A Grand Family Adventure : Day 12, Wednesday, July 1: The Grand Canyon

When we began planning our trip, we originally thought we'd begin at the Grand Canyon, but after some thought we decided to go the opposite direction towards Mt. Rushmore. That decision meant that we could visit the North Rim of the Canyon which provides a more desirable view and drastically less people. They say visiting the South Rim is like Orlando because of it's crowds. It's the easier to access so it only makes sense, but we were very lucky to have the opportunity to visit the North Rim.

The drive from our camp ground was only 45 minutes to the entrance to the park and what a beautiful drive it was. We drove through such a peaceful area of trees and greenery. We drove past a heard of bison hanging out with their calves. After entering the park we decided to head to Point Imperial, which is the highest viewpoint of the canyon that you can access at 8,803 feet in elevation. In the short ride to the top we glimpsed the canyon for just a second and it drew every one's breath. We've seen some amazing sights on our trip, so far, but for me, this was the most highly-anticipated. I guess you hear about something so much your entire life that when you finally get to see it in person it is sort of a dream come true.

Point Imperial did not disappoint and the views of the canyon were just beyond. Even though it was a sunny day and the distant canyon was a bit hazy, the view before us was filled with color and contrast. My second observation after seeing it with my eyes, was the complete quiet that surrounds you. It is just kid of numbing, in a way, to stand before something so magnificent and realizes something so vast can be so quiet. It gives new meaning "be still and know." After snapping a few dozen shots we loaded back up and headed down to the Visitor's Center and the other North Rim look-out. We found out the schedule at the Visitor's Center for the Junior Ranger program and headed off to hear about lightning from one of the Park Rangers. She did a great presentation and took the kids around to see some of the lightening strikes in the surrounding area.
Next, we headed back to the look-out and ate a quick lunch before hiking around to take in all that we could see.
There are several trails around the North Rim and they really provide some amazing views and lots of exercise! We just spent time wandering around, snapping photos, and enjoying the view. At one point, we found a rock look-off that was off the trail and took time to rest. Jay and Georgia laid down while Katie Jo and I just sat and took it all in.
We eventually made our way back up to the lodge and while the girls listened in on a talk by the ranger on Condors, Jay and I sat with a beverage to recover from our day! The porch at the lodge is lovely and provides multiple Adirondack chairs to lounge in while you take in the view of the canyon. Again, this is where the North Rim proves to be more desirable because instead of fighting for a chair, there are multiple available due to the lesser number of people.
Finally, we decided it was time to go and made our way to the gift shop and then headed back to the camp ground. On the way, we stopped by one more store to find Katie Jo a snow globe and I was surprised to see a pay phone so I had to get Jay to snap a quick photo of me with the relic!
It was a memorable day and I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see it again. The Grand Canyon did not disappoint and we couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable experience.
Later on, at the campground, the girls headed off to find some friends. This has been their favorite past time in the few opportunities we've had on this trip to just hang out at our camp site. They always took the walkie-talkies to check in and let us know their findings. On this night, the walkie-talkie lit up and they let us know that they found a gaggle of children, but they were from Switzerland and spoke mainly German! Jay immediately started feeding Katie Jo some German words to use, much to the delight of their new friends. Eventually, Jay made it over to their camp and then they summoned me and we all hung out until the very late hours of the night. They two families had traveled over to the US of A for a five week American adventure. It was so interesting to hear where they'd been so far on their trip and where they were headed. They all spoke English since it is a required course in school beginning in fourth grade. At one point we could hear the kids singing around the campfire and realized they were singing, "Let it Go" in German! It was such a fun evening and now we have new friends to visit one day in Switzerland!