The next stage of the tour brings me to the place I was most excited for with my travels - the Grand Canyon. And wow did it not disappoint...
Between the Las Vegas and the Canyon, we did something that is pretty much mandatory for all American road trips - Route 66. We stopped off at a small cafe, serving mostly shakes. The place was quite quirky, with funny/nostalgic signs all over the walls, and overly friendly servers. This was also the place that gave Pixar the idea for Cars. The producers stopped off there, and spoke to the owners about how empty the place was since the I-40 Highway opened. The producers also found plenty of old American cars parked at the back. Combine that with a little Pixar magic and ta-da, you have a film.
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| Get your kicks on... |
We are staying at the Mather Point campsite on the South Rim of the canyon. It is within the National Park itself - and a very short distance to the canyon itself. Elk and other animals also roam freely through the site. This meant a few visitors if we ever left food or water nearby. Given its the start of mating season, I wouldn't want to get too close though.
Our CEOs planned a little surprise for us on the first day. We arrived about an hour before sunset so had a chance to see it then. But, they planned a grand (pardon the pun) unveiling. They guided us blindfolded right until the edge of the rim and on the count of five, we could take the blindfold off. And what a sight. The fist thing that I though was "Fuck, that's impressive". It took a while for it to sink in, as it was incredibly impressive. It is hard to comprehend the shear size of it. In fact, it is over one vertical mile down to the bottom.
We got a chance to see sunset over the canyon too. We all grouped on an outcrop to watch. The Grand Canyon is impressive enough in the day, but it comes alive in these lighting conditions. The amount of colour was just so impressive: from the light and dark clays of the canyon itself; the mixture of light and dark and the contrast of the orange/red glow of the sun against the pale blues and whites of the sky. Just fantastic.
The only thing better though than the canyon at sunset was the canyon at sunrise. After a 4:45am wake up call, we took our positions on the rim. It was a slow process, but the canyon slowly became lighter and lighter. Just like myself I suppose, the canyon took a while to wake up before it is ready for the day. Similar to the sunset, the amount of colour, light and dark was amazing. The clouds were also thin and whispy, like broken waves gently rolling onto the shoreline of the canyon, and emphasised the effect.
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| Just look at that... |
Later in the day (after having a quick nap) we had a chance to do our own thing and explore. Some hired bikes, my brother ventured down slightly into the canyon, where I had a short walk around the rim. The thing that surprised me a little was how exposed some areas were - with no fencing or barriers. This means, if you fall, it is a long way down. But, that didn't stop us. Like the first night, we ventured onto an outcrop. This one though, was narrow and jutted out into the canyon. We sat there for a little (not too close to the edge) and got some jumping photos (a little scary given the drop).
The Grand Canyon was pretty much top of my bucket list for the USA this year. After the night we spent there, I was able to totally justify why. It is an impressive wonder, and like Yosemite, needs to be seen at some point. You could even say my time there was pretty grand...Labels: #Grand Canyon, #PostCamp, #Route66, #Tour, #Travel
