Arizona - Grand Canyon

Before getting to Grand Canyon, we stopped in Sedona. The emphasis here is on "before". Indeed, Sedona's red rocks are impressive, but as an appetizer. They put you in the mood for something bigger further north.

Then it's a long drive through the dry flat desert of Arizona until the first view points of the Grand Canyon. Actually the first one coming from the East is kind of a trick - it's not in the National Park and overlooks the little Colorado river. Let me reassure you, we did not fall in the trap. There are many great view points, where it is nice to stop both with the evening lights (especially when it is cloudy) and the morning ones.

The visit to the park is well organized with shuttles taking you to every corner. The walks along the ridge of the canyons offered beautiful views. We did not try the walks down the canyons, neither do river rafting all the way down in the gorge. We could get a glimpse of tiny boats on the small river, zigzaging through the huge canyons. No matter how much writing about the Grand Canyon, the best is to see it - with the second best, being my pictures...

 

Nice also to encounter some wildlife. It's not because of this wildlife that I had sympathy for the campers (the camping sites were full...) but rather because of the cold. The South Rim is at 2100 meters in altitude and it does get chilly at night...