Grand Canyon

On Monday, Casey drove us out to the Grand Canyon. It was around a 4 hour drive but what a beautiful drive! We saw lots of desert and breathtaking mountains. We reached elevations up to 7,100 feet! Some mountains were still capped with snow that had not yet melted. For lunch we stopped at Wendy's in Tusayan, AZ right outside the Grand Canyon. Lets just say this Wendy's didn't have a dollar menu. They capitalized on their location with a combo costing $8 per person, haha!

We drove into the park and stopped at the visitor's center to take our first walk at the canyon and how beautiful it was. There are no words to describe one of God's greatest masterpieces. Here is our first view of the canyon from the South Rim:

Breathtaking. Tears to the eyes. All I could do was whisper a prayer of thanks to our Creator for allowing me to see one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

When Riley first saw the Grand Canyon he pointed and said, "Wo-ow!" I guess nothing describes it like the view thru an 18 month old child's eyes! He kept saying "Oooo...!"

We did quite a lot of walking then drove to check-in at the hotel located right ont he South Rim, El Tovar. This hotel was wonderful with its history and the staff was wonderful with suggestions and they had excellent service.

Once we were settled in our rooms we took another walk along the Grand Canyon Village past the other hotels, cabins, restaurants,and shops. Then we took the shuttle along the Hermit Historic Road stopping at many sites. This area is not accessible to cars. We ended up at Hopi Point for the sunset. The wind gusts were extremely cold (it was in the 50's at sunset) and Riley had windburn so Jeremy and I had to take the shuttle back about 5 minutes prior to the sun finally setting. But what we saw was still beautiful and amazing!

With sunset being at 7:23 and our having to make a trek back to the hotel, it was pretty late so Jeremy stayed with Riley while Casey and I got a reservation at the El Tovar Dining Room. We enjoyed our girls night and our waiter was even so kind as to deliver Jeremy his dinner to our room! Casey and I enjoyed smoked salmon crostinis and spinach salads with apples, bacon, gorgonzola and shallots. Needless to say we were only able to take a few bites of our main courses: grilled pork chops with smoked gouda and green chile cornbread dressing!

I can't think of a more perfect way to spend one day at the Grand Canyon! It is so amazing the way it changes colors according to where the sun is shining. It is one of the most peaceful, beautiful, spiritual places I've ever been.