The Grand Canyon with Pat and Beth
Sunday, October 26th, 2008
What a truly enjoyable couple of weeks we were able to spend with family. It is times like this that really emphasize how blessed we are to be flexible enough to take some days and really enjoy when family visits. We had such occasion again when Cousin Pat and his wife Beth Dhooghe from Michigan came down for a visit.
Pat and Beth for sure wanted to get up to the Grand Canyon and the rest of the visit would fall around that. Without a doubt, the Canyon is ‘the’ place but we wanted to make sure they got the full ‘Arizona Experience’ so we mapped out quite a run around agenda while they were here.
After hanging around the homestead for a day of rest after arriving, we were off to the Canyon. We headed out early enough to make sure we would have time to get to the South Rim, walk around the main village area for a bit, get back to check into the The Grand Hotel lodge (we were staying outside the Park entrance in Tusayan) , and still get back over to the park for the Sunset. Making sure Pat and Beth caught a Grand Canyon Sunset and Sunrise was something I had been focused on from the time I heard they were coming.
We arrived at the Park by lunch. Having planned ahead we had packed the cooler with some sandwiches so we could experience a ‘lunch table’ like no other. We all pulled up a rock and just stared out in amazement at the incredible views of the Grand Canyon. Pat and Beth were of course in awe – but so were we. I don’t care how many times you see this place, it was Pat and Beth’s first and Kimberly and my fourth or so just this year – it’s still the same, it is just utterly stunning.
After lunch we walked around the village, Pat and I even headed down the Bright Angel Trail a bit below the Rim and of course enjoyed the nice climb back out. We then left out the Park to check into the lodge and get a quick little rest before heading back over to the Park to catch the Sunset. Just before we got to our view stop, we spotted a whole herd of Elk. They were right there in front of us, so we stopped the car, grabbed the cameras and started following them along the woods. How cool it was to see these great creatures up close in the wild like that. Pat is a HUGE Elk fan and was just so tickled that he got a chance to see the herd. I think before we left we had seen just about all the Arizona animals.
After a nice dinner that night at the country themed restaurant with a live singer, we hit the bed early. The plan was to leave over to the Park at about 5:10 the next morning to make sure we caught the 6:20 Sunrise. Like most good spots at the Grand Canyon, you will have some hiking to do after you park the car. So while the drive from lodge to parking was only 15 minutes or so, the hike to our spot was a good 25 plus. Anyway, the sunrise experience was of course incredible. While this time of year it does not rise in the perfect spot, it still is something special to see the Canyon come alive like that. It was a cold one, it required some good hiking, but it was more than worth it of course. After watching the Sunrise, Kimberly and I dropped off Pat and Beth at the village for some breakfast and we had a chance to do another run along the Rim. We did 8 miles again along the S. Rim trail and it again confirmed to me there is no better place in the world for a morning run.
After we left the Grand Canyon with Cousins Pat and Beth we headed up to Las Vegas for a couple of nights. I like to say, kind of like going from one of the God’s most amazing creations to one of Mans most amazing. It was the typical Vegas experience: lots of walking, little rest, great food and entertainment. We hit Lawry’sfor the Prime Rib, we walked Venetian and Caesar’s, and Pat and Beth got a chance to see the Cirque De Solis show Mystere that night.
The whole Canyon-Vegas loop was such a great time with the Cousins. Even all the hours in the car seemed to pass quickly as we got to catch up on so many great old times. I sure hope it’s not too long before we get to do this again with them…
