Overland EXPO and UTAH Trip - Part Three of Many
My son flew in from Seattle today, Sunday, the final day of the Expo. He will join us for our trip to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. Due to other commitments, he would be flying out of Las Vegas on Tuesday. Our reunion with our friends would soon come to a close as we all had plans to depart the Expo and head in different directions. Scott's son and his girlfriend would visit us later in the month. Scott and I discussed our upcoming trip to the Himalayas to climb Ama Dablam in October 2018 and decided to postpone that trip for another year. You see, we have some unfinished business to take care of in Ecuador that took on a higher priority on our list. A few years ago, Scott suffered from AMS and was forced to turn back. Since my wife has been to the Himalayas before and neither of our wives has been to Ecuador, the decision was an easy one. Ecuador it is! Back to Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe and Los Illinizas.
The Expo was trmendous but Monday morning it was time to pack up and move on toward the rest of our adventure. We packed up and left Flagstaff for the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon has been on our bucket list for quite some time. Prior to our departure, I had everything all mapped out and ready to go. I've learned a long time ago that if you properly plan ahead your trip will go a lot smoother. Being seasoned hikers, we realized the limited time we would have to explore most of the South Rim of the Canyon so we opted to enjoy a hike down the Bright Angel Trail to the 3-mile Rest house and return. This is a fantastic hike, frequented by many tourists on a well groomed trail.The hike begins at 6840ft with an change in elevation of 2120ft. It's a 4-6 hour hike depending on your condition.
We departed the Grand Canyon after a short lunch break following the south rim along Highway 64 stopping by as many of the incredible lookouts and "must see" vantage points to get a different view of the Canyon. What a masterful geologic wonder! All the different layers representing the earths storied history. I was blown away. That evening we left the Grand Canyon and headed up 89N to Page Az, our stop for the evening. We chose to spend the night at Page just to catch up on some laundry, sleep in a bed and basically enjoy some creature comforts. It also split the driving time in the morning between the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, our next destination, in half, from 4 hours to 2.
My wife and I both agree that the Grand Canyon is a wonderful place to behold, however, we're not sure if we feel the desire to return and hike down to the Colorado River or visit the North Rim. If we do, it will probably be over a long weekend where we would catch a flight into Vegas and rent a car or even catch a tourist flight over the canyon. Having seen it just once in our lifetime has satisfied my desire.
Obviously, it goes without saying but as all others have said, words and pictures cannot begin to capture this masterpiece.
As we were entering the park, I saw a vehicle slow down and take a picture from their window. As we drove by the same spot, we parked the 4runner and I followed this female and fawn and patiently waited for the right moment. Patience and persistence paid off.
One of the many splendid views from the Bright Angel Trail.
My wife took an opportunity to catch me and my son on the trail. He was carrying my wife's Osprey Pack and I had my old Karrimor pack from Germany. Perfect for this hike.
One of the two tunnels we encountered on the trail.
Another view from the Bright Angel trail
Of course when you're hiking in the Grand Canyon, what goes down, must go up!
Twenty miles east of the main Grand Canyon Visitors center is the Indian Watchtower at Desert View designed by Mary Jane Colter back in 1932
The interior of the Desert View has many murals and paintings by Fred Kabotie, a Native American from the Hopi tribe.
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