The Wonder of Wonders...The Grand Canyon

June 23, Day 3

We spent the day on Monday a year ago in June, at the Grand Canyon. There aren't enough words to describe this wonder of nature. This is one thing you need to see for yourself. Each view is different, each minute is different. Everything changes with the tracking of the sun. There was a lot of haze in the air as there had been a controlled burn in the area. We got some great pictures in spite of it.

I have had friends visit both the South Rim and the North Rim. After talking to them and reading quite a few RV blogs, Christie and I decided to visit the North Rim. Besides, it's on our way to Zion National Park. Grand Canyon is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Fewer people, cooler temperatures, more trees and shade for the dogs.  Oh...And The VIEW...Spectacular!!!

We went first to the Visitors Lodge. Beautiful on the inside, very much like the lodge at Yellowstone, big timbers and MASSIVE! Got our National Parks Passport Book stamped! Thank you Bobbie and Jim! Our first official stamp! We bought some postcards and mailed them to the grandkids. Hope they got them. We went into the gift store there and I found a very light weight but nice camp jacket that I sorely needed as I was freezing at night. Yes, I had forgot to pack my jacket, toque and sleep socks. Those things you need if you cold camp. We also charged our electronics that were in desperate need of charging. Christie went down to the point to take some pictures, I stayed back and people watched. 

Afterward, we took the scenic road to the overlooks to have lunch and was surprised to see the pass we had come through 2 days earlier, the Vermilion Cliffs, the path of the Colorado River carved in the valley floor and it is cutting into the Grand Canyon. We were blown away by the expanse and sheer size of it all. You really have no concept of size when looking at the total scope of the area. One can only shake their head and wonder what great event made such a wondrous cut in the earth that we enjoy today. 

Then you look at the Grand Canyon and WOW!!!, WOW!!!, WOW!!! Being up on the vantage points doesn't even begin to bring it into perspective. You are viewing such a tiny portion of the canyon, the sheer size of it...it would take you years, a lifetime to see it all. As we headed back to the campsite after an event filled day, we saw lots of mule deer and buffalo. The buffalo herd we saw are now located in Oklahoma with the Quapaw tribe. They had to remove them due to grounds damage and a water shortage. 

The wildflowers in the park were spectacular. It was hard to choose which pictures to post. 

We had another wonderful camp dinner cooked in our cast iron skillet. Pretty much the same thing as the night before but no campfire as there had been some rain and our wood was wet. We developed a method of cleaning our stuff without water and not once did we ever get sick. We wiped everything off with paper towels and then with our Melaleuca wipes would wipe again. In some of the National campgrounds, you can't dump your gray water on the ground so we came up with this method and it worked great for the whole trip. 

Christie took this just as someone turned on their car headlights

Christie went down to the meadow again and got some fantastic sky shots. Ed Averyt, I wish you could have been here with your telescope! The night sky was something to behold.

Grand Canyon Night Sky was taken from Demott Meadows

Well, the close of another day. Goodnight Noah, Andy, and little Miss Maggie! I am loath to leave this place as it is so Junoesque!