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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“All you can say is "wow"” |
After getting the car fixed we left at around noon and whipped across the desert to the Grand Canyon. Our goal: to see the Grand Canyon at sunset.
Over the Hoover Dam (no way - that's where it is?!) and a seven hour drive through a vast, deserted landscape, we reached the entrance to the park with 20 minutes to spare. We floor it to the edge of the South Rim, race out of the cars (all relative when you're pregnant), and go along the path to the edge of the canyon, you don't see it right away and then...
"Wow."
My husband comes up behind me.
"Wow."
You see pictures of it everywhere so you think you get it. But absolutely nothing can prepare you for what it looks like in person. Another tourist comes up from the path.
"Wow."
That's all anyone says around here.
My husband immediately starts snapping pictures. I'm just standing there trying to take it all in. Unbelievable. They say that people have spirtual experiences when they visit the Grand Canyon. I can't say I had that but I know that I was so happy we just spent seven hours to come here just for the sunset.
And it was magnificent. The colors were amazing. It turns out that because of the atmospheric pressures and the wind currents around the Canyon, the sky just lights up as the sun sets. Well worth it.
Once the sun is gone, it quickly becomes too dark to see anything else, so we're off to Williams for the night. This town is about 1 hour south of the South Rim but we were on a budget and anything closer to the park was out of our price range. (Tip: You probably want to book in advance if you want to stay in/around the park as the rooms fill up very quickly no matter what time of year.)
The little place we stayed at was decent enough for one night - don't remember the name, only that the inn keeper had a cool dog that was part wolf, part husky.
The next morning we forgo the 6:00 am sunrise shots and instead get to the park at a reasonable 9:30. Now we see the park in full daylight. Unfortunately, because of the surrounding atmosphere, you rarely get rid of the haze that drift in from the heavily populated West Coast California (yup, that's L.A. pollution that you see). But you still get the impression of how small and insignificant you are in comparison.
There's a few other things to see and do - an information area, trails you can hike down, a small village with some basic shops and stuff. We spent about another couple of hours wandering the edge of the Canyon and driving through different parts of the park. There is a train, old-fashioned-like, that takes visitors from Williams to the Canyon - that would be cool to do if I ever came back...
and maybe I will.
We say good-bye to the Grand Canyon at around noon and head off down the road. Next stop: the City of Angels.
previous travel blog entry
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