Yes, we'll visit Berlin in this exciting blog. And why not?
Um, actually I can think of one good reason right off the top of my head...you are probably all worn out by my endless diet of Schnitzels....
So-let's leave Berlin until later and go somewhere else....
THE GRAND CANYON!
As many of you are not from the USA I thought you might like to visit this amazing place without having to get a Passport, so let's go there!
The nearest airport to the GC is Phoenix, Arizona and then you have to drive 230 miles as it is rather remote. We have been there at least twice. Once we stopped there for a few hours in the afternoon on our way to Sedona, Arizona from Las Vegas. From Las Vegas it took us 6 hours of steady driving at 75 mph (120 Kph) to get to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is a beautiful scenic mountain drive.
During the day the rim is very busy with coach-loads of tourists but they have to go home at some point, back to wherever they are staying and that leaves the place much quieter in the evenings as darkness descends.
So having been there once on a fleeting visit we thought it would be even better if we came and stayed overnight before moving on to Sedona on our second visit.
There are 3 hotels next to the rim and they are all owned by the same company Xanterra, not renowned in the hospitality business,alas, but a bed and a bathroom for the night is all we needed and so we took lodgings in the Yavapai Lodge. The best-known hotel by the rim is the rustic El Tovar but a room with a good view there (over the Canyon at front not over the dumpsters at back) needs to be booked up to a year in advance and this was an impromptu trip for us.
The Canyon can't be seen from afar as you approach, unlike a mountain. You can't even see it until you park your car at the hotel and walk over to the low stone wall at the edge....YIKES!!!! There it is the biggest, deepest, widest thing you have ever seen...
It's not one of those things you can fit into one photograph -like the Eiffel Tower perhaps. It will take many photos to show you what we saw on this one small section of this mighty chasm formed by the Colorado river with a lot of time on it's hands.
The canyon is not going anywhere so take your time and unload the luggage from your car and check-in to the Hotel. There is nothing else to do for the next 20 hours or so but look into the Canyon, relax with a beer then some dinner etc, then sleep in a very quiet place and get up early to see the sun come up.
There are paths carved out of the sides of the Canyon and you can walk or pay for a mule ride down to the floor. If you walk it takes 8 hours apparently to walk back up...
Way down below there is a ranch where one can stay overnight for a fee. At some point in my life I hope to be on the bottom looking up but a helicopter might need to get involved.
I am immobile, trying to take it all in...
Around the rim are gnarled trees, growing out of bare rock
Each few yards, walking along the rim , you get a new perspective on the winding Canyon.
The temperature is mid 70's now. This was I believe March 2004. We are in no hurry to unpack as we have been hearing about this Canyon all our lives and had to gaze and admire.
We'll come back to it tomorrow....
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