Having a Grand Old Time....

Zion NP - Yavapai Lodge, Grand Canyon NP 245 miles, 4 hrs 49 mins 

It was time.

Stage II: Park-hopping extraordinaire...

After our morning's thoroughly enjoyable exploration of Zion NP and avoidance of any further splattage, we were down to the last National Park on our itinerary.   It was the biggie, the King of Chasms and God of Gulches - the magnificently incomprehensible Grand Canyon.

Like Zion, I'd been to Grand Canyon a number of years ago - this time with Mumsie on our Vegas-Sedona road trip back when I was still living in the UK.  I distinctly remember it as that was the first time I'd rented a car in the US (a white Toyota Corolla, I think) and so the trip involved getting used to an automatic transmission, discovering the delights of cruise control and being totally baffled and intimidated by the roads being so wide.  I remember pulling out of the AVIS parking lot, surveying the road in front of me thinking "the other side of the road can't possibly be all the way over there, can it??!").  Fortunately for Mumsie, I got the hang of it pretty quickly and now I only occasionally forget which side of the road I'm supposed to be on, so that's good I guess.  We didn't drive to the Grand Canyon on that trip but instead took the Grand Canyon Railway, a steam locomotive that chugs along from Williams to Grand Canyon Village.  It was a lot of fun, a very relaxed way to get to the Canyon and, on the way back, we were even held up by Indians!  (and saved by some handily placed Cowboys!).  Here's the link if you want to check it out:

http://www.thetrain.com/the-train/

Also, on the same trip, I'd treated myself to my very first ever helicopter ride and (in obviously a sign of things to come) had splashed out on a helicopter tour from Las Vegas, over the Hoover Dam and landing at the bottom of Grand Canyon for a glass of champagne.  The whole trip is a bit of a blur (and not because of the champagne, I might add!) but because it was rather overwhelming - looking down into Grand Canyon is awe-inspriing enough, but to combine that with the rush of a helicopter ride and then to be at the bottom of a mile-deep chasm, looking up at the vast, towering rock face - it was almost unreal.  It was completely brilliant, though, so I'd definitely recommend it if you are ever in Vegas and have a couple of hours between striptease shows to burn.  Here's the outfit I used (I guess its a good sign they are still in business 15yrs later!):

http://www.papillon.com

Anyway, no helicopter for our intrepid explorers but, instead, a five hour drive from Zion across some spectacular and spectacularly dull scenery.  We'd already got the tip from the Tunnel Ranger (now there's gotta be a superhero movie in that somewhere) about avoiding Page so, duly informed and with our respective GPS's fired up and ready for action, off we went!

Taking turns in driving for an hour or so each, it really wasn't too bad - we didn't fall asleep at the wheel, break down, get lost, drive into a tree, bridge or rock, get abducted by aliens or serial killers, die of thirst, melt or fart ourselves to death, so all in all, a very pleasant drive.  There was one slightly hairy moment, though, when our GPS seemed to go a little haywire but - fortunately for us- it managed to reorient itself and appeared none the worse for its little off-roading adventure.  Perhaps it was bored too with the poker-straight road, stretching for miles upon miles into the distance...

Ummm.... not really what you want to see on your GPS....

After about 3hrs or so, there started to appear this massive geologic formation in the far distance.  Was this it?  Were we seeing the first glimpses of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon??

Yeah...um... no.  We weren't.

A Saga of Yeah, Whatever.  It ain't the Grand Canyon....

What we were seeing were the Vermillion Cliffs and, as we saw slightly further on at the scenic viewpoint, that meant that we were on the Vermillion Cliffs Highway.  Given the location of the pink dot on the map, we still quite some way from our destination.  *cue disappointed yet stoically resolute sigh*

"Are we there yet?"

Its something to be said for the sheer grandeur of the National Parks that we'd already visited that the Vermillion Cliffs, in all their pinky tallness, barely warranted more than a "oh...look...they're kinda cool...OK...done now..." before we got back into the car and continued our journey.   I don't think it helped that it was 107 degrees (!) outside, so the incentive to get back inside the nice air-conditioned car was very strong,  Anywhere else in the world, they'd probably be quite remarkable and worthy of much oo-ing and ah-ing but here, big fat rock faces and sheer cliff walls are tuppence-ha'penny, so it was "Next!".  But it was a good chance to stretch our legs for a couple of minutes and pretend not to notice the lady lurking about trying to sell us silver and turquoise tchotchkes!

Not the Grand Canyon.  The Otherwise Impressive
 Walls of the Vermillion Cliffs

WE FINALLY MADE IT!!! 

Anyway, back into the car for the final leg.  After another hour, we started to pick up the first signs for the Grand Canyon (yippee!) and within another hour or so, we had finally made it!!  We'd estimated we'd make it by about 6 - 6.30pm and we were spot on - so well in time before dark and so that we could enjoy the sunset in the park.  The sense of excitement was growing as we drove into the park, through the entrance gates, paid the Park Ranger and collected our maps.  As the park is so enormous, it would actually take us about another 25mins to drive from our entry point, at the base of South Rim, through the park, alongside the South Rim, to get to Grand Canyon Village where Yavapai Lodge was located.  It was peaked even further on seeing the road sign "First Glimpse of Grand Canyon, 500ft)- how exciting!!

