Welcome to our Grand Canyon page. What an incredible place.
The National Park may be 100 years old, but it is millions of years in the making. Our time at the south rim of the Grand Canyon was truly amazing. We have visited a number of National Parks this year, this one stands out. It is the first time we have been able to stay inside a national park at a full hookup RV campground, aptly named Trailer Village RV park. This made the stay so much more enjoyable. Our truck could stay parked for the entire stay, as we could walk to the Park bus stop, with buses arriving every 10 minutes. There was also a great market, restaurant and gift shop within walking distance. We also avoided waiting in lines at the park entrance every morning.
October is a great time of year to visit, as school is in session and the temperatures were mostly in 60's during the day, although it did get cold at night. In fact, it snowed one night. OK, so maybe it would be better to come late September, instead of late October. We toured the park for three days.
Our first day we jumped on the Hermits Rest Shuttle bus. Along the way we stopped to view all nine overlooks. This shuttle bus is the only way to see this section of the park, other than walking or biking. Many of the overlooks have rim trails that you can walk along to the next overlook. We decided to do that for a number of the stops. The beauty of the Canyon is beyond words, I hope our photos will do it justice.
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| Hermits Rest was designed in 1914 by Mary Colter. It was originally used was as a rest stop for the stage line. |
It was great to walk along the rim. I would have loved to walk down into the canyon, however day two was way to windy, and day three there was snow on the ground. Maybe next time. The scenery from the rim took my breath away. The only negative I had was that people get too close to the edge. People will definitely made me nervous there, as they stand so close to the edge in order to take the perfect photo. As we all know, this often leads to falls, and it is a long way to the bottom of the canyon. The rim paths are wide enough and well maintained. Few are protected by rails, so it is important that you aware of your surroundings, and hang on tight to small children.
The first morning we were in the park, Dave woke me up. He doesn't normally do that, because I am not a morning person. He was very excited, as he didn't want me to miss the elk that were in the yard. After all, it isn't every day you have the opportunity to see these beautiful animals up close. Um, as it turns out, it is every day if you are staying in this park. The photos below are of some of the moose and deer that came to visit our site. It is amazing to see wildlife that close. They have no fear of people.
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One very cold night Dave told me that he wanted to go out and check for any freezing or leaks in our water lines. While he was checking the trailer, he said he felt watched and when he turned around he was face to face with a elk. He explained that both he and the elk didn't know what to do, but he told me he explained to the elk he was busy and slowly backed around the trailer.
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| This is what the edge looks like. It is thousands of feet to the ground below. |
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| Aren't the colors amazing? |
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| Some of the different layers of the Grand Canyon. If you can zoom in you can see how old the layers are. |
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Historical Buildings of the Grand Canyon. Hobi House is the top right. This building was designed by Mary Colter 100 years ago, and was built as a market for Native American craft. It is still used for the same purpose. Beautiful merchandise is for sale and the building design is incredible. The building pays tribute to the Hobi tribe. Mary Colter was a woman ahead of her time. The buildings she designed are amazing to explore. All of Ms. Colter's buildings blend into their environment.
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| Our truck covered in snow. |
Desert View Tower is found at the end of Desert View Drive. This is a 23 mile drive, no shuttles here. The Tower is a beautiful structure, designed by Mary Colter. The inside is amazing, and leads you to beautiful views of the North Rim and the Colorado River. If you have the time, this is definitely worth a visit. There are many beautiful overlooks along the drive here.
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| Looks like Dave is up to something. |
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| There is a lot to smile about here. |
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| The white lines are trails leading to the bottom of the canyon |
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In this collage, the green in the center of top left photo shows an area where there is a camp available for hikers. The two bottom photos are that camp area zoomed in. For those adventurous hikers, you are able to rent a cabin (bottom of bottom right photo) to rest in during your hike. I believe you have to make reservations a year or so in advance. We are not going to do this, but if you do, please let us know how you enjoyed it.
I hope you enjoyed our photos. If you've never been here, you should add it on your bucket list. The Grand Canyon National Park is breathtaking.
