike on the "Bright Angel Trail".....not all the way down mind you as that is pretty much an all day task.....that will be for another time.  Even in early April parking is an issue near the Village, but after driving around for about 15 minutes we found a spot right near the beginning of the trail and quickly began our hike.

Still pretty cold as we started our hike

 The lower part of the Bright Angel Trail in the distance

1.5 miles down the trail, and time to turn around

The first 1/4 mile the trail was pretty busy with tourists, but after that it got less crowded as only the very serious hikers continued on.  The trail is quite wide, and you aren't really concerned with falling a 1,000 feet to your death.  The views are spell binding, and change continuously as the sun moves through the sky.  Just about 1.5 miles down the trail is the first rest room stop, and we walked just a few hundred more yards past that before taking a break.  While we were eating our snacks a squirrel came up to TLE (she didn't see it coming) and grabbed her Tiger's Milk candy bar out of her hand.....how rude!  TLE was not amused.

We haven't hiked for a while, but still averaged 1.7 mph on our trek back to the top arriving there in just over 50 minutes......by this time it was closing in on 12:30 pm and it was time for lunch.  We drove the VW over to Maswick Lodge to have lunch in their Pizza Pub......of course, whenever the word "pub" appears in the name of an establishment you assume there is draft beer to be had, and this was the case.  We ordered one of their pizza specials (mushroom, bacon and cheese) and one draft Fat Tire Ale for moi.

Once we had finished "oohing and awing" over the delicious pizza it was after 1:30 and time to begin moving once again.  We wanted to walk a portion of the "Rim Trail", which is an asphalt paved trail that runs for a few miles along the rim giving everyone all the Grand Canyon views they could ever hope for.  We walked about 3/4's of a mile out along this trail and then back taking more pictures and just enjoying the serenity that seems to flood over your consciousness as you stare into that vast abyss.  It is so large it seems "unreal".

By the time we finished our stroll it was closing in on 3 pm, and time to begin our drive home.  Of course the drive home was full of more great scenery, and we arrived home just after 4 pm with smiles on our faces.  The day had gone just as we had hoped, and without a glitch.  Monday we are off to Page, AZ and more things to see and do.

Thanks for stopping by!