When we arrived in the Grand Canyon National Park we were welcomed by an elk cow. I didn’t even know what an elk cow was before we went to the Grand Canyon. They are all over the campground and canyon.

After we parked the RV at the Grand Canyon Village RV Resort we headed over to the visitor’s center. The Grand Canyon South Rim park covers just a small section of the entire Grand Canyon, about 30 miles of it. In order to see the west area of the G.C. South Rim park, during this time of the year, you need to either walk, bike or take a bus. The bus stops at 9 points along the rim and takes about 80 minutes roundtrip.

Because it was later in the afternoon when we arrived we chose to simply check out the rim behind the Visitor’s Center and then explore more over the next couple of days.

We woke up the next morning to a dusting of snow on the ground. I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to capture some pictures of the canyon with snow on it. Because it was so cold we did a car trip, as opposed to a hike. The Desert View Tower is 22 miles to the East of the Visitor’s Center. Along the route are a number of great canyon viewing areas. We found a bit of snow at a couple of the points, but it diminished as we approached the Tower, due to its lower altitude.

Desert View Tower

At the Tower, I found a Yellow Bluebird resting on a snow covered branch.

 

From the Tower you are able to see the Colorado River snaking through the canyon.

In the distance the low clouds spilled over hills of the canyon.

By late afternoon the clouds had diminished so we headed out to the west side of the park. We took the bus to Hopi Point, as it is noted as being good for sunset photography.

The next day we hopped on the west rim bus and took it to the end of the route, to Hermits Rest. From there we began our hike along the canyon rim. We hiked 6.2 miles to Powell Point. At times, we found ourselves precariously close to the canyon’s edge. In the picture below you can see the trail skirting the edge.

As if that wasn’t close enough, Charlie decided to hang out over the edge.

No harm came to him and he was, therefore, able to take a picture of me 🙂

Below are some of the pictures I captured of the canyon during our hikes.

Back at the Canyon Village Center we watched an Indian performance.

For our last evening we headed to Grandview Point for sunset. It is one of my favorite points along this area of the rim. I think my second favorite is Pima Point. Then again, they are all beautiful.

After a few days of glorious views and crazy weather (snow, sun, temps ranging from 20 to 65 degrees) we concluded our visit to the Grand Canyon and headed to Page, AZ. More on that later……