Amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you. I feel almost human again. It’s not that I didn’t get enough sleep this last week, it was just brain and body overload the last two days.
Like I said before, after we left Vegas we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Just the ride there was beautiful. At first it was desert, and almost depressing looking lands, but typical of that area. Catching a glimpse of a coyote was fun, and all the wildflowers blooming in that desolate nothingness.
Like I said before, after we left Vegas we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Just the ride there was beautiful. At first it was desert, and almost depressing looking lands, but typical of that area. Catching a glimpse of a coyote was fun, and all the wildflowers blooming in that desolate nothingness.
Then came the meadows, miles and miles of beautiful tree lined meadows with all the wild flowers you can imagine on them. Colors as beautiful as any quilt I’ve ever seen, honest. (yes another quilt idea)When we finally entered the park we rushed to get to the rim as fast as we could, we wanted to see the sun set. Well that was a mistake, for us ocean dwellers at almost sea level, the high altitude was a bit much. Walking faster than normal speed took all the air out of my lungs. Even walking down hill hurt, and I knew I would have to walk back up sometime. Finally we found a perfect spot to sit and watch the sun set. There was even a bench there. However as soon as I sat down and got my breath again I looked down… and I do mean down. My head did this whirly thing and my heart skipped a few beats and my stomach went where it has never gone before…. and I had to close my eyes and not look but that just made me dizzier. John said it was the closeness and the extreme drop, but all I know was for the first time ever that I can remember I was afraid of heights….at least that one.
Did we move, heck no. You just read what I said, we wanted to see the sun set, and we had a perfect seat and view… just one angle of it was frightening so we stayed put. And I took a series of photos showing just how Mr Sun changes the view as he heads off to the other side of the world every night. As long as I only looked out over the distant canyon I was fine, and I did my best not to look straight ahead which was straight down.
When the sun was finally down enough that the colors had faded for the day we hiked back up the 5000 mile trail to the lodge… well it felt like it was 5000 miles. I can proudly say I wasn’t the only one huffing and puffing up that trail, there were others who were as challenged by the altitude as I was.
The lodge, wow… a huge old stone building sitting on the edge, literally. The dining room was huge and beautiful and over looked the canyon too. We didn’t even mind the hour and a half wait for a table… we used the time to check into our room for the night. We didn’t get a cabin, since we were only sleeping there, and not living in it for a few days. The room was sufficient and quiet. After we checked in we went back to the view, and chatted with some other visitors, a family from Boston and another family all the way from Scotland. Finally there was a table for us, and we had our dinner sitting on the edge. Ok… we were inside and it was dark and I was really hungry. Dinner was very good and we didn’t even have room for dessert, which looked great too, but we honestly had no room left. After dinner we wandered back to our room, and were soon asleep, at least I was.
Then the alarm went off and we jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room, afraid that we’d miss the sun rise. Lucky for us, it was just starting to light up the canyon. I even ventured out to take a photo of the lodge, (in the other camera sorry) and then hiked back up again. We sat and leisurely watched until the smell of breakfast got to us, and we went inside to eat. We had a seat right next to the window, but breakfast took our minds off the view. Now how we could be so hungry was beyond me, considering we didn’t eat till almost 9 and it was just 6, I guess it was that altitude thing again.
After breakfast we checked out and headed to see some more views. Unlike the south side where views are quite close together, on the north you drive for miles to get to the next vista. But what a drive! I think I took hundreds of pictures on the way. And the view was worth the airless, hot and treacherous hike to the rim…. we learned to walk slow, take it easy, take water, and wear hats. The torture was worth it.
We had no idea that we would not get to every vista point on the ride. Or that it would take us so many hours to see everything we wanted to see, and all the stuff in between. Before we knew it the clock said it was 1:30 and we knew we had to leave. We missed the last view of the canyon, but what we saw on the road made up for it. The Vermillion Cliffs and the miles and miles of views between there and here were spectacular. 
The lodge, wow… a huge old stone building sitting on the edge, literally. The dining room was huge and beautiful and over looked the canyon too. We didn’t even mind the hour and a half wait for a table… we used the time to check into our room for the night. We didn’t get a cabin, since we were only sleeping there, and not living in it for a few days. The room was sufficient and quiet. After we checked in we went back to the view, and chatted with some other visitors, a family from Boston and another family all the way from Scotland. Finally there was a table for us, and we had our dinner sitting on the edge. Ok… we were inside and it was dark and I was really hungry. Dinner was very good and we didn’t even have room for dessert, which looked great too, but we honestly had no room left. After dinner we wandered back to our room, and were soon asleep, at least I was.
Then the alarm went off and we jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room, afraid that we’d miss the sun rise. Lucky for us, it was just starting to light up the canyon. I even ventured out to take a photo of the lodge, (in the other camera sorry) and then hiked back up again. We sat and leisurely watched until the smell of breakfast got to us, and we went inside to eat. We had a seat right next to the window, but breakfast took our minds off the view. Now how we could be so hungry was beyond me, considering we didn’t eat till almost 9 and it was just 6, I guess it was that altitude thing again.
After breakfast we checked out and headed to see some more views. Unlike the south side where views are quite close together, on the north you drive for miles to get to the next vista. But what a drive! I think I took hundreds of pictures on the way. And the view was worth the airless, hot and treacherous hike to the rim…. we learned to walk slow, take it easy, take water, and wear hats. The torture was worth it.
We had no idea that we would not get to every vista point on the ride. Or that it would take us so many hours to see everything we wanted to see, and all the stuff in between. Before we knew it the clock said it was 1:30 and we knew we had to leave. We missed the last view of the canyon, but what we saw on the road made up for it. The Vermillion Cliffs and the miles and miles of views between there and here were spectacular. 
Marge, I can't tell you how much I am enjoying your travellog in your blog. DH & I took a similar trip 5 years ago, but after Vegas we took the Southern route back to Dallas, via El Paso. Never got to see the North Rim of GC. I am amazed that you have been and seen so many places, and that you are able to document your journey in such an interesting manner. And your pictures are breathtaking!!! Thanks! Margie in TX
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