We arrived at the South Gate around 4:30 p.m. We drove to the Visitor Center and proceeded to Mather Point for our first look at the Canyon:
Our first look.
It is incredibly impressive. Much has been said about how the Grand Canyon cannot be captured in words or art. I agree. The thing is just so...vast. It runs from beyond one end of the horizon to beyond the edge of the other, and it stretches out before you for miles. Debbie and I both agree that the picture we had in our minds was that of "a canyon." But the Grand Canyon seems to be riddled with canyons upon canyons. It is so three-dimensional that it is astonishing.
Another thing I noticed is how perspective at the Grand Canyon plays such an important part. With every movement you make, the foreground changes but the background remains the same. This gives rise to a seemingly infinite number of views. There are so many good views that it's hard NOT to find a good angle or shot. I wonder how many pictures are taken of Grand Canyon every day or in an average year.
Our family probably took hundreds of photos, which I will spare the readers of this blog. If you ever want to sit through them all, just let me know! Instead, I will just share the most significant or meaningful from our journey.
After we had gaped in awe for about 45 minutes, we returned to our van and drove to Yavapai Lodge for check-in. Since it was close to supper time, we ate in the Lodge food court. The meal was...adequate. We then went to our room and unloaded. We were delighted to find that we were given a very user-friendly room with lots of shelves and storage space, and we ordered a rollaway bed for Daniel.
After so many busy days, the kids wanted some time just to crash in the room, so Debbie and I decided to go check out the shuttle bus system so we would know it for the next day. We caught the first bus that came along, and it took us to the transfer point for continuing our journey to the west. From my research, I knew that Hopi Point is one of the best spots to watch the sunset over the canyon. We made it there around 7:30, with enough time to enjoy the sunset at 7:45. With a hazy, overcast sky, however, the sunset wasn't overly remarkable.
Sunset at Hopi Point.
Grand Canyon National Park does a great job running their shuttles. They got us back down to our room very quickly. The kids went to the lobby to get on the internet, while I went to bed early because I had a special mission for the next day: to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon.
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