The Grand Canyon!
September 4, 2009
We got up very early. We got up at 5am and were out at the Mather point by 5:30am. By 6am the crowds started filling in. But that didn't distract us from the magnificent view that was to unfold in front of us. Slowly but surely the canyon revealed itself leaving each one of us spellbound at its beauty.
We snapped a few pictures. But really no camera will do justice for the beauty and grandeur of the place. You find yourself thanking Teddy Roosevelt for his long-term vision in preserving this park.
I do have to admit though, with those with cameras, we got an earlier glimpse. The pic above, for whatever reason it came out so much brighter than it really was!! The sun had just come up and it was still relatively dark!!!
We then began to take the hiking trail to Pipe Creek Vista. Along the way we took the following pic. On the left of the pic, you can see a profile of a human face in the rock formation looking up at the sun. We saw a few similar looking ones like this around!
Here's a closer up pic:
My favourite pic that MIL took as they were walking behind us on the trail:
The top soil isn't very deep and therefore the vegetation is very short. Plus a lot of trees fall prey to lightning strikes!
We then got in the car and drove down to desert view, where the scenery took our breath away! There was a watchtower there built by the architect who designed most of the initial lodgings at the park. We didn't climb to the top of the watchtower as we were pressed for time. N kept pushing us to finish by 11:30am. I knew that we had planned a helicopter ride for PIL and was a surprise but then we never got a chance to really discuss the logistics of it. And so I was just playing along.
Along the way we saw some Condors as well.
We then headed back to the hotel. We stayed at the Yavapai Lodge and had our showers and headed to the restaurant for brunch. As we were eating N seemed so distracted. He was running around back and forth as if something was up. Anyhow, PIL's backs were facing the entrance and I was facing it. I stopped mid-sentence and PIL were wondering what had happened. N's closest friend from high school years dropped by with his wife as a big surprise! They live in Tucson and we were planning to see them two days after!
Vi is almost an adopted son. His parents and PIL are very close friends as well. There seems to be little chance that Vi's father will ever be able to come up again and his mother passed away before she could come see. So having PIL come was almost the same! It was such a wonderful surprise! Vi gave us a surprise by showing up at our doorstep back in December 2007. He also came down to DC to spend the 4th of July weekend with us when his wife was in India. So, this was the first time I got to meet his wife as well! I had an inkling that they would come. I knew how much he wanted to show MIL around. Just his busy workschedule was the thing in the way. But still it was a great surprise!
And the other surprise? All 6 of us went on the helicopter ride!!!!!! So we had the whole chopper to ourselves! And what a ride it was!! They positioned us in the chopper based by weight and I was put in the middle of the brothers. So, pictures were taken by all and I just enjoyed the views! They were just breathtaking! We couldn't stop saying WOW!!!
We then drove down to the main part of the park and found some parking! We expected people but wow you have to see it to believe it! We went to see the Hopi House and the El Tovar Hotel (from the outside). Spent time walking along the rim trail. Walked all the way down past the Bright Angel Lodge and caught the shuttle to go on the Hermit's trail.
This was already 5ish by the time we reached. We spent just a short while at the Hermit's Rest and then got to Mohave Point from where we watched the sunset. Boy! Was it beautiful!!
We then drove out to Tusyan to a Pizza place, simply called We Cook Pizza & Pasta - it was quite yummy! Vi and his wife decided to spend more time with us and crashed in our hotel room for the night! The next day would take us to another beautiful town of Sedona!
We got up very early. We got up at 5am and were out at the Mather point by 5:30am. By 6am the crowds started filling in. But that didn't distract us from the magnificent view that was to unfold in front of us. Slowly but surely the canyon revealed itself leaving each one of us spellbound at its beauty.
We snapped a few pictures. But really no camera will do justice for the beauty and grandeur of the place. You find yourself thanking Teddy Roosevelt for his long-term vision in preserving this park.
I do have to admit though, with those with cameras, we got an earlier glimpse. The pic above, for whatever reason it came out so much brighter than it really was!! The sun had just come up and it was still relatively dark!!!
We then began to take the hiking trail to Pipe Creek Vista. Along the way we took the following pic. On the left of the pic, you can see a profile of a human face in the rock formation looking up at the sun. We saw a few similar looking ones like this around!
Here's a closer up pic:
My favourite pic that MIL took as they were walking behind us on the trail:
The top soil isn't very deep and therefore the vegetation is very short. Plus a lot of trees fall prey to lightning strikes!
We then got in the car and drove down to desert view, where the scenery took our breath away! There was a watchtower there built by the architect who designed most of the initial lodgings at the park. We didn't climb to the top of the watchtower as we were pressed for time. N kept pushing us to finish by 11:30am. I knew that we had planned a helicopter ride for PIL and was a surprise but then we never got a chance to really discuss the logistics of it. And so I was just playing along.
Along the way we saw some Condors as well.
We then headed back to the hotel. We stayed at the Yavapai Lodge and had our showers and headed to the restaurant for brunch. As we were eating N seemed so distracted. He was running around back and forth as if something was up. Anyhow, PIL's backs were facing the entrance and I was facing it. I stopped mid-sentence and PIL were wondering what had happened. N's closest friend from high school years dropped by with his wife as a big surprise! They live in Tucson and we were planning to see them two days after!
Vi is almost an adopted son. His parents and PIL are very close friends as well. There seems to be little chance that Vi's father will ever be able to come up again and his mother passed away before she could come see. So having PIL come was almost the same! It was such a wonderful surprise! Vi gave us a surprise by showing up at our doorstep back in December 2007. He also came down to DC to spend the 4th of July weekend with us when his wife was in India. So, this was the first time I got to meet his wife as well! I had an inkling that they would come. I knew how much he wanted to show MIL around. Just his busy workschedule was the thing in the way. But still it was a great surprise!
And the other surprise? All 6 of us went on the helicopter ride!!!!!! So we had the whole chopper to ourselves! And what a ride it was!! They positioned us in the chopper based by weight and I was put in the middle of the brothers. So, pictures were taken by all and I just enjoyed the views! They were just breathtaking! We couldn't stop saying WOW!!!
We then drove down to the main part of the park and found some parking! We expected people but wow you have to see it to believe it! We went to see the Hopi House and the El Tovar Hotel (from the outside). Spent time walking along the rim trail. Walked all the way down past the Bright Angel Lodge and caught the shuttle to go on the Hermit's trail.
This was already 5ish by the time we reached. We spent just a short while at the Hermit's Rest and then got to Mohave Point from where we watched the sunset. Boy! Was it beautiful!!
We then drove out to Tusyan to a Pizza place, simply called We Cook Pizza & Pasta - it was quite yummy! Vi and his wife decided to spend more time with us and crashed in our hotel room for the night! The next day would take us to another beautiful town of Sedona!