Day 34: Grand Western Adventure

Day 34: Friday, May 16th
Grand Canyon North Rim

We took a driving tour today of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, starting at Cape Royal point. You could see it from a distance and there was an arch hidden underneath.

The views were indescribable.

You really could stand and stare for many hours and never be able to take it all in. It was so hard to judge distances from points. 

The driving tour took several hours for us as there were numerous narrow windy curves to get there. It's definitely more remote than the South Rim, which makes it all the more appealing in my opinion. 

Once you park at Cape Royal, you must hike a short distance (1/2 mile) along a paved trail to see the views. 

Just below the handrail, you could see the Colorado River in the background. One of the only places the river is visible from the North Rim was here.

There was extensive guard railing and fencing here as you can tell.

From there we drove back along the road, stopping at various viewpoints along the way. We stopped at a picnic area for lunch. There were alot of gnats and bugs there, so we ate rather quickly. The wind started picking up, so it became too cool for our comfort as well. We did spot a Stellar's Jay in a pine tree however, which was unique for us; took us a while to identify it. 

The last stop was called Point Imperial. Quite the view!

Driving into this area, plus all along the route into the North Rim, we saw large sections of burned out forests. We read in the visitor's center that there are a large number of forest fires here each year and they have to decide whether to let it burn itself out or send in the fire fighters to stop it in each case. Most are started by lightning strikes, averaging about 17 per year.

Afterwards, Natalie and I took a second visit to the lodge and walked into the grand sitting area and the balcony area outside. It looked like the perfect place to grab a book and sit in a chair outside and enjoy yourself. In fact, I recommended it to anyone coming to the area. 

So, I bought an interesting sounding book called, "Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon." Of course, it gives the details of many of the deaths and when and how they occurred. 

Bottom line: If you are a male between the ages of 20 and 29, DON'T hike alone, DON'T take short cuts, and DON'T try to impress your friends. 

Young males were among the highest risk takers and accounted for a majority of deaths. Other deaths occurred as people were climbing over the guard railings to take that impossible picture, sit on the edge to take in the view or impress their friends by rock hopping, and slipped over the edge. 

Back at the Lodge, Natalie found a piano inside and really wanted to have a go at it, but with so many strangers sitting there didn't want an audience. 

We wanted along the Transep Trail back to the RV park. 

Everyone was still suffering from allergies or colds, so early to bed we went.