Grand Canyon, North Rim

Our National Parks book (companion to the scenic highways book) says the North Rim can be closed in November. By the time we got to the gate (which was open), Steve said even if it had been closed, the drive would have been worth it.

Hwy 89A is not marked as scenic on our maps, but the views of the desert and Vermillion Cliffs followed by a winding mountain road through Ponderosa Pines were awesome. In fact the marked scenic byway south to the park entrance, was much less scenic with much of it having been burned over in 2000.

 

The park is at 8000 feet. On the climb, we saw patches of snow in the shadows, but a light jacket was fine in the sun.

 

“Awesome” is not a big enough word for the Grand Canyon. Everyone we met seemed to have a silly grin of delight on their face. I overheard one seven-or-eight-year-old boy as he got his first glimpse. “Whoa!” Exactly. My one complaint about the main lodge area is that there was no way to get Mom closer than eighty steps from a viewpoint. She laughed when I suggested it. Fortunately, Cape Royal  allowed parking close enough for her to see, plus plenty of pullouts that were not too crowded at this time of year for Steve to pull in parallel to the curb where she could view without getting out of the car.

 

This is NOT the Grand Canyon. It’s only a side canyon, Roaring Springs, where we had our lunch at the only viewing point Mom could get to. Even that involved a couple steps.

 

 

Walking out to where the world drops off.

 

 

This is the Grand Canyon, or at least, one little corner of it.

 

 

Steve walked the Bright Angel Point trail, despite his fear of heights. (I later ran into a woman who refused to go out there.)

 

 

He even crossed this part. Very carefully.

 

 

While we’re doing panos, how about staying in this lodge?

 

 

Or maybe one of these cabins?

 

 

After our picnic lunch, we drove around to the campground, where Steve and Mom dropped me off to hike the Transept trail 1.2 miles along the rim back to the main lodge.

 

 

This was the perfect spot to stop for a cup of tea.

 

 

When I got back to the lodge, we headed for Cape Royal and Imperial Point, the highest viewpoint in the park at 8800 feet. Far off, you can see where the Colorado river enters the canyon.

 

I've lost track of where these pics were, and I'm too tired right now to figure it out, but I hated to scrap them.  I'll try to get back later and label them better. In the meantime, enjoy.

According to the guidebook, only one in ten visitors to Grand Canyon National Park comes to the North Rim, making it much less crowded and commercialized. The assumed reason is that the road from one rim to the other is 203 miles. But they are 203 very scenic miles, so I strongly encourage you to do it. Tomorrow we head to the south rim. But not before I take another early morning hike here.