Following the Dream

Christian November 25th, 2009

                  The drive out to the Grand Canyon was about 4.5 hours.  We stopped at a view point that looked over Lake Mead.  As we crossed over the Hoover Dam, we got some pretty cool glimpses of it.  The drive through the desert proved to be very interesting.  The road was very straight for the most part and shimmered in the heat.  We passed some horror film quality hitch hikers and a guy running through the desert carrying a huge American Flag.  The scenery did change along the way as we climbed elevation, with more trees present.  At one point we saw a rainstorm on the horizon.  When we reached it, it was much worse than it looked.  Our rental car was pelted by hail, and rain flooded the roadways with inches of water.  Many people pulled over to wait it out, but we pushed on and within 10 minutes it was back to sunny skies.  Passing through the town of Williams, we stopped at the Safeway grocery store to pick up some essentials for the Grand Canyon.  We bought tons of snacks, drinks, and a bottle of rum to last us through the next couple of remote stops on our itinerary.  It was about an hour from there to the Grand Canyon.  We were very happy that we had decided to stay closer to the Gran Canyon and spend a bit more money then having to drive an hour to get to the park.  Our hotel was decent, but for the money there should have been a couple of things that were advertised that should have been fixed.  The internet was down and the ice machine on our floor was broken (We are sounding picky, I know).  First thing first after check in, was to get some lunch.  We tried to go to the local “cafeteria”, but we could not justify spending almost $10 on a sandwich when there was a Wendy’s next door.  The line was long, but we waited it out and grabbed some lunch.  We headed back to the room to get our things together for a trip into the park. 

                 We had plenty of time before sunset, so we got off a few stops early a checked out some views before getting to the famous sunset view.  Along the way, we saw tons of elk in the woods.  The first stop was nice at Trailview Overlook.  We even had it to ourselves for a bit.  I took some photos and we headed back on the shuttle and stopped at Powell Point.  This view was amazing, the Canyon really opened up in front of you.  I took some photos at the start of the walkway and then we walked down to the end of the point.  There were a lot of people there, but I found a beautiful spot off to the side that was hidden from the tourists behind a pine tree.  I set up my camera to take some photos of this magnificent view point of the Grand Canyon.  It is truely amazing. 

                    I told Casey to look around to see if there were any other viewpoints that might be better.  While she was away, I managed to set the video camera up on the tripod and hit record.  When she came back, we walked over to the edge and I told her I loved her.  I then noticed my shoe was loosely tied, so I bent down to tie it.  She asked me if I had to tie it so closely to the edge, I guess I was a little close.  While down on my one knee, I pulled out a ring and told her that I loved her and if she would marry me.  I think that she was in a state of shock at that point.  She said yes and was choked up for the walk to the spot where we would catch the sunset, at Hopi Point.  Hopi Point had a nice view as well, by this point we are noticing a trend.  I do not think that there is a bad viewpoint of the Grand Canyon.  I claimed a nice spot with my Tripod next to two younger guys with their tripods.  It was a family with three kids in total from Seattle.  They were good company while we waited the hour and a half for sunset, minus the guy that walked over next to Casey to take a photo and farted.  We both look at each other and tried not to laugh as the guy tried to replicate the noise with his shoe.  On the horizon there was a monster storm, complete with lightning that was heading our way.  We were determined to stay and watch the sunset, but sure enough minutes before sunset the storm had arrived.  As soon as the rain started, Casey and I quickly packed up my camera gear and started walking back to the nearest bus pickup point.  We were not quick enough.  Soon it was like a tornado was coming through.  The wind picked up, the rain was a complete downpour, and huge pieces of hail were pelting us.  We took cover under a tree, which provided little protection.  We saw a bus go by and decided we had to continue on to the bus stop.  We traped through deep mud and trees to get to the bus stop.  When we were there we hid under some trees with a group of English kids.  It felt like the damn bus was never going to come, but at last our bus pulled up.  We hurdled the wall to make sure we would beat out the others and get a spot on the crowded bus.  The people on the bus were dry, so they must have been on the way to the viewpoint when the rain started and were not getting off.  The windows fogged over from the heat and moisture from us who were caught in the storm.  By the time the bus had made it back to the visitor center, the rain had stopped and Casey and I walked back to the good old PT Cruiser in wet jeans.  We drove back to the room for a nice hot shower to clean all of the mud and pieces of tree of us.  We decided that since it was a special day, that we would splurge on a good dinner so we made our way across the street to the steakhouse at The Grand Hotel.  The atmosphere was nice, complete with a country singer who was offkey.  We both got drinks and steak for dinner.  It was terrific, especially the garlic monterry jack mashed potatoes.  By the end of the meal, we were full to the brim and headed back to our hotel for a nice sleep.

                         My alarm clock was almost painful when it went off at 5am.  I really wanted to catch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.  We loaded up the car with some essentials for the day and were out the door within 15 minutes.  By the time we reached Yavapai Point, there was already tons of people.  I was able to claim a good spot and we sat and waited for the sun to wake up.  I snapped off a bunch of photos as the sun started to wake up.  It was amazing.  The sky started to light up pretty colors, and when the sun peeked over the horizon the canyon started to light up.  The line of sunlight moved across the canyon before our eyes, bringing out some beautiful red colors in the canyon.  It definitly was worth getting up for.  We decided that since we were up and it was pretty early that we would do some hiking before it got too hot out.  After much debate, we decided on South Kaibob Trail.  We hiked down into the canyon for almost an hour and just about reached Cedar Point.  There was a pretty lookout that we stopped at for a while before we headed back up.  I must say, if you are ever going to the Grand Canyon, I suggest that you hike into it a bit.  It really gives you an appreciation for how vast it is.  We sat at the viewpoint for a while, just taking in the view and resting our legs.  We even had a fat squirrel come visit us.  The trip up was not as fun as coming down, but it was still scenic.  When we got to the top, we petted the mules and waited for the bus to take us back to the visitor’s center.  There, we confirmed we could drive to Desert View for sunset and went back to our town right outside of the entrance of the park to grab a sandwich for lunch.  We relaxed in the hotel pool and hot tub for a bit before getting dressed for our trip to Desert View for sunset. 

                  We got lucky on the trip out to Desert View and did not get stuck behind any slow pokes.  It was 25 miles out to desert view and it only took us 40 minutes to get there.  We left the camera equipment in the car and walked down to take a look.  It was a different view, but still spectacular.  You could see the Colorado, the canyon walls, and also the desert in the distance.  It was very scenic.  The weather was good.  I saw a trail that went away from where the people were and looked like it could have been a better view.  It was scary, with drops to the the bottom on the canyon to either side.  When I came back up, Casey and I decided to try to find another spot.  We went up into the old stone watchtower and got some really good views.  After we decended from the watch tower, we walked along the cliff and found a really scenic spot.  We went back to the car and grabbed the camera stuff and secured the spot for sunset.  It took a long time for the sun to set, but that gave me plenty of time to take some photos.  Casey was just sitting at the viewpoint reading and taking in the scenery.  It was amazing.  When the sun started to set, the sky lit up with beautiful pinks and purples and the landscape was given a golden glow.  We snapped off a few photos of ourselves and of the sunset and just watched amazed that something like this is in the USA. 

                We headed back to the car and drove back into town and grabbed some Pizza at “We Make Pizza and Pasta”.  It was really good and we took some back to the room to eat while we watched some TV.  The next morning, we had to pack up, get gas, and make the long drive to Monument Valley, which stradles the Arizona Utah border.

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