This morning we have time to sleep in. We spend today in Williams to take time to go see the Grand Canyon. No rushing around for breakfast and to get the luggage loaded, just a day to relax and see the beauty of Arizona. After a leisurely breakfast we get on the bikes and head up to Grand Canyon National Park. It’s only about 70 Miles from the hotel, and a beautiful ride to the park. Once we arrive and spend our time in line at the park entrance, we make our way to the edge of the canyon. Here we get off our bikes and have a couple of hours to hike the rim trail, take photographs and admire the gigantic hole in the ground.
The Grand Canyon has taken millions of years to form, a result of the meandering course of the mighty, turbulent Colorado river, wind, rain and erosion. It still is forming today, as rainstorms, spring runoff, streams and the Colorado river sculpt it’s continually changing contours. One cannot really appreciate it’s immense scale from just the rim, to really understand how large it really is requires that you actually go into the canyon itself. This is harder than it sounds, the national park service strongly discourages anyone from attempting to go to the bottom and back to the rim in the same day.
They even consider this activity to be dangerous and irresponsible. Even if you are in the best physical shape and avaraged a good pace the round-trip would take at least sixteen hours. Of those who have attempted to do it, only a few have ever accomplished it, most falling victim to dehydration, sunstroke, extreme exhaustion, and in some cases even death. Since we are only at the Grand canyon for a short period of time we take the easiest option to go into the canyon…helicopter rides!
We continue to enjoy our surroundings until it’s time to go to the Grand Canyon airport to take our helicopter ride. Depending on our flight time we either go directly to the airport or to a local pizza place for lunch. Either way we go on the helicopter ride into the canyon (booked well ahead of time, being immensely popular the flights fill up quickly…especially in the busy summer tour months) to get a true apperciation on the size and scope of the canyon.
In all our tours I have never had anyone complain about the flight, and most are at a loss for words to describe it when they are finished. Gary and I have been on the helicopter tours so many times, the last one my silly human (Gary) fell asleep midway through th flight.
After lunch and the flight, everyone finds thier own way to enjoy the canyon, be it going back to the rim, hiking the trails, or just going to the IMAX theatre to see the Grand Canyon experience movie.
Another great way to learn about the canyon, it’s peoples, history and those who explored it (i.e. John Wesley Powell, a one–armed civil war veteran who first boated the Colorado river).
Now everyone splits up and goes thier own way, having a great time.
We all meet back at the hotel that night for dinner and to share our experiences of the canyon with one another over a well deserved drink in the hotel bar. Still in awe of the days events we retire to our rooms for a good night’s rest in preparation for the next day’s riding through the desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment