We finally woke up to a day with not a single cloud in the sky. Finally, no rain for once! We got up early and ate a quick breakfast in the car on our way from Flagstaff, AZ to the Grand Canyon. I really wanted to get there before the crowds showed up. This was the second time I saw the canyon and it was just as amazing as the first. What I really wanted to see was my dad's reaction when he first lay eye on it. Trust me, if you haven't seen it, you need to. Its as big as Rhode Island and pictures really don't do it any justice.
The ride up there went smoothly. No traffic really and just great views of the pine forests that surround Flagstaff, then through desert full of grasses and shrubs, and finally through the Kaibab National Forest which encompasses the Grand Canyon. We drove past the gates to the national park and it was another few minutes drive before we got to the rim of the canyon. You don't actually see it until you are pretty much on top of it.
When we finally got to the parking lot, we got our first glimpses of this majestic scene through the pine trees. We marched out of the car and on to the closest viewing point. All I remember my dad saying was , "wow this is big." I wanted a little more of an expression from him like when he met Tony Dungee at Yellowstone, but I should have expected this from him.
We made our way across the the southern rim looking at the canyon from different angles. The striped red hues of the rock carved out for 5000 feet to the base where the Colorado River continued its work was just as awe inspiring as the first time I laid eyes on this place last February. The entire scene just overwhelms your senses in a way I find hard to explain. all I can tell you is that you need to go before you die.
By midday we left just in time. The park was getting so crowded now that many cars were parking on the street since the parking lots were full. We drove back to Flagstaff for lunch and then got ourselves an oil change since we had driven over 3000 miles now. I really like this town. It was a great small historic section full of neat restaurants and shops with Mount Humphrey standing tall at 12,000 feet in the background. I drove around showing my dad some of downtown and then we jumped back on the highway to begin out trek back east.
We drove on Interstate 40 which used to be old Route 66. Its a pretty desolate desert plain with "ancient" ruins of old gas stations and other structures from the 1950s off the highway from time to time. As we got closer to New Mexico, the desert plains gave way to some more sandstone rocks and mesas. Once we got into New Mexico, more mountains began to spring up. we even saw distant smoke from a forest or brush fire. We dove by a couple fire department pickup trucks heading in that direction too. We also saw a very peculiar land formation around us. The desert floor was no longer the light brown color I was becoming familiar with but now stretching for many miles was a sea of black rocks. I use the word "sea" because in many instances the terrain would rise like ocean swells of these funny black rocks. Then it dawned on us that it was in fact an ancient lava pool left by a volcano millions of years ago. I am quite surprised at how well preserved this area was.
Around sunset, we finally made it to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe region. The mountains that surround these cities were stunning as they glowed pinkish red in the sunset. We ended up finding a nice motel out here in Santa Fe for some rest for tomorrow morning we shall explore! But before bed, I was hungry and thought about what would be an appropriate local delicacy here in Santa Fe. I went to Taco Bell, haha! Oh and by the way, we somehow caught a few drops of rain tonight! We are so convinced that a rain cloud is purposely following us. It does seem to be losing strenght though! I am interested to see what happens tomorrow!
Next up: Santa Fe, Roswell, and Western Texas!!!
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