| There are 2 major areas to see the canyon, the north rim and the south rim. As the crow flies, they are about 10 miles apart. As people drive they are about 200 miles apart. We came south from Zion and hooked around the eastern part of the canyon and entered through the southern entrance. For much of the drive, all we saw were some mesas and tumbleweed. Once through the gate of the park, we still didn't see much for about 23 miles at which point you could only go left or right, we had arrived at the canyon. Here is one of our first pictures, a self portrait, with the canyon behind. |  |
| The enormity of the Grand Canyon is indescribable. It's like trying to describe what a trillion dollars amounts to, completely beyond any recognizable measure I know. The black splotch in the middle is the shadow of a cloud. It's amazing to watch these criss-cross the canyon all day long. You can also see me on the left side with my parachute on, just in case. |  |
| In the trams driving you around the canyon, there are safety posters about drinking enough water, how to avoid slipping and this poster for safe hiking. We tried to get a copy to post in our house, but we had to settle for a picture. Cindy wonders what might happen to a hiker who ventures out without his goatee. |  |
| Armed with safe hiking knowledge, we left the tram. Eventually, I relaxed a bit as we took a hike along the rim of the canyon. Here I am resting at a point in the canyon call The Abyss. They said at the canyon that people are rarely rescued from the canyon because "they rarely survive the initial 300 foot sheer drop." If I slipped, I was sure it was a sign that it was my time to go. Why fight it? |  |
| Here is a picture into The Abyss. You can see the dry riverbed below. Apparently it has been very dry this year and all the rivers, including the Colorado, have been running low. Just to try and give you some reference, the canyon floor is about 1 mile deep. |  |
| Another vista from the rim trail. All the formations in the canyon have names, but it's like trying to figure out the names of every star in the night sky. We just opted to look and say, "That's a nice one." |  |
| There are really only 2 trails at the Grand Canyon. One that goes into the canyon (Bright Angel Trail) and one that goes along the rim. It's a 2 day hike to the floor of the canyon so we opted for the easier rim trail. Here Cindy is standing on the trail, which runs less than 4 feet from the rim. There were some hairy parts of the trail that I kept saying to myself, "Don't look right, keep on the trail, and don't look right." It was a very nice way to see the canyon though and I'm glad we made the trip. |  |
| Along the way, we found this strange rock garden and here I am doing my best Marvin's Gardens impression. |  |
| This picture was taken near the front porch of the resturant where we had dinner. The sun was setting, there was a sparkle in our eyes, it was a magical evening. Actually, after 5 consecutive nights of camping, we just couldn't stand the thought of another charcoal grilled meal and wanted real food. We both had trout. |  |
| On the way towards Vegas, in Arizona, we stopped at a little town called Chloride. According to the locals at the visitor center, Chloride is a historic mining town. This town definitely gave me the heeby-jeebies...has anyone seen Deer Hunter? Fortunately, it had a nice shady tree and we met one of the park rangers who told us about his ex-wife and how she met a man in Sweden on the internet and took off to Europe to be with him. Okay... |  |
| We got to the Hoover Dam after a rather thorough security check of our car. Post 9-11 they are building a Colorado River overpass which will run parallel to the dam and keep potentially hazardous traffic off the dam. We parked at the dam and took the tour presented by the Bureau of Reclamation. Here Cindy is shown on the Arizona side of the dam near the intake towers. |  |
| We got to take an elevator to the bottom and see the generator room. These are the Nevada generators. Everything is styled in the art-deco style from the 1930's when the dam was built. It still is very polished and clean. Self portrait looking out onto the generator room. Isn't it electric? Can't you see the sparks flying? |  |
| To get the power from the generator room out of the canyon, they use power lines. We were a bit worried when we saw these crooked towers. Cindy sent me under one to investigate their safety. |  |
| Cindy, the Dam and Lake Mead in the background. You can see how low the lake is by the white on the hills behind the dam. They said they were about 46 feet low for the season's average. |  |
| A very nice self portrait at the observation deck. |  |
| I am getting better at these hights things. Here I am bracing myself for a look over the railing. Obviously the girl next to me is much more comfortable with heights than I. |  |
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