Neil and I got up around 5 o’clock this morning to catch a 6:30 a.m. tour bus to the Grand Canyon to tour the South Rim. We had an entertaining bus driver. On the way, we got to travel down the famous Route 66 for several miles before ending up on I-40.
This was a neat surprise for us to get to travel on a piece of Americana.
Our trip was [literally] an all day affair ~ 550 miles round trip ~ 10 hours of travel time. The Grand Canyon is in Arizona, so this is the landscape we saw most of the way.
The Grand Canyon is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. It is breathtaking, to say the least, although these pictures do not do it justice. It was cloudy and hazy today so the colors were not very sharp.
Here we are at long last. We had to wear these stickers on our shirts all day as part of tour number 4 and so the bus driver could keep track of us. A sweet lady with a French accent offered to take our picture with my iPad mini [I only used it for three or four pics then put it away ~ I was afraid I’d drop it over the edge]. She said she was an artist, and the picture is all about composition. You be the judge. The following pictures I took with my little Canon Powershot SX 230 which was easy to carry around. The pictures speak for themselves. Neil kept telling me ‘You already took a picture of that.’ If they all look alike, it’s my fault. I couldn’t help taking pictures of it all. These are just a few.
We walked the South Rim for two or three miles. The bus driver told us where to meet him at the end of our trek and that the first thing we should do is get in line for what he claimed was the best ice cream he’d ever eaten. We did and he was right. The ice cream was fabulous ~ a decadent cold treat after walking and gaping at the canyon.
On our way out of the park, the line of vehicles had stopped to gawk at the wildlife sharing the road ~ in this case, an elk [the driver said]. The elk did not seem to notice us.
On the way back to Las Vegas, we got to see Hoover Dam, although by the time we passed by, the sun had set and there was no light for a good picture. I’d love to see it in the daytime. The driver told us all sorts of history about Las Vegas and Hoover Dam and he showed DVD’s on the way there and back which told the story of Vegas and the Dam. Very interesting. By the time we got back to our room, it was 9:30 p.m. which made for a fifteen hour day of traveling/touring. Needless to say, we’re completely worn out and totally drained, but so glad we took the time to go see this piece of God’s awesome creation. Tomorrow is our last full day here and we have….no plans.
