Ahhh....The Grand Canyon

This morning we left our motel (and Tex) about 5:30 am Arizona time. We stopped just up the street at a 24-hr Denny's...but alas, they weren't open because they had done a "deep cleaning" overnight. But they assured us they would be open in just a few minutes. Sure enough they seated us within 10 minutes, but our waitress stayed on break pretty much the whole time she "waited" on us. Apparently, she was just "waiting" for us to leave! How dare we make her DO something? Oh well, the food was good (even if she spit in it!).

After a warm meal, we headed north towards the Grand Canyon. It took dd a little bit to realize we were making this side trip. When she figured it out she was sooo excited. We were too! About 7am local time we stopped to fuel up. This is what we saw....

These gorgeous colors only lasted a few minutes. It was so beautiful it ALMOST made me want to get up early every day to see the sunrise! Almost.

We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (or the Big Ditch) about 8am (local time). We passed a bunch of buses heading away from the canyon. Apparently, these were the 'sunrise' tours.

We all had seen pictures of this place. But NOTHING can prepare you for the vast beauty of this canyon. What an awesome site God left for us to enjoy!






AWESOME!










We were freezing!!! After this picture (taken by an innocent bystander) we all ran back to the truck to get warmer coats.















At each 'overlook' site, they had a phone number posted to call for information. When you called, it was like a tour guide telling you all the information about what you could see from where you were standing. It was very interesting except when they kept saying how many millions and millions of years this took to form.

Looking across to the North Rim -- 10 miles away! Doesn't seem like 10 miles.







The snow was so beautiful and sparkled in the morning sun.











It isn't really hard for us to believe this was caused by Noah's flood. We've seen what our road looks like after a hard rain--this is just our road on a bigger scale! It's amazing to see the damage water can do in just a few minutes.










Loved this particular view with the rock caught in the hole.












A little bit more perspective.















These formations remind me of building a castle in the sand at the beach and drizzling wet sand on the top for decoration.










These deer were just casually standing and eating beside the road. The cars didn't bother them one bit!













Out for an early morning jog!










If you know my dh at all...you know he's an airplane buff! We had to stop at the Grand Canyon Valle Airport to check out this plane. This is a Lockheed Constellation. It was the first mass production inter-continental airplane. Apparently, this was a big deal in its day! Dh had seen pictures of this type plane, but had never seen the real thing! What a treat!

We (me and dd) were also thrilled to stop and watch helicopters taking off for tours. Wow! The excitement was intense!

Join me tomorrow as we head to Flagstaff, AZ and enjoy the beautiful snowy scenes on the way!