Grand Canyon, Arizona

Friday we drove west to Williams, Arizona. This is the last town on Route 66 that was bypassed by the freeway. Saturday we did a day trip to the Grand Canyon. And what a day! We left the fifth wheel at about 5:15a.m. so that we could see sunrise at the South Rim. We watched the sunrise from Mather Point. We couldn't believe how many people were there along with us.

After the sun came up we headed over to the lodge for a cinnamon roll and coffee to warm up. From the Bright Angel lodge along the rim to Hermits Rest you have to either walk or use the shuttle bus. So, we hoped on a bus for the first leg of the trip and from there walked about 4 miles along the rim trail. We saw lots of beautiful views of the canyon. We even spotted the mules coming down the Bright Angel trail. We continued on the rim drive via bus to Hermits Rest and then returned back to our vehicle via the bus.

Next we drove east along the south rim to Desert View. There were numerous viewpoints and pull-offs and we stopped at almost all of them. At Desert View there is an old stone watchtower that is about 5 stories high - it was built in the early 1930's. It was designed by Mary Colter and sits out on a promontory overlooking the Grand Canyon.

Sunday we drove to a military recreation area just south of Flagstaff that has lodges, cabins, and RV sites. We're here for 3 days. We also drove the Oak Creek Canyon scenic highway to Sedona. We poked around the shops there and had dinner.

Today, Monday, the weather is pretty nice - low 60's and sunny. We are at 7,000 feet. In Sedona it was much warmer - the elevation is only about 5,000 feet.