Anyone traveling from Colorado to the Grand Canyon undoubabtly makes a stop at one of the Nation’s biggest tourist spots: Four Corners. Unfortunately for us, our first trip to the landmark left us bummed, as it was closed for remodeling. In my research leading up for the trip, I never came across the closure notice. I’m sure it was there, but we were all bummed to be kept from spanning the four state lines. Therefore, this year’s Christmas Card will not be sporting the 3 kids and wife all standing in different states. Hmmm, guess we’ll have to save this for a future photo opportunity.
The drive through Arizona along Highway 160 is a long desolate journey. But gorgeous! The route meanders through Indian Land and Mesas. Cruising at a gentle 65mph, there was a photo opportunity around every bend. It was one of our longer legs along the journey, thankfully the landscape made it enjoyable.
Arriving at the Grand Canyon, I did not know what to expect. Sure, many textbooks and googlemap images are available to peruse prior to the visit. But when you stand at one of the many vista photo-op points – the Canyon is an amazing sight. It is much, much larger than I expected. I’m told it is 10-miles wide from one side to the other. And the river is 5,000ft. lower than the South Rim. The tower is a great tourist attraction, allowing us a fun journey before even embarking on other photo ops.
There were a lot of photo op's available at the South Rim. And a LOT of places that you had to be very, very careful with your footings. Fortunately, it was not very windy. Had there been any sort of gust...these pictures would NOT exist!!
This was a precarious shelf that the 3 of us walked out on. The point (there on the right) was about 1-foot wide....and about 300-feet down! My mom says I'm a bad parent for exposing my kids to the danger. :-) Anyone who knows "Aaron Zimmer" knows that I live my life near that edge, but my kids were never in danger.
On a side note, Kim’s really getting into this camping thing. For the months leading up to the trip, Kathy kept talking to her about “sleeping on the road”. So now, whenever she references our Airstream, she calls it the “road”. Last night, after coming back from dinner, she saw the trailer and said, “There’s our Road!” How cute.
There is a path at the first visitor’s center that allows you to hike down to the actual edge of the canyon. My son was fearless and ready to hike. My older daughter was a bit more hesitant. I asked her to stay behind while my son and I captured a great edge-of-the-rim photo opportunity. After we hiked back, Jade asked if she could make the journey too. Hearing our reactions to the site was enough for her to overcome her trepidation and did not want to pass up the chance to peer down into the canyon. According to her – it was worth it!
This is Kaleb and I near the very, very edge of the South Rim. There is a 500-ft. + drop behind us. Very cool!
Today we took a 1-mile hike along the South Rim. Gorgeous!! I asked Kim if she wanted to hike down to the bottom. She responded, “Nooooooooooo, thank you!” Pretty cute for a 3-yr. old!
For dinner, my folks rode their motorcycle up from Phoenix and took us to a local pizza shop in Tusayan. The food was fantastic! And we enjoyed a round of ice cream afterwards. The only disappointment was that my dad and I were not comped for a round of chicken wings or a scoop of ice cream for father’s day. Oh well…it was still worth the money!
The vacation is going well, and tomorrow we are making a pit stop in Mesa, AZ at my folk’s house. It’ll give us a chance to restock our food supply and get some laundry done. Plus, as my wife puts it, give us a chance to sleep on a non-air mattress for a night. Then, the next day, it’s I-10 straight to Anaheim, CA.
Great times! Good food! And some strange lady in the background :-)
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