The Grand Canyon After Christmas

The day after Christmas our daughter and her husband, who were visiting from the frozen Midwest, Maureen and I took off mid-morning for the south rim of the Grand Canyon, some 225 miles from Scottsdale.  Traffic was not a problem until we were less than fifteen miles of the gate. As we entered the small town of Tusayan on Hwy 180 we came to a standstill. It took an hour of inching forward to reach the five toll lanes entering the park. 

Once through the gate the drive inside the park was not busy, but by three in the afternoon the first parking lots were full. Finally out of our car we walked along the rim trail. With so many people clambering onto rock lips, sitting on ledges and backing towards edges while staring at self-stick suspended smart phones I'm surprised more visitors don't plunge down the sheer rock walls. 

It was crowded with every type of visitor; families, groups of young people, older couples and dogs - dogs on leashes, dogs in arms and dogs snuggled inside owner's coats. We heard many languages and saw some variations in dress. Nearly as universal as the smiles were the requests to "Please take our picture" and matching offers to take ours.

The intrepid group. 

In the center, far below in the gray, is a scrap of the thin ribbon of the Colorado  

Beautiful, natural Maxfield Parrish colors. 

The temperature drops with the sun.
(There is a pale blue sky in over the rim, but it was beyond the range of the iPhone camera.)

Night, starting a mile below, climbs up the far wall at least ten miles away.

A panorama of the Canyon from the Mather Point area on the South Rim taken at sunset.

Fading light, looking down into the Canyon

Even after sunset the canyon is full of soft southwestern colors

After the sun had fallen and the Canyon completely bathed in darkness we picked out way back to the cars and slipped into the seemingly endless line of brake lights. After slowly snaking out of the Park we chose to take an alternate, longer route to Flagstaff. It was nearly empty and afforded much faster travel than the shortest route.

Hadn't eaten since breakfast, except for an energy bar en route. Hungry! Stopped in Flagstaff to eat at Beaver Street Brewery. It, of course, had a long wait - 45 minutes - for a table. We asked if there were any seats at the bar. A manager standing nearby said they had an adjoining bar that was served by the same kitchen. We were all well over 21 and he led us there. Smoking is prohibited in Arizona bars, (even friendly ones with pool tables). We were immediately seated in a booth, had a good meal there and were probably on our way home before those in line in the restaurant had a chance to order.

We arrived back in Scottsdale at midnight. Over five hours to get into the park, three hours of being amazed by the views (Maureen took nearly 300 pix) and five hours to get home, plus an hour for dinner. Worth it all.