A day at the Grand Canyon
I got up at 4:14 am to watch sunrise. I wasn't the first one out. Someone leaving alerted me that I need to get moving. I threw the dogs in their crate in the front of the truck and headed to a nearby picnic area to watch the sunrise. They sky was glowing on the horizon when I got there. I watched in joy and frustration as the sky slowly lit up and the canyon formations became visible. The frustration was because I couldn't figure out how to photograph it properly. But the sunrise brought joy to my spirit.
That sunrise was worth the trip-- so were a lot of other moments. After the sun came up and the magic faded a tiny bit, I made my coffee and oatmeal and fed the dogs at the picnic area. We enjoyed hanging out and watching the light change and the birds feed for quite a while. We went back to the campsite and I got to rest in the hammock for a while. About mid morning, we headed out to experience all the overlooks on Cape Royal Road. I drove up to the top to start. It was surely a canyon road. Thank you to whoever built the road so we could enjoy it, The view at the top was stupendous,
It would truly
be a fantastic sunset point, but I wouldn't want to drive back down
in the dark. On the way down I stopped at all of the overlooks. At
one picnic area I stopped and ate lunch. I skipped the last 2
overlooks because I needed a break from the views. My mind was
saturated.
When I got back to the campground, I hiked a bit of the
Transept Trail (without the dogs who weren't allowed). I get why dogs
aren't allowed. The trail is narrow and a lot of people walk on it.
The dogs would feel really crowded. I took another hammock nap and
read but roused myself in time for the ranger presentation at the
amphitheater. He was very interesting. He talked about the ancient
people who used to live in the canyon and on the rim. He told us
about caves within the canyon and why there are areas closed to the
public. He then taught us to make little sheep like animals.
Archaeologists found them made of split willow in the caves. We made
them out of twist-tie wire. I think they look like elk. I watched
sunset from the Transept trail, along with a few other friendly
people. And went to sleep tired, with beautiful scenery in my head,
looking forward to sunrise again.
