The Grandest Canyon on Earth

We picked Laurie up in Las Vegas about 9:30 in the morning after spending the night in the desert. I have absolutely no desire to see Las Vegas. If I won a trip for a week there, I would turn it down. When I picked Laurie up, I got her at the motel and got the hell out of Dodge.

From Vegas we made the drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The South Rim is the touristy part of the national park. Although there were plenty of people at the North Rim, it is less crowded. Also, there are less things to do for tourists. I chose the North Rim just because I wanted to see the Grand Canyon. After we left, we wouldn't have to drive around it to head back north.

The road from Vegas to the Canyon has very pretty. We could see this mesa for miles

Fun fact; On our way to the Grand Canyon we had to stop at a Super Walmart to buy groceries. We got a bunch of stuff for a week of eating. One of the things we bought were Samoas Girl Scout cookies. We had them as a snack as we were approaching the Grand Canyon parking lot. You can not see the canyon from the lot, you have to walk. As I parked the car, I couldn't wait to see the view. DJ and Laurie, on the other hand wanted to finish eating their cookies and were arguing over the last one.

Priorities

I only planned a day and a half at the Grand Canyon.  Although it is amazing to look at, there isn't a lot to do. We took in a couple ranger programs and took a shower at the campground. We did a couple short rim walks. However, we did not take the plunge into the canyon itself. Although it was about 70 degrees on top, it was about 110 at the bottom. Also, being Laurie's first day in the west, she couldn't have been able to do such a strenuous hike. 

Rocking the socks and sandals

The mighty Colorado River. The canyon walls hide the river on most of the north rim. This was the one spot it could be seen.

This arch is in the Canyon. Pretty cool

My last fun fact from the Grand Canyon. We went to a ranger program about California Condors on our second day there. It was a little warmer, maybe about 80 degrees. The sun was bright. I started to overheat. I got hot and sweaty. Then I got the chills and was lightheaded. Basically, I started suffering symptoms of heat stroke. I went indoors and bought an ice cream. Within about thirty seconds I went from feeling like I couldn't stand to feeling 100% better. It was an amazing rush. Who said ice cream isn't good for you?