Friday in Arizona

We said "see you later" to the Grand Canyon Friday morning!  After checking out of our hotel...

 

The indoor waterfall at the hotel

...we drove down the Desert View road to get one more opportunity to see the South Rim of the canyon. 

It's hard to explain and even see in these pictures, but this end of the canyon looked different than the other end.  Maybe a little more green.  But definitely different.

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You can see the CO river from this view.

Desert View Watchtower.  It was closed to visitors because it is on Navajo land, but we could see it from Navajo point.

An even better view of the CO River.  I saw some white spots on the river and then they changed positions!  I figured they were rafters.  A couple near us had high powered binoculars and let us look at them.  Really cool!

Beyond this canyon is the Indian Reservation.  

We planned on driving to one or two scenic view stops, but kept going to the end of the road (it was closed before the actual end) and were really glad we did so.  We got to see the Desert View Watchtower, rafters on the river and more magnificent views.  At Lipan Point, there was a trailhead for a trail that went into the canyon.  Many years ago, there was a hotel at the bottom of the canyon and that trail.  

As much as we didn't want to leave the Canyon, we had to get to Page for  my run.  On the way we stopped in Flagstaff for lunch.  We ate at a pizza place, looked at a few stores, and drove on Route 66!

Route 66

We bought some pastries here

Downtown Flagstaff

We made one brief stop on the way from Flagstaff to Page.  We saw a National Memorial, and even though we didn't have time to drive all the way to the memorial, we did get to see some ruins of  Native American houses.  

This was called Lomaki-The beautiful house

We arrived in Page and checked into our hotel...which was actually an apartment named Desert Coyote Inn.  And it was on the Street of Little Motels!  Highly recommend this inn!

We then went to pick up my bib for the run.  While I was getting my bib and buying a tank top, mom and Camden explored the rock formations at the natural amphitheater.  Camden really had a good time climbing the rocks!  I was also able to meet some of my team mates.  I joined a running team that a lady started online.  We were the VR Friends and our team placed 3rd in the race!

First ever placement medal in a race (as an adult)

We went back to the hotel to park the car and walk to dinner.  It was right around the corner!  We went to Big John's BBQ and were able to eat outdoors while listening to the band!  It was a nice evening for eating outside and the music was good too!

Another long, but fun day seeing lots of amazing sites, eating good food, and making memories!

Grand Canyon Part 2

After finishing the Angel Bright Trail, we were a little tired!  We strolled around the rim of the Canyon, did some shopping and got ice cream.  

Lookout Studio:  This building was built for people to be able to take pictures from its edge.  The edge of the building was closed this day.  

After getting our refreshments and a few souvenirs, we went to explore the scenic views on the road to Hermit's rest...the western side of the south rim.  This was accessible by shuttle bus.  

There were 9 scenic overlooks on the road.  The first overlook was the Trailview overlook and it gave us a view of Bright Angel Trail as it zigzagged down into the canyon.  It was neat to see the trail from this angle after we had hiked it.  We could even see the rest area at the 1.5 mile turnaround on the trail.

I am pretty sure that this was Maricopa Point, the second stop.  

One favorite stop for our family was Powell Point which was named in honor of John Wesley Powell.  He and his crew were the first to navigate the Colorado River; and he did it with one arm!  

Two Powell women standing at Powell Point.  We were missing Jennifer!

At Hopi Point, we saw a CA Condor!  The poor bird, however, was being bullied by ravens.  The ravens were loud and flying all around and on the condor as it flew above us.  Another cool animal viewing!

More views from the rim of the Canyon

When people first started exploring the canyon, they saw temple like structures in the formations.

This is what they named the Buddha Temple.

We kept running into the same girl that would take our pictures!

Views from the last two stops on the trail before Hermits Rest.

Hermit's Rest was built as a place to rest!  It was at the trailhead of the trail that used to lead down to a campsite near Hermit Creek.  We were able to use the restroom there, but not shop as the store closed 5 minutes before we got there!

We has planned on going back to our car and driving to the eastern side of the south rim to watch the sunset, but fortunately we found out that we were 30 minutes from the start of sunset.  We took the shuttle back to Powell Point to get in place for the sunset.

The canyon started changing colors as the sun went down!

After enjoying the view at Powell Point, we decided we would have a better view at Hopi Point so we walked there.  The sunset was amazing, but my pictures definitely don't do it justice, but I will post them anyway!

The sky turned pink as the sun disappeared!

We took the shuttle back to our car, tired and hungry after a long day of hiking and sightseeing!  Camden said he wanted steak for dinner and we found the Yipee-Ei-O steakhouse right outside of the park.  

After dinner we were refreshed, even if somewhat tired!  One thing I had re-affirmed at dinner is never buy shrimp from non-coastal communities!  I ordered the steak and shrimp, mainly for the steak and good thing!  The shrimp were definitely not fresh off the trawler!  We headed back to the hotel to go bowling, but the lanes were closed, so Camden went swimming instead.  It was a relaxing evening for our second and last night at this hotel.