Thank you

To those serving and those who have served, we thank you.

 
 

Canyon Tour - Day 2

Day2: Grand Canyon National Park.  Night spent in Marble Canyon, AZ because the road was washed out and we couldn't get to Page, AZ. 

Miles logged - 185 in car.  Total = 2316

Sunday morning we ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, and got on the road to the Grand Canyon National Park.  We knew it can get crowded and wanted to beat the rush if there would be one in April.  Anna slept on the way to the park.  Early morning naps would become a common activity throughout the trip.  Once at the park, we quickly realized that visitor centers and Anna don’t mix.  Every one we went to on this trip included a meltdown of sorts for her.  So we would talk with the rangers for hiking ideas as quickly as possible and get the heck out of there.  And forget the free information movies! When I spoke with the ranger at GCNP about hiking along the rim, she about had a heart attack when I told her I was with my husband and two year old. She calmed down when I told her Anna would be in a framed hiking backpack – but the look on her face before that was priceless.  Apparently, she thought we’d let our toddler walk along the guardrail less rim without a care in the world.  Um, yea right.  I hardly let Allen walk near the edge.

 

Our first view of the canyon was from the popular Mather Point. Impressive to say the least.  When standing on the rim, I find it hard to even comprehend the scale of what I’m looking at because it is just so big. We took a few pictures and continued on. Our plan of attack was to then hop on the shuttle along Hermit Road and hike between some of the view points. We ended up hiking between Powell Point, Hopi Point, and The Abyss. Anna finally fell asleep between Hopi Point and The Abyss and took a quick nap in the backpack while we hiked. We took a break at Hermits Rest and then hopped the shuttle to ride back to her car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way out of the park we stopped at the castle, um I mean Desert View Watchtower.  We got Anna to call it a tower one or two times but she’s pretty sure it is a castle so that’s what she called it. From the watchtower you can see the Painted Desert to the East and the Canyon to the West. On the inside the two lower levels of the tower are decorated with Native American artwork and replications while the top level has many windows for a panoramic view. The views were exceptional, although, Anna was more impressed with the tower stairs.  

 

Our night was supposed to be spent in Page, AZ but by chance we found out that there was a rock slide on I89 and we would need to detour over two hours out of our way to get there.  We are so thankful we figured this out before we saw the signs. We canceled our hotel in Page (bummer because this was a free night on Marriott points) and made a new reservation in a small (teeny tiny) town called Marble Canyon. Our hotel motel had the only restaurant in town and so that made our dinner choice easy.  Surprisingly, dinner was great and the motel was clean and that’s all we really needed. Personally, I was impressed by the fringe hanging off the lampshade. ;) I mean you don’t see that every day.

Up next -- Day3: Drive to Zion National Park and sightsee/hike.  Night in Springdale, UT.  Miles logged - 120 in car. (including 1.1 miles in a tunnel!) Total = 2436