Grand Canyon National Park

Bad back and all, we just couldn’t stay away any longer.  We managed to get away a little after 8 am this morning for the 60-mile drive to Grand Canyon.  I drove while Gene braced himself for the bumps in the road.

Even though this is still shoulder season, there were a fair number of folks there and it was difficult to find a parking space at the Canyon View Visitor Center.  Your first look at this marvelous work of nature is awe-inspiring.  This was Gene’s first visit and need-less-to-say, he was quite impressed.  I had been here some 20 years ago and knew what to expect, but that did not diminish the sense of grandeur one feels when gazing into this vast chasm.  Created over eons of time by the erosive forces of nature, it is truly GRAND.

We didn’t want to overextend Gene’s capabilities today, so with his back issues guiding our tourism decisions we chose to visit the historical buildings at Grand Canyon Village.  The Ranger at the information desk suggested we park at Lot C which would give us easy access to the free shuttle bus and is also located just across the train tracks from Bright Angel Lodge.  There were also picnic tables there which made our lunch break easy.  We could leave our little soft sided cooler in the truck.

We strolled along the rim trail, enjoying the views and going inside several of the historic buildings—Verkamp’s Curio Shop, Hopi House, El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge and Lookout Studio.  This is the first year in a hundred years that the Verkamp family has not operated a curio shop here.  It is now owned by the Park Service and is a Visitor Information Center.  Hopi House specializes in Native American handcrafts.  There were some really beautiful items, but far too expensive for our budget.  El Tovar Hotel, built in 1905, is the nicest of the hotels located along the South Rim.  Bright Angel Lodge, built in 1935, was a Fred Harvey Hotel and has a nice display of Harvey Hotel and Harvey Girl memorabilia.  Lookout Studio is right on the very edge of the canyon rim and is now a small gift shop.  By walking through the Lookout Studio shop you exit to a lookout platform below the rim.  It’s a great view.

Hopi House

Bright Angel Trailhead, one of the most popular trails in the park which leads down into the canyon to Indian Gardens, is located just past Lookout Studio.  We walked down the trail a few feet where we encountered a mule train coming up.  That was special.  The smell was special, too.

Mules on Bright Angel Trail

We stopped for lunch after touring the historic buildings, then hopped on the free shuttle and rode up to Yavapai Observation Point.  From there we walked back to Bright Angel Lodge (about 2 miles) along the paved rim trail.  There were great views of the canyon all along the way.

Lookout studio

Back at Bright Angel Lodge, we had to do like all the other tourists—eat ice cream.  Well, actually, I had a shake and Gene had a coke.  Figuring that was about as much as Gene’s back could stand for the day, we headed home.

Tomorrow, if all goes well and there are no ill effects from today’s excursion, we’re planning to hike down Bright Angel trail for a way.  If we’re not up to that much of a workout, then we’ll finish the sections of the rim trail we missed today.