Road Trip Rewarded

As we walked from the car and approached the South Rim of the Grand Canyon we could tell that there was something cool on the other side of the trees. There was something in the air which just screamed awesome. Or perhaps it was the 40 mph winds trying to blow our faces off. Either way we knew we were in for a treat. Once we got to the edge of the Canyon and bore witness to one of the most magnificent things we have ever seen… we knew instantly that we were staying here tonight. There was not enough time. In order to give either Zion or The Grand Canyon its due respect, we had to spend more than 1-2 hours at each. So, sorry Zion… we shall be back.

We started off by walking around the South Rim Trail for several hours. All in all we probably walked around 4-5 miles of back and forth exploring. We would deviate from the path and find an outcropping to go climb out to, or a ledge to have our photo taken on.. At one point Brian mentioned that it was humorous that we kept taking photos of the same thing over and over and over again. But as we discussed it further, it was because every time you looked, from every different direction, it was never the same. The light was different, the angle was different. The view itself was different. Not to mention the depth. The canyons stretched on forever and ever. In every direction. There were multiple layers, colors, formations… there was so much to it all that it is nearly impossible to describe

We then stepped into an observation center along the trail to pick up some gifts and a trail map of the trail that we are going to be hiking tomorrow morning. It was at this time that I realized that the debit card which had been financing this little cross country mission has seemingly vanished into thin air. Awesome. However, determined to not let it run my day or my trip or the fact that I was here, we carried on. Good thing too, because as we walked along, we came across Weird Al Yankovic. We were so determined to get to the next vantage point that we did not even realize it at first until about two minutes later. And by that point, we decided to not disturb him as he was with his family.

Overall the Grand Canyon is simply breathtaking. As we were walking back towards the car we were discussing it and I told Brian that there is nothing like staring into the Grand Canyon to make you realize just how significant you truly are in the grand scheme of things.

As I sit here on the bed of our Hotel about 10 minutes away from the Grand Canyon I am glad that we stayed – no more driving tonight; we are going to get some real hiking in and will be able to see the sunrise over the Canyon; and I have enough time to sit here and drink a few beers and eat some pizza and actually relax.

On to the Stats:

Total Miles: 415.5
Overall Average: 61.4 MPH
Moving Average: 74.2 MPH
Max Speed: 99.1 MPH
Moving Time: 5:36
Stopped Time: 1:10
Total Time: 6:46
Number of Times Pulled Over: 1
Number of other vehicles: 0


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