Gettin' our kicks at the Grand Canyon

A cool garage on route 66 (near Williams, Arizona USA 9 June 07)
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A long drive from the Hoover Dam led us to Williams, a charming town (with Wild West accessories such as a "live" cowboy gunfight every night!) which was on Route 66, the classic American roadtrip location. After driving the route 66 loop (the 80mile stretch is the longest continuous section left, with great views), we had a good evening in Rod's Steakhouse (where V attempted and failed to eat a the largest rack of Ribs she had ever seen!) before spending the morning looking round the town.

On route 66 (near Williams, Arizona USA 9 June 07)
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The South rim of the Grand Canyon is about 90 miles from Williams, and we decided to leave it later in the day to drive up there to try to avoid the crowds. Lunching by a nice lake around 3pm and seeing all the cars driving the opposite way, we decided that this was a good tactic.

By the time we got to the Canyon the whole place had emptied out and we were able to walk around the south rim, and get out on all the viewpoints we wanted to without the masses being in the way!

The first view of the Canyon was absolutely epic.

First view of the Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon National Park Arizona USA 10 June 07)
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We have seen a number of awesome views on our adventure so far, but I have quite simply never seen anything so stunning. The view to the north rim - 10 miles away, was clear, and you could see right down to the river below. We stood and stared...for a number of hours!

As sunset approached, we took a leisurely drive down to the East Entrance where we watched the sunset from the watchtower, whilst a ranger explained a bit about the area. Wishing that we could stay rather than carry on, we dragged ourselves away as it got dark to carry on our journey east.

The Grand Canyon from the Centre looking North Eastwards (Grand Canyon National Park Arizona USA 10 June 07)
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If you see just one thing in the USA, it's got to be the Grand Canyon.

Absolutely Awesome.

V&R