We arrived at the Grand Canyon at about noon on Saturday, as we got a little bit of a late start because we stayed up super late the night before having dinner and awesome conversation with some of our new Arizona friends. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was cloudy and so we didn't have to worry about the heat and set out to walk the Rim Trail.
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| Yay, One Year Anniversary! And goin' strong... :) |
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| Absolutely Awesome! |
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| Kinda a funny story behind this picture... |
While up on the rim we stopped to listen to a Ranger Dude talk about the geology/history of the Grand Canyon. It was an interesting talk and it is just crazy to think that water was able to carve out such a magnificent canyon.
Another thing the Ranger mentioned, almost as a side note, was that only 5% of the 5 million people who visit the Grand Canyon every year ever venture below the rim. That seemed just crazy, but as we glanced around at the other visitors, I guess it didn't seem so staggering. Apparently high heels, dresses, and little dinky flip flops are adequate "hiking" atire. Ha ha! At first we were frustrated because there were SO many people present on the Rim Trail. But then we found it really funny because we only had to venture about 50 feet away from any of the bus stops and we were in complete solitude on the path. The other thing we marveled at was all the different languages being spoken! We ventured 2.5 hours via highway to arrive at the Grand Canyon, whereas most of our fellow explorers had traveled numerous hours and over oceans to arrive at the same destination.
Sunday morning we got up early and headed out on the South Kaibab Trail. What incredible views!!!
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| Steep, steep at the beginning/end. |
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| 3.5 miles later, at Skeleton Pt, we turned around and began the 3.5 miles UP. |
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| The view, Dad. You know what I mean. |
Our recommendation... if you visit the Grand Canyon, hike down past the rim. And, while your legs will hurt for days afterwards, the views are totally worth it! I'm going to go limp off to bed, now... :)
What an Awesome weekend! And what an Awesome first year of marriage!
