Sunset over the Canyon

With the tour buses gone we took the shuttle bus to the sunset viewing area. There were a couple of different levels to watch from which helped spread out the crowd of 100 or so people remaining at the lodges overnight. Accents from all over the world were heard but "ooh" and "ahhh" are part of a Universal Language of appreciation for Nature and the Cosmos.

Long shadows and we are losing the light

Shuttle bus ride and we are back at the El Tovar within 15 minutes and looking forward to dinner.
The dining room is dimly lit and has a rustic feel as it was built around the turn of the 20 th Century-1910 I think, in the days when steam trains opened up the Canyon to visitors. Simple American cuisine- steaks and such. Not gourmet but satisfying when you have been walking around the Canyon rim on a hot afternoon.

The Rim is very quiet at night once you step away from the lodges. Looking up, the sky had more stars than I had seen in a long time of city living. Mesmerizing. We sat on a bench gazing upwards.

We had to be up for the sunrise! That was our plan, even though it would mean being out of our room by 5 a.m, dressed warmly. Back to the hotel room...

The best feature of the room was the wall of windows that looked out into the Canyon. We spent very little time in the room.

We were up early as planned and walked outside

As we walked we saw a wolf walking through the trees 30 yards ahead. We stopped. I couldn't get my camera out of the bag fast enough to capture him-and he was gone.

We waited on a bench by the rim for the sun to appear....

We enjoyed a cooked breakfast in El Tovar to set us up for the rest of the day as we would be leaving the Canyon in a couple of hours to drive to Sedona, Arizona to spend a few days.

The deer were also having breakfast

Back to the Canyon-waking up to another day of being stared at

The light and shadows are always changing

More to follow......

Even more Canyon!

Personally I wouldn't go that close to the edge...

We're getting that low afternoon sun now and the shadows are growing longer.  The coach tourists are looking at their watches as they will have to leave before sunset.

Carol finds a bench and we rest for a while

The crowds are thinning out. When it is time for the sunset we will use the shuttle bus service which takes the overnight visitors to a vantage point and returns to the lodges after dark.

We'll return for the sunset.....

More canyon

At 277 miles long, up to 6,000 feet deep and varying from 4 to 18 miles wide the canyon is BIG and we are only seeing a tiny part of it, where there are hotels.

Carol turns her back on the Canyon (just for a moment)

I just realized that we have been to the Canyon  at least 3 times and recall now that the first time was in 1995 when we were in Flagstaff for Wagner's Ring Cycle of operas. Near Flagstaff is a town called Williams which is the home of the Grand Canyon Railroad. We took a train for the 65 mile journey to the South Rim and had two hours to spend there before the return trip. The trains then ran on steam but that is not longer the case. The GCRR is now owned by Xanterra.

Here is the exterior of the El Tovar hotel I had mentioned. They have a restaurant here and that's where we would be dining tonight after sunset and where we would have breakfast next morning.

It also has a gift shop with a big selection of GC memorabilia.

 The squirrels at the Canyon are used to people being close to them-and hope you have brought some peanuts as tribute... (Carol always has some in her pockets)

If you plan to visit I would urge you to consider an overnight stay so that when the tour buses leave you can experience the quiet here and the starry night sky after sunset. I didn't have a camera then that could capture what we are seeing. Now that I do I am looking forward to returning.

More to follow...