Day 3 of Arizona Road Trip

In 1896, John Wesley Powell described the Grand Canyon as a national treasure that every American should see. I'm not American nor do I have a cool middle name like Wesley but I finally got to see one of our world's great wonders.

What appeared to be a short drive on the map turned out to be a very long hour's drive with little to do other than follow the tour busses and jeep tours. Entry into the park was a reasonable $25 per car and although busy I was pleasantly surprised at how un-crowded some parts of the South Rim Park were.

There is really no point in me writing about how huge the Grand Canyon is, neither picture nor words can do its scale justice. Even standing right at the edge looking down it is hard to put it into perspective. The great Colorado River looks like a trickling stream carving through the multicoloured layers of rock. It's seems impossible that a little bit of water can make such an impressive landmark. One quote that stood out for me in the Geology centre read "Given time, Nothing is more changeable than rock..." and the Grand Canyon has had a lot of time!

The day was a little hazy but you could still see the canyon heading East and West for as far as the eye could see. Using the free shuttle bus service it is possible to move around the area very easily or (as we chose to do) you can hike as far as you like and then take the bus back. We hung around until sunset but sadly the cloud rolled in and obscured the sun at the vital moment. After a long tiring day we returned back to our tent.

I disagree with John Wesley Powell, I think the Grand Canyon is World Wonder that everyone should see.