Day 33
States: lalalalalala~ Utah & Arizona & Nevada
Total Miles: 7800 or so
Time Zones: 2 (Mtn and Pacific), 4 total
Today was the last day of the Bro & Sis adventure. We got up, packed our tents and headed down to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. We drove into Grand Canyon National Park and the North Rim. I have not been to either rim, but I'm told the best is the north. The north is higher and covered in trees (it's quite a sight driving through a fantastic pine forest and all of the sudden - wammo - there's a really f*ing huge canyon) whereas the south side is pretty much a desert. We checked out a few of the overlooks and then did a hike on the trail that leads all the way down the north rim, across the canyon and up the south rim. People run this on occasion and they must really be nuts (not only do you have to drop and climb the elevation, but the canyon width is about 10 miles). We only went about a mile down the trail and the trip back up was a wee bit tiring. We did climb it faster than the mules, though.
On a little side note, at one of the overlooks, we ran across a pair of guys that we had seen on the West Rim Zion Canyon trail the day before. One guy said, "so you guys chose something a little easier today too huh?" I felt pretty bad for them as they didn't climb to Angel's Landing after the 14 mile hike.
I have to admit, of all the canyons I saw on this adventure, the Grand Canyon was not the best. It's an interesting view and amazing that this huge canyon was the result of the little river, but I don't think it compared to some of the canyons that I got to climb down into and hike in like Coyote Gulch and the slot canyons. The Grand Canyon was also incredibly hazy, the ugly pictures are not my fault. I swear.
Mid afternoon, my sister and I parted ways, her to the east and me to the west. I drove back up into Utah, then down into Nevada and stayed the night in Las Vegas. I had planned to do a little gambling, maybe win enough to pay for this trip, but in the end I decided not to.
First view of the canyon. The Colorado River is along that very fall wall
approx. 10 miles away:
Death Valley, tomorrow's park, is a mear 357 miles away:
"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American...should see." -Theodore Roosevelt, Grand Canyon 1903
The view from Roosevelt Point:
Angel's Window (not to be confused with Angel's Landing of the day before):
This was the only location on the North Rim where you can see the Colorado
River - weird:
Pondering the meaning of life and the wonders of the universe:
View from part way down the rim. Had we continued down the trail, it would
have eventually popped us up the far side:
Gonna get to Sacramento California tomorrow via Death Valley and Yosemite...