Monday, August 27, 2012

Grand Canyon Vacation

When people say they went to the Grand Canyon, nine times out of ten times, they go to the Southern Rim.  It is closer to Phoenix, Flagstaff, Sedona... all of those popular places.  But as luck would have it, my wonderful and talented niece is working just a short distance from the North Rim, and my sister and I decided to go visit.  (Oh yeah, happy Birthday, Sis!)

The trip got off to a bumpy start... literally.  We took off from Detroit into a storm, and if nothing else, I was impressed with how well-made an airplane is.  It didn't break in half!  That told me it was going to be a good trip.

 
Bye-bye Detroit.
 

 
I got a window seat.  I love looking at the clouds from the top.

Just sitting in my sister's back yard was heavenly.  She has lots of interesting birds.
And dragonflies that smile at you.

 But Friday arrived, and it was off to Sedona!

We shopped at Tlaquepaque.


And I learned a lesson or two about the Prickly Pear Cactus.  They don't pull out easily.  Thank goodness I only got impaled by two of those guys.


The next leg of the trip was the longest, but by far the most interesting terrain I've ever driven.  There were scattered showers in the distance.  And there was always something beautiful to look at.

Winding roads were fun to drive and beautiful to see.
I never really considered jumping off of this bridge that goes over the Colorado River, but when I saw this sign, I was glad I wasn't planning on it.  That would have been a real bummer.

 Cliff Dwellers was an interesting place to view from the road, but we stopped to grab a photo or two.
We finally arrived at Jacob Lake.  The lake itself is not large.  Really.  The lake could probably fit into this building, which is the only place to eat in town.  There is a gift shop and an inn and cabins around the back.
There is also a visitor center.

Hi Laura!  (This girl knows her stuff!)

Arizona dragonflies are large and this one hovered long enough for me to snap his photo.


Ok, so this guy wasn't actually alive, but there are live ones out there in the forest!


The squirrels out there have white tails and pointy ears.  They are very shy and difficult to photograph.

About 45 minutes South of Jacob Lake is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  This is the Lodge at the Grand Canyon National Park.

And here are some views of the Canyon.


This is called Angels Window.  This view is about another hour's drive from the main Lodge.


 The sun always sets, and it's such a treat to watch.

We stayed in a Cabin right on the Rim.  And I was able to go outside and see more stars than I have ever seen. 
The Milky Way was also visible.

 Dinner and breakfast were served in this 4 star dining room.  Delicious and great view of the Grand Canyon.

This hawk was not invited to the 4-star restaurant.  But as you can see, he found something to eat all on his own.

My sister got a little bored with me and my camera, so she pulled out her knitting.


It was finally time to leave, but not without seeing thousands of acres of land that had been on fire several years ago.  It's slowly coming back.  And so am I.  Back to reality.  But what a fun trip we had!