Isn't It Grand?!

Vegas-Grand Canyon Village

Mileage; 2240

After saying goodbye to Rae, we had a leisurely 6 hr drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon. The anticipation of arriving at the Grand Canyon grew as we turned North toward the park and drove for 1.5 hrs, getting closer and closer, but seeing no visible cues of the grandeur and earthly wonder that was ahead. Upon arrival we literally raced to the South rim to catch a glimpse of the famous sunset views. Unfortunately we missed it by just minutes, but glimpsed the canyon drenched in the suns warm afterglow and speckled in white. About 2 feet of snow on the ground and Addy is beside herself crazy with a new found joy of deep snow. Hmmm, does she know something we don't about where we are going?

We headed for our campsite in the Mather Campground (the only campground open year round) and were surprised by how many people were camping because of the time of year, forecast for snow tomorrow and low temperatures. After we set up camp we headed to the Bright Angel Lodge for some food and listened to some live music "Silver Shoes" a duo from TX. We shared travel stories with John and Maureen during their set break.

The next morning, French press coffee and egg burritos at about 30 degrees then off to the South Rim trail to take in the views in the day light. We had already decided we were not trekking into the canyon (no dogs allowed and no crampons) so we walked the rim 6 miles (round trip) from Bright Angel Trail to Hopi Point, windy and cold but what a fantastic day! Addy was quite popular and several tourists from the tour bus actually snapped shots of Addy before they took their canyon shots, we think all the attention she's getting from strangers is going to her head.

The day was fairly cloudy with snow squalls blowing through the canyon that looked like veils draped from the clouds, toward the end of the hike and into the sunset the skies broke and the changing light on the canyon walls was simply breathtaking while we enjoyed a beer at the El Tovar Hotel.

We made it through the coldest night either of us have ever spent in a tent. We discovered two things the next morning, that the low temp last night was 12 degrees F, and that we have a new limit on how cold we can handle with our current gear.