500ft later - and there it was.  Our first view of the canyon.

Simply breathtaking.  First glimpse of the Grand Canyon from
the South Rim entrance

Its very hard to describe in words.  Immense.  Majestic.  Surreal.   Awe-inspiring.  Quite big.  Hard to describe and even harder to take a picture of that can reflect the sheer scale of what you are seeing.  As in the words of the great 20th-century philosophers, Journey, the Grand Canyon is "more than a feeling".  It is a bit odd - as you are driving along the road that tracks along the side of the South Rim, even when you can't see the Canyon to your right, you can just feel it there.  Its such an immense presence, it almost seems to exert this gravitational pull on you, stirring your soul and leaving you with this vague sense of disquiet. Its very odd.  Or it could have been the caffeine from the Red Bull working its way out of my system after the long drive.

Anyway, it was bloody impressive.  Lori was rendered pretty much speechless, all cognitive processing abilities on full-overload, such that the only sounds she was squeaking out were the occasional "Wow".    After a few minutes at the first scenic point, we got back into the car and - still somewhat dumbstruck - continued our drive into the park, passing many more amazing views, and headed for our home for the night, the Yavapai Lodge.

I'd managed to snag a fairly last minute reservation and was very happy to bagged a spot, especially given it was July 4th and the park would be busier than usual with tourists.  I wasn't sure what to expect as it was described in some of the reviews online as a bit older and - in the part of the lodge that we were staying in - the rooms weren't air conditioned.  But - as it turned out - the room was lovely, nicely furnished with very comfy beds, a nice clean bathroom and, though no AC, a big fan to help keep the room cool.  It was very reasonably priced as well, so all in all, I was very happy with it.  Here's the link:

http://www.usparklodging.com/grandcanyon/yavapai.php?gclid=CIrKm6GMpLgCFQ9dQgodrk8A6g

The rooms were part of a larger complex that included other accommodation choices (including the famous El Tovar hotel - more on that tomorrow) as well as several restaurants, the railway station, a grocery store and - of course - the requisite gift shops.  It was all very resort-y but nicely done in a sympathetic-to-the-natural-world kind of way.  After unloading our stuff from the car into the rooms, we had a very quick little 30 min power nap, before we forced ourselves up and out to go explore and to get some food.  I thought we'd give the Bright Angel Lodge a try for supper (very casual and laid-back), so back into the car for the short drive over.   

Little Elk

A minute or so away from our destination, Lori suddenly shouted "LOOK!!  Over there!!  Pull over!!!" - i looked and, bloody hell, there was a ruddy great big elk!  Rapidly pulling over to the side of the road and parking quickly, we got out of the car to investigate further - and found there were two of them!!   And the second one was even bigger than the first!  With a HUGE set of beautiful velvety antlers!!  It was quite incredible.   The animals weren't bothered in the least by the crowds of people following them, taking their pictures - they were just perfectly content to munch on the lodge's lush and juicy green lawns!!  (though the big elk got a bit pissed off at one point, when this STOOPID parent let his kid get too close - fortunately, a local woman watching nearby, shouted to the guy to warn him his kids were in danger unless they moved back.  why are people so dumb??).   It was really quite a sight to see these two elk, wandering through the grounds of the lodge and sauntering along the sidewalk, through the car park, as if they owned the place.

Big Elk

There was one funny moment when this guy, coming down the stairs from his first floor balcony to smoke a cigarette, turned the corner and almost ran straight into Big Elk!  His face was an absolute picture!  I guess its not every day you go out for a smoke and run into a massive moose   just moseying down the road!  It was a great introduction to the park and to see Real Wildlife on our first evening was an absolute treat!  Later on that evening, we'd see more elk - this time a mother and her 5 (!) calves, running and playing in the twilight.  It was very cute indeed, especially the little squeaking and squealing noises the baby elk were making - I guess the elky-equivalent of laughing.

"Now where did i leave my damn car?"

Not a sight you see every day....

After that Elk Excitement, we finally arrived at the Bright Angel Lodge, parked up and had a quick wander round before dinner, again soaking up the incredible views of the Canyon.  Mumsie - this was the same place that'd we'd been to - and nothing had changed!  The gift shop was still there, selling the same stuff - I even bought the latest edition of the book "Death in Grand Canyon" - a chronicle of all known deaths within the Park since records began, and updated last year to reflect the most recent ways people have managed to kark it in the park since the 1st edition 10 years ago.   Its a bit of a macabre read (and its pretty thick - as are some of the folk described in the book), so I haven't got very far in yet, but i'll keep you posted.   As well as the incredible views, we were also treated to the sight of several American Condors, wheeling and soaring in the park, catching the updrafts seemingly effortlessly.  Apparently the species was endangered a few years ago but preservation efforts have paid off handsomely and now their numbers are burgeoning again, so it was nice to hear a success story for a change.

And, with that, the last remnants of the daylight faded and we headed into the restaurant for a well-deserved supper.  It had been a very long day but a fantastic one - what a great way to spend July 4th!!

Condor brooding

El Tovar lodge

Little art studio perched on the South Rim 

Not bad views, eh?