Last night, we stayed in one of the coolest glamping spots ever. We slept in a sky dome at the Clear Sky Resort. It was similar to a yurt except one side had a giant window looking into the desert and it had a clear window up top so you could see the stars. (It also had a bathroom–bonus points!) They had tons of activities (day and night) but we didn’t have time to take advantage of that. It would be an awesome place to take the family for a few days. We fell asleep in awe of the stars, and I got up for the desert sunrise. Y’all know I’m more of a sunset girl than a sunrise girl, but how often can you see a desert sunrise? Only problems: sunrise started at 4:15 and it was 38 degrees outside. I took a picture, grumbled about AZ not being on daylight savings time, and went back to sleep, LOL. When we finally did get up, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast sitting in the desert.
Today was the day for the main destination of our trip, and let me just say that the Grand Canyon did not disappoint. We rode the bus lines to a few overlook spots and, even though we saw part of the canyon last night, it was still overwhelmingly beautiful and awe-inspiring.
Fun side note to the canyon views: we saw some cool wildlife today. We heard clicking in the trees at the overlooks and finally spotted the source–cicadas. We saw a prairie dog that was so adorable that I failed to quickly pull out the phone and get a picture. We also saw elk several times along the road.
Now back to the canyon. Thom blessed me with the freedom to “ditch him for the ditch,” and I walked the Rim Trail from one visitor center to the other. This walk was absolutely stunning, as I went from one outcropping to another, with ever-changing views. I suspect a lot of my pictures look the same, as pictures don’t do justice to your actual eyes, so you just need to come see this for yourself. The sun was warm, the wind was blowing, I was alone more often than not on the trail, and the cicadas were clacking. I was constantly mesmerized by the beauty of this place. I met back up with Thom after my 90 minute journey (he journeyed the overlook bus lines), and we had a fantastic lunch (while looking at the canyon) at El Tavor. After that, we hit the road for the North Rim.
The road to the North Rim was phenomenal. There were many stretches where it felt like we were driving through the Grand Canyon as we were surrounded by towering rock on all sides. Then, suddenly we would be in flat plains (and one time watched a dust storm blowing parallel to us). We crossed the Colorado River and then started climbing upwards. Some of the tight turns were right next to boulders and it truly felt like a Cars canyon-driving moment. As we went up further, the trees changed to bright white firs and dark towering aspens. We also saw snow on the side of the road going to the North Rim! We ended up at our cabin for the evening, just outside the North Rim, at an elevation of 8800 feet. We went from the mid-80s in the South to low-60s in the North.
We headed to the North Rim to picnic and watch the sunset. There was no rain tonight, so we got a little different view. The North Rim was more remote, more natural, had more trees, had much steeper trails, but was beautiful in it’s own right. From the Bright Angel overlook, it was clear enough to see the mountains of San Francisco in the distance. It was amazing to watch the shadows grow upwards and the sun went down. As the sun got lower, little spots throughout the canyon looked like they were on fire, and the clouds and other parts of the canyon turned lovely shades of blues and purples. It was such a beautiful end to a perfect day.
Standing Strength 