gcday6

There are lots of photos on this page. Although the Grand Canyon has already been well documented with pictures, we couldn't help it. Oh well...

Up early again to catch another beautiful sunrise. We journeyed across the Navajo Indian reservation -- another morning with the road to ourselves. We kept looking out to the right, hoping for a glimpse of this amazing crack in the earth. We turned on Rt. 64, heading for the South Rim and the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, vistas were finally in full view.

Today's theme concerns our feathered friend, the California Condor. Click above to see more.

Marble Canyon at 5:15am

Our first stop was Desert View. We found a castle tower perched on the edge of the canyon rim built by an architect named Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter in 1914. This same woman designed many of the structures around the canyon including the El Tovar Hotel, where we stayed for the night.

Next we stopped at Grandview Point and then to Moran Point. The first tourist hotel was located at Grandview in the early 1900’s. Nothing of it remains today. We hiked down a bit and ran into a hiker coming up. He’d been on the trail since 5:00 in the morning, before heading back to Northern Arizona State University where he teaches music.

Today it's a gift shop.

Click here for a Grand Canyon panorama from Moran Point

A river runs through it

The trail between the South Rim and the North Rim is about 12.5 miles.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Canyon area with a sizeable group of tourists and a few critters as well. Val was lucky to avoid a fight with a giant Raven.

Despite appearances this squirrel is not begging. He was part of repertory group doing Shakespeare in the Canyon.

This is a BIG Raven

"I owns dis joint, so yous better get lost!"

...and yet another shot of one of nature's greatest gifts to us.