We have been two days without internet so this blog entry covers three days. On Thursday we left Utah and moved into Arizona. It is not far from Mount Carmel Junction to Jacob Lake where we stayed that night. We arrived in the morning and too early for check in so we continued on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Our first view was from Bright Angel Point. Maureen was not too keen to walk out to the point so I changed my mind about doing a quick hike to the river bottom 2000 + metres below. Instead I trained her in height management by getting her to go out to every far point .... and she passed quite well.

The North Rim Lodge is built on the lip of the canyon so is the best place to stay. Needless to say you have to book much further in advance to stay there than we could so that is why we stayed outside the park. It would be great to sit in the lodge and view the sunset. Sue & Larry had us on the waiting list for the lodge but no luck.

There is another plateau on the north rim called the Walhalla Plateau and has a number of viewing points that look out over the canyon and across to Navajo lands. We checked them all out including Cape Royal, Walhalla Overlook, Roosevelt Point, Vista Encantada and Point Imperial.

Yesterday we drove off the Kaibab Plateau and followed the Vermillian Cliffs to Lees Ferry. The colours in the cliffs were combinations of red, white and brown and contrasted with desert shrub colours. It would have been a lonely place not so long ago. Before 1923 there was no crossing of the Grand Canyon except by ferry so the history of the area is defined as moving from pioneer to traveller around that year.

Lees Ferry is where Grand Canyon rafting starts off. We saw a couple set off and hit their first white water. The rafts are so big they ride it like a hot knife through butter. Of course, this was a small rapid and there are larger ones that make the rafts buck around. They have outboard motors so they can turn around and go upriver if they see a sandbank in the shade for a lunch stopping point - such as under the bridges at Marble Canyon. These bridges are nearly 500 feet above the river which makes the rafters look small.

It was a hot day and no shade so a picnic was not on the cards. Instead we went to a Navajo trading post and tried out their local fare. Their bread is a deep fried circular flat bread - something a bit novel. The trading post was at the top of the Little Colorado Canyon. This enters the Grand Canyon as another major split in the landscape.

From the trading post, we headed to the East Rim of the Grand Canyon and took in views from the Watchtower, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point and Grandview Point. We found out that the remaining lookouts are limited to the shuttle bus service so we will look at them tomorrow.

We are now in Tusayan, just outside the park. Once again, bookings were too late to get to stay in a park lodge. However, where we are is quite good and close to everything and the hotel room is one of the better ones we have experienced.

Today we walked the South Rim trail for about 8 km. The views were breathtaking. I tried a small portion of the Bright Angel Trail just to say 'done that'. The trail is a mule path and you have to watch for wet grass that is slightly off colour. The mules get lighter as the trail decends. Also saw a bit of wild life along the way - a few soaring condors which are extremely rare but seem to like it in one place here; a bighorn sheep and of course squirrils and chipmonks.

And a word to sum up the Grand Canyon experience - GGRRAANNDD

Tomorrow we head for Flagstaff, Sedona and Las Vegas - Viva LV.