Grand Canyon

Earth is older than humans can really grasp. It has been around for billions of years and will remain for billions more. Throughout time species have come and gone, continents have drifted together and apart, landscapes have changed. Some changes are so small we never notice. Some are so large that they leave something, like the Grand Canyon, behind.

We left Phoenix and headed to Flagstaff. It is a beautiful drive. The landscape changes from the desert, with its cacti and shrubs, to a forest with tall pines and birches. You drive over river valleys that are lush and green before returning to the red sand of the desert plains. You drive up large mountainous hills as you rise from phoenix’s 331 m (1086 ft) elevation to Flagstaffs 2,130 m (7000 ft) elevation. Trees begin to dot the landscape and then begin to grow larger until you can’t see the forest for the trees.

 

 

Flagstaff has a population of just over 70,000 people. Big city life for a small-town girl like me. This means that it’s full of big box stores and chain restaurants. It also means that it has the population to support hidden gems like Macy’s, a vegetarian café. A place with great options for any time of the day. We went there twice and the place was always packed with people.

 

Want to eat something people rave about, try MartAnnes for some Mexican. The servers were friendly and attentive. The food was great, portion sizes were huge (I ate two meals from my leftovers). They have great artwork on the wall and if something really catches your eye then you can buy it and take it home. Want to relax with a local beverage? There are many breweries to choose from. We ended up at the Lumberyard Brewery.

 

After picking up a friend in Flagstaff we headed north to continue our adventure, to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

It rained on us as we drive up, and even a little as we got out of the car. We were lucky though and the rain quickly gave way to sunshine.

It gave us the chance to get photos of the rainbow that formed in the Canyon.

We didn’t have the time or the weather to hike into the canyon. I hope to come back when it is not boiling hot summer weather and hike down into the canyon. I want someone to carry me back up though, it’s a steep climb (Maybe think about some donkeys).

Pictures can’t do a setting like this justice. They can’t show the depth and scale that take your breath away when you get your first glimpse or get to close to the edge. Everyone tries though, people take what must amount to billions of pictures of the canyon to get the right shot. I’m guilty too. I took many pictures so I could find the best to share with others.

We walked around the area of Mather point along the rim. Taking in the way the views change as you walk along the rim.

We left the areas that were deeply crowded and found spots that were more isolated. I like my photos better without strangers in them.

When it was time to leave we were all sad but drove back to Flagstaff to find the Air B’n’B that we had booked. We were headed to Antelope Canyon the next day and were excited about that.