Grand Canyon!

At last! I can finally say I've been there! This is Duane's fifth trip, but my first. When I stood on the edge and got my first good look, I wept. It was wonderful. We started our Grand Canyon experience in the little town of Tusayan, just south of Canyon City. Tusayan is home to the airplane and helicopter tours of the canyon. It is also the location of the National Geographic Imax theater. We viewed the 35 min film of the discovery and exploration of the Canyon, replete with some excellent reenactments of the lifestyle of the first people to live in the Canyon, the first Spanish explorers, the first white trapper/hunters, and the first geologic explorers who traveled the Colorado River from the beginning to the end of the Canyon. I must say the film was breathtaking. Literally, I forgot to breath. And I wept from the sheer beauty and grandeaur. Also the excellent music. I have to admit that the actual Canyon almost didn't live up to the film, but it was still awsome. We drove to the parking lot closest to the famous Bright Angel Lodge. We picked up the rim trail from there and walked the whole 5.5 miles to the Pipe Creek Vista, then took the free shuttle back. The trail was actually a wide paved path. The only parts of the South Rim we didn't see were the view from the last vista on the east and the 3 miles west of the Village which was closed for construction. All in all it was an experience worth waiting for. We would have liked to take a mule ride, but they were booked for the two days we planned to be here, so we passed. Tomorrow we plan to make a day of visiting the local vistas and canyons around Williams, and to visit the Oak Creek Canyon cities of Sedona, Cottonwood, and Jerome, all south of Flagstaff. On Friday we set sail for Congress--Arizona that is, and the North Ranch Escapees RV park.

That's all for now! Louise and Duane