My, my. What to say about today. I am speechless, and that almost never happens, as you all know. There are no words to describe the incredible beauty that is the Grand Canyon. This entry will be more about photos than words.

We left the hotel this morning at 8:15 and headed north. We were on our way after stopping at the Safe Way for supplies to make sandwiches. I know from past experience, it is better to bring your own food when visiting the parks, as restaurants are few and sometimes inconvenient. The trip out of town took us down the main street in Williams, which is right out of the 50's. It is restaurants and motels, many with signs that have not been modernized in 60 years. It is quaint and it is charming.

The drive to the park took about an hour. The views were ever changing, with deserts blanketed in yellow grass and sage, stretches of tall pines, and beautiful vistas filled with distant mountains to the east, dimmed by the haze from the early morning sun. Off to the west we saw wind mills dancing gracefully along the horizon and huge power lines made of erector sets on steroids. And we witnessed a strip mining operation gouging out the rocks and defacing the south side of a mountain. And very conveniently, there is a small town just before the South Gate called Tusayan, which has hotels and restaurants and gave us an opportunity to refill our coffee cups before entering the park.

The park visit had a rough start. My experience with National Parks is that they are not very friendly to disabilities. Often the parking areas are a very long walk to the facilities. And the morning began with a long walk to the visitor’s center along paved walkways hot from the sun’s rays, then an even longer walk to the restrooms. The return trip was up hill the entire way and by the time I got back to the car, I was hurting. And finding the right road to travel took us some time, since most of the roads are reserved for the bus lines that run all through the park. Only one road can be used for passenger cars at this time of year. But once we found it and started hitting the lookouts, we all calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the day.

We drove the 26 mile road to Desert View, stopping many times along the way to view the canyon and take photos. Beamer got out at every stop and left his mark everywhere for other dogs to enjoy. The last stop on the road is the Desert View. There is a tower built in 1933 and Steve climbed up to get a better view while Beamer and I sat in the shade waiting for him to return. The walk to the tower was a hike down hill, and on our way back we realized that we had made the ultimate error when walking in the desert…we forgot to bring water, and we were both very much in need. The restrooms were at the top of the hill so fountains were not available. I went into the trading post but they don’t sell water in bottles in the park. I asked the clerk behind the snack bar for water and he denied me. But another visitor told him to let me have a paper cup and let me fill it at the water station and the guy was shamed into doing so. I got the biggest cup they had and filled it to the top and Steve and I shared it all the way back to the car. I was glad I took my cane or I would never have made it back to the car.

With the viewing complete, we made our way back to the visitor center and down the road out of the park. We got back to our hotel around 4:30. As for the canyon, I am not going to even try to describe it. I don’t have the words, except to say that the colors were spectacular…see the photos below. I have been asked by several to post more, so here we go.