Canyons

Wednesday evening we reached Jacob Lake, Arizona, 45 miles north of the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We arrived in a torrential thunderstorm, sat for an hour at the Jacob Lake Inn and ate supper at the diner there while the rain subsided.

We had a short window of time with no rain to set up, then took a chance on there still being daylight and took off for the canyon, 50 minutes away. The road cut through a dense forest that had recent fire damage, and there were literally hundreds of mule deer on the roadside.

When we arrived there was still about 30 minutes of daylight. Our first views of the Grand Canyon were near sunset, and it was simply amazing.

After returning to our campground we had a very quiet night of sleep. We were almost two miles off the highway, and it's very lightly travelled anyway. We made another run to the Grand Canyon in the morning, and had a few hours of bright sun to marvel in the sheer size and majesty. Yes, we took a lot of pictures...I shot two rolls of film and over 100 digital pictures.

After lunch we drove north a couple of hours to Utah. We set up our camper at a KOA in Glendale, about midway between Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. We left for Bryce Canyon at 3:30.

Bryce Canyon is almost as incredible as the Grand Canyon. In fact, if I were to travel out here again, I think I'd almost rather go to Bryce. The towers of rock (called Hoodoos) formed by the erosion of water and wind are accessible.
The boys and I hiked down one trail about half way down the canyon. The colors of the rock were incredible.

The weather in the afternoon was amazing. About 70 degrees with huge clouds, making an outstanding backdrop for the hundreds of pictures we took. By the time we left we were all exhausted. It was only 65 degrees when we got back to Glendale, but the kids still went swimming while Theresa cooked supper.

Today it's off to Zion. The weather looks like it will be another great day. The sky is an impossible blue, and the clouds don't look like they contain rain. Hopefully it will be dry for us today.