The Grand Canyon

 We arrived at the Grand Canyon aboard the train on a spectacularly beautiful day.  Actually, for all our time in Arizona it was perfect weather.  It was especially nice to have clear blue skies and temperatures around 75-80 degrees.

After a bus tour that I wasn't very fond of, we were able to wander around the village or walk along the rim.   There was a very nice shuttle system all over the park, so we didn't need to worry that we didn't have our car.

There was a walking path along the edge of the South Rim that was easily accessible from the village, so we spent some time enjoying the weather and the view before heading to our hotel.

We stayed at the Maswik Lodge, which was just very basic, lodge-type accommodations.

The nice thing about it was the little porch, where we were able to sit in the morning and enjoy the sunshine.

The one thing I found disconcerting at the Grand Canyon was the lack of places to eat!  The one sit-down restaurant was fully booked, the other was closed due to covid, and the only other place to eat was the Maswik Lodge Food Court.

Unfortunately, the food court turned out to be a bust....again because of covid.   Most of it was closed down and there was a very limited selection of not-the-greatest food.   I would imagine the food was more available and better prepared if it wasn't during covid time.

Tag enjoyed his carrot cake for breakfast out on the deck.

In the morning, we went and took the "red line" shuttle which brought you all along the South Rim to the destination that was the furthest out.....Hermit's Rest.   There were about 10 or so stops along the way where you could hop off, stay as long as you wanted, then hop back on.  

We stopped at every stop, and every view was different.  We just could not stop taking photos!  I believe in all, for the entire trip, we probably took about 1200 photos.  And, as they say, the photos don't do it justice.

Hermit's Rest.....if you stand under the bell you'll have good luck.

So many people told him not to fall off.......he just had to do it!

After our train ride back to Williams, we hopped in the car and drove over to Kingman, AZ to stay the night and get ready to drive up to the West Side of the Grand Canyon.