We (me, Petra, Larry, and Robin) got up the morning of October 12th and hit the road. Well, not literally. But we had a long 5-6 hour drive ahead to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped in Williams on legendary Route 66 and had a picnic lunch. We stopped at a coffee shop there for some caffeinated refreshment. Then we continued our drive, heading toward a huge plume of ominous-looking dark smoke. Was the Grand Canyon on fire? Naaa, I didn’t think so. They were just doing a controlled burn nearby. Whew! So we finally arrived at the South Rim and before even checking into our rooms we had to stop and look at the view from Mather Point. Wow! That is one big hole in the ground! We walked around and admired the view for a bit then headed to check in.

It was a decent, clean room and we headed back to the nearby Canyon for sunset. We got there a little too late, so we decided to check that out tomorrow evening. So, instead, well, let’s eat! At one of the lodges they had a sort or food court with different types of food, most places with a vegetarian option or two. Fed and happy, we went to a different lodge nearby that had a big fireplace (remember, it got down to aout 20 degrees at night). We had a drink and sat a while near the fireplace, then we headed back to the rooms, visiting for a while first in our friends’ room. Then it was nighty nightime…

The morning of the 13th, we got up and went to the lodge for some breakfast before we started our day. First stop after that was to take a hike partway down the trail at Bright Angel, into the Canyon. We didn’t go WAY down, not even close. We went about 20-30 minutes down a trail and then (more slowly) back up again. It was very cool to look up and see the edges of the canyon above us and know that we were really in it, if only a bit. Next we started driving up the east rim, stopping at various points of interest. The first stop was the Tusayan Ruins. Small but still interesting. Then a bit further to the Watchtower, a five (?) story tower that you can go up in and view the canyon. It was built many years ago to have the most amazing views of the Canyon, and it succeeds at that. The view was awesome from up there. We had a snack at a small place nearby and continued on.

By that time it was getting close to sunset and we were determined not to miss sunset at the Grand Canyon, so we found a good vantage point and waited for a little while as the sun descended toward the horizon. Sunset was very pretty but the day was hecka cold, in the 40s, and once the sun actually went down it got really cold. Brrrr. So it was back to the lodge for some dinner. They also had free wi-fi in the lodge and were took advantage of that for a few minutes too. Then we went back and visited in the rooms for a while and that was that. For today anyway.

The morning of the 14th, we packed up to leave. But before leaving the Canyon, we stopped at Yaki Point, one of many, many spots with a beautiful view of the canyon. Then we checked out and we were, as Willie says, on the road again. We stopped in Williams on Route 66 again and this time ate at a little diner that wanted to be cooler than it really was. But it was a fun piece of Americana and, hey, you gotta eat! Then we hit the coffee shop again for some java to go and we were off. We headed back to Vegas, another 5-6 hour drive, where our friends would drop us at the Las Vegas Airport. And they did. After saying our goodbyes, we got inside the airport and realized we had 3-4 hours to wait. There was an earlier flight but it would have cost $170 to change. Uh, no. I don’t think so. We played the slot machines in the airport for a few minutes but quit that fast, no sense giving away much money. We surfed the Internet on the airport’s free wi-fi, then had some Mexican food and a margarita that cost twice what it should have. Oh, well, vacation and all. Then the plane came, we flew home, took the shuttle from the airport. And, you guessed it, home sweet home.