Fast Trip to the Grand Canyon

Bill and I agreed to meet somewhere to toast in the new President and say "Good Riddance" to the old. Grand Canyon was not exactly halfway between Moab and Phoenix, but we decided against Tuba City, Arizona and Mexican Hat, Utah. If you've been there you know why. This is Nancy, Bill and Kathy on the steps of the Bright Angel Lodge on the morning we left.

The canyon was gorgeous, as always, and the visibility was excellent. You can see the North Rim in the picture above, and it is ten miles away. This was taken just as the sun came up on second and last morning.

After the inauguration, we walked along the rim for several miles to the visitor center and a series of overlooks into the canyon. The snow from a month ago had been compacted into ice and as the temperature was just above freezing, it was slippery, especially where the trail was at a slight slope. We didn't walk down into the canyon this time, but Nancy is inspired to walk from the North Rim to the South Rim. She'll have to do it without me.

This is the view from our room, taken by Bill. It was a great room and a nice little getaway from Moab. My only complaint, and it is small and picayune, is that the maintenance staff was chipping five inches of ice from the trails. Chunk, chunk, chunk all day every day.