A Very Special Day at the Grand Canyon

Someone is smiling upon us, especially after the weird weather that has followed (or haunted) us on this trip.  We woke early this morning to chilly overcast skies.  Jeans and long sleeved jackets were the order of dress (56F).  At first we were disappointed that the sun had left us but as it would turn out, we could not have been more fortunate.  We packed a nice lunch and treats for Kyle and then headed out for the 60 mile drive to the Canyon.

Our fist stop was about 5 miles from the Canyon itself in the Grand Canyon Village.  The village outside the park gate has many hotels, shops, restaurants and is home to the National Geographic IMAX Theatre.  McDonalds even gave us free coffee.  We had a $7 off coupon from our RV park but IMAX honours military and veterans service cards so we both got in for under $20.  The lady who served us also informed us that this was National Park Free Week and there would be no charges to get into the park!  That was a $25 vehicle and $12 guest fee saved!  WaHo! However, the self serve Kiosk outside did not have a sign saying it was “Free Week” and there were a steady stream of people buying tickets! Oh Well.

We quickly got our IMAX tickets and headed into line as a couple of tour buses overflowing with Japanese tourists had flooded the gift shop and were headed for the ticket booths.  We had suffered their wrath on our visit to Thailand so knew what to do!

The show was 35 minutes long and breathtaking.  Kaye felt a little queasy, especially after some of the fast moving flying shots down the canyon valleys.  If you do visit, do not miss this video experience, it is not just video, it has a storyline and the story adds to the understanding of what you will see at the canyon itself.  

The best part of the gift shop was that it was a tourist trap without gross tourist trap prices.  We found the merchandise to be well priced.  Our only disappointment was that many of the goods were; Made in China, or Printed in Korea. A shame at one of the Wonders of the World located in USA.

We followed the advice of our RV Hosts and went to the Desert View tower at the East end of the South rim first.  This is about 25 miles East from the main village.  At this time of year, parking was a non issue and we did not have to wait for anything.  The tower has been restored by a philanthropist lady whose name escapes me now. However, it was a wonderful way to first experience the canyon.  The tower allows you to climb about 25ft above the edge and provides a protected view of the East end of the canyon.

From the tower we worked our way back to the village, one vista viewpoint at a time, with a stop for lunch at a small museum on the way.  Each vista point has a slightly different angle on the canyon.  There were no fees for anything, not the museum, parking or the guided tours.

At the Grand Canyon Visitor and Historic Centre we came across an outdoor display that described the effects of air pollution, temperature and other factors affecting the clarity of the view.  On a good day in the summer, you can expect to see 85 miles and on a good day 130 miles. On our day, due to the overcast sky and the lower temperatures, we were treated to a view of over 240 miles.  The mountains in the far distance were clear and we could see to the bottom of the canyon without the use of binos!  We did not have the unique streaks of light that are the highlight of the most popular photos but it did allow us to see the full canyon with the naked eye.

Kyle was a hit as usual.  It turned into a long day of exploring and walking with a total cost of under $50 and that included the IMAX and gifts!  We took hundreds of pictures and lots of HD video that will have to wait until we are home to process.  I will see what photos I can quickly cull to provide you with some sights.  Ah, a great day.