It seems we can’t escape the snowstorms this winter. After avoiding one back at home, my daughter Bailey and I flew into Las Vegas and planned to stay for 2 full days before driving across Arizona to Grand Canyon National Park.
But forecasts of a new snowstorm made us change plans and head to the canyon a day early. We had never visited Arizona before and were leery of driving through remote areas, at higher altitudes than we were used to, in a rental car, on slippery roads with sketchy cell coverage. So off we went ahead of schedule.
The drive from Vegas to the park was wild! We’re from Pennsylvania, where we have basically the same type of grass and trees wherever we go. We see sand at the beach and in the playground sandbox- and that’s it. But on this drive, we saw what looked like several different worlds in the span of a few hours; brown dirt hills, desert scrub lands, multi-colored rock mounds reminiscent of the Dakota Badlands, large buttes, and eventually, seemingly endless miles of pine, pinyon and juniper trees.
We arrived at the park gate just as the snowstorm did, and road conditions changed pretty quick! By the time we drove the remaining 5 miles to the visitor center, the park roads were slick and snow-covered, and visibility was surprisingly poor. We were excited to take our first look at the canyon, but were skeptical that we’d be able to see anything.
After checking in at Yavapai Lodge, we headed over to the visitor center and Mather Point to see what we could see. It was windy, cold and snowy. Several inches had already piled on the ground. Hardly anybody was out. It was exciting, weird, and a little eerie.
And then, the big moment arrived- our first look at the site so many describe as a life-changing and beautiful experience.
We saw this:
Things were much more interesting on the canyon walls. We still couldn’t see a lot, but we could feel the awesomeness of the canyon. What we could see looked amazing!
The thing is- the view was every bit as stunning and beautiful as people said it would be, but for obvious reasons, entirely different! We stayed for a while and tried to make out rock formations in the cloud-soaked canyon. The snow and grayness made the whole place look like something out of a Harry Potter movie! Walking the the pathways along the forested rim was so peaceful and quiet, but also scary. It felt like we were totally alone and miles away from civilization. The sunset was setting and the dim daylight we had was quickly disappearing.
We weren’t out that long, but it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. I feel lucky that we got see to the canyon in those conditions. And, I knew that the next day would give us an all new, and much more typical, first-view. In the meantime, it was off the lodge for dinner and then back to the room to relax and watch the Olympics.
Part 2 of this Grand Canyon series coming soon….
Five O'Clock Shadow 