5:45-after I got off work on Friday. We drove through Needles, CA and then Kingman, AZ. We got into our hotel parking lot (which was about 5 miles from the entrance to the park) at midnight. It had snowed the day before, but ended up warming up before the sun went down so a lot had melted off.We had a helicopter tour over the canyon scheduled at 11. We headed downstairs and had some breakfast after sleeping in and then decided to head over the the airport. A helicopter tour is the ONLY way to see the Grand Canyon. It was awesome!
We got to sit in the front-A-maaaaa-zing! Here are some pictures of what we saw:
Approaching the rim of the canyon.
The North Rim.
View of the fault line that runs through the bottom of the canyon (I did not know about this until the helicopter ride!) The rocks and sediment have turned vertically along the fault line.
The North Rim up close.
An area on the North Rim that began as a controlled burn but jumped the fire lines.
Another area on the North Rim...very different from the South Rim. It's about 1.000 feet higher in elevation.
After the tour by air, we headed over the the South Rim and walked the rim for awhile. We had lunch and then headed down Bright Angel Trial.
Some of the beautiful colors of the canyon.
There were huge icicles hanging overhead as we walked down the trail. On the right of the picture-you can see two people walking-they just came through the first tunnel on the trail..
There were quite a few people headed back up the trail by the time we got there.
Matt really didn't want his picture taken.
The two of us!
We headed about 25 miles to the east to the old watchtower. It was getting late, and cold, but it was still really neat!
The Canyon at sunset.
The Grand Canyon was so pretty. These pictures really do not do it justice!
We both had such a great time and were so lucky to have our mom's watch him. Don't worry-Graedy had a great weekend too. He and his Gram (Matt's mom) and his Pops (Matt's dad) went up to Palm Desert to The Living Desert. It is a really cool zoo in the foothills.
The North Rim.
View of the fault line that runs through the bottom of the canyon (I did not know about this until the helicopter ride!) The rocks and sediment have turned vertically along the fault line.
The North Rim up close.
An area on the North Rim that began as a controlled burn but jumped the fire lines.
Another area on the North Rim...very different from the South Rim. It's about 1.000 feet higher in elevation.
After the tour by air, we headed over the the South Rim and walked the rim for awhile. We had lunch and then headed down Bright Angel Trial.
Some of the beautiful colors of the canyon.
There were huge icicles hanging overhead as we walked down the trail. On the right of the picture-you can see two people walking-they just came through the first tunnel on the trail..There were quite a few people headed back up the trail by the time we got there.
Matt really didn't want his picture taken.
The two of us!
We headed about 25 miles to the east to the old watchtower. It was getting late, and cold, but it was still really neat!
The Canyon at sunset.The Grand Canyon was so pretty. These pictures really do not do it justice!
We both had such a great time and were so lucky to have our mom's watch him. Don't worry-Graedy had a great weekend too. He and his Gram (Matt's mom) and his Pops (Matt's dad) went up to Palm Desert to The Living Desert. It is a really cool zoo in the foothills.
