Grand Canyon - Day 3

Day 3 – South Rim Grand Canyon & Sunset Crater Volcano

October 5, 2009

This morning we woke up around 8:30 and began to get ready. We stepped outside and realized the temperature was not as earlier predicted by the Weather Channel – It was in the 40s, brrrr. So we bundled up with what we had, went to the store and bought coats :) LOL I needed a new coat anyway.

Afterwards we grabbed breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then headed out to continue our adventure. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon was the plan. It took us about an hour and ½ to get there. We surprisingly got in free due to Mama - she got a life time pass for all federal parks. Love it!

The Canyon itself was vast and not exactly as I suspected. I expected deep colors; the vivid reds we see in the pictures. However, what while it was vast and breathtaking it wasn’t colorful. Maybe it was how high the sun was in the sky – it could have been washing them out. Photography is all about the light. It was great though and enjoyable to drive around.

We drove down Hermit Road (special again due to Mama – most have to take a public bus or hike) and stopped several times to see the sights. It was fun to see how far we could walk out; I got a picture jumping near the edge; hopefully it turns out. We had fun ...

We then went back and grabbed lunch at the Village. We then headed down Desert View Drive toward the East entrance of the park. We saw the watchtower - the wall murals inside were amazing! We then headed out... It is funny as we were leaving and were officially out of the park I saw the Canyon I expected... must have been the light or may where we were... being further away so you can appreciate the contrast... but the colors were vivid; the reds, oranges and whites popping out! It really drew me in – unfortunately it was not very safe to stop and take pictures right there...But it was beautiful and we tried to snap a few out of the window. Hopefully some of them turn out.

We then were heading back to our hotel. I had wanted to go see Sunset Crater Volcano before going to the park, but due to our shopping spree we got a late start, so I didn’t think we would get to see it. However as we were driving back to the hotel we saw the sign and seeing as how the light was still with us we took a left to see what we could see. We didn’t make it to the actual monument due to the light fading on us, however we did get to see several of the volcano’s in the area (mountains all around us) and the black lava ... the last eruption was over 700 years ago, but the lava was still there. It was just great... a wonderful surprise to be able to see it.

Then we came back to the hotel and ordered pizza. Good food – and rest. Tomorrow is the jeep tour; we have to get up and be out of here by 7:30...