November 7 (Tuesday)
I had been talking
to the fellow next to us from South Dakota who was getting ready to leave. Very
interesting guy. He and his wife do volunteer work all over the US. He also has
a sister-in-law in Camrose and has been through Red Deer a few times. Beside
him was a couple from Manitoba who were also getting ready to leave. They are
from the Arness area and have a cabin in Gimli, an area we had been through
this past summer. They were heading in our direction as well although on a
different highway. We might run into them again on our travels.
We lifted the jacks
and headed south down Hwy 89 about an hour South to Cameron and the Cameron
Trading Post. Not much of a campground. Just a gravel parking lot, but it does
have full services at $35/night with Good Sam. We checked in and set up and will
stay here for two nights while we explore the Grand Canyon. After a quick bite
of lunch we were off up Hwy 64 to Grand Canyon.
We stopped first at
a viewpoint overlooking the Little Colorado River. Interesting geology in that
all the rock here is brown, which is a departure from the red hues we have seen
so much of lately and as well just down the road. I certainly kept a close eye
to the ground around there. Not just for the footing, but for the Reptile sign
they had posted! (Remember - click on any picture to enlarge)
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| Not much water in the Little Colorado |
As we talked to the
gal at the gate to Grand Canyon National Park, she mentioned the better deal
was a yearly National Park Pass, so we figured that made sense for us to get
one. Then I mentioned we had been at Glen Canyon Rec Area and had purchased a
seven day pass which expired tonight. I showed it to her and she deducted the
cost of that one ($25) off the National Park Pass (regular $80/yr), so we ended
up paying the difference only ($55). A great deal!
We made several
stops along the road toward Grand Canyon Village. We stopped at Watchtower,
which was awesome! I climbed to the top and the views were incredible. Also
stopped at Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point and Grandview Point. Each
location had unbelievable views. The sun was just starting to get through the
cloud cover and once it did the lighting on the canyon walls really made for
awesome pictures. Hopefully these do it justice, but you really gotta see it
for yourself to feel the immenseness and beauty of the place.
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| Our welcoming committee. Just a few feet from the front gate. |
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| Artwork inside the Watchtower. |
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| My first view of Grand Canyon. Yes, I said "Oh wow!" |
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| The Watchtower (top center) from Lipan Point. |
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| The Hance Rapids on the mighty Colorado |
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| Late afternoon shadows make interesting shadows. The Canyon colors change with the light. |
We didn't want to be
on the road from Grand Canyon after dark. We had seen Elk and Deer in the
daylight and didn't know what might run out on the road after dark. We headed
back to Cameron in time for a great sunset. We had back to Grand Canyon in the
morning.
That was Our View From Here.......
