Sedona and the Grand Canyon

We have been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Some of you will no doubt have heard us go on and on about the Grand Canyon National Park and how amazing it looks in pictures and on TV. Well, today we got to see it close up and personal, in 2 Seasons.

First of all our day began early. We saw Mike and Darlene off at 7:00 a.m. as they headed off for their Thursday morning golf game. After a quick breakfast we packed the 4Runner and headed north. Our route took us north on Hwy 87 through Payson and Camp Verde and then on I-17 and SR179 to Sedona. Wow! Red rock canyon. Amazing contrast between the green trees and the deep red rock. Unfortunately the road from Sedona to Flagstaff was closed so we doubled back and continued up I-17 to Flagstaff. From there we ventured out on SR 180 to the town of Tusayan at the Grand Canyon.

Barry's knack for "weather events" when travelling continued today. The forecast for the Grand Canyon today was mainly sunny. No sooner had we arrived in Tusayan it started to snow, and blow. It was a bloody white-out. Plus, it was cold. We checked into our motel and headed for the Canyon. We got out to the Canyon just in time to see it being devoured by the snow storm. We were in shock. Maybe it was the bitter wind chill conditions. We decided that we would get up early tomorrow and head for the canyon in hopes of seeing what we came to see.

We decided to grab and early dinner at the Park. The clouds to the south were lifting a bit and it looked like we might get lucky and have some evening sun. Sunset at the Grand Canyon would be fabulous.

Guess what happened. We got lucky. Barry's travel luck seemed to be changing. The clouds completely lifted and we were in bright sunshine from 5:00 p.m. through to sunset. We hiked about 1 1/2 miles down the rim to the Hopi Outlook. We got there just in time to see the sun set in the canyon. What a treat. It was worth the many miles we travelled to get here, and worth the wait.

Dana tells me that tomorrow we will get up at the crack of dawn and get there for sunrise. Sound good.




What we saw when we first arrived at the Grand Canyon, just before the snow storm completely devoured the view.



When the sky cleared you could see forever..... What a magical place





Barry and Dana at sunset at the Hopi Outlook, Grand Canyon






Red rocks of Sedona


....more Sedona scenery.....