Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

And you haven’t been where?  Gotta be kidding me!

Well, that’s what you’re going to say in mere moments.  I just planned ahead for your reaction.  Honestly, I have no excuses for my behavior either.  But I’ve finally addressed the issue.

See, I’ve been in Arizona for more than a year.  And in that year I have never taken a trip to the Grand Canyon.  I remedied that oversight yesterday!

Why would you skip a trip to the Canyon?  Last year I had many excuses.  The big one was the job hunt.  Gosh, what a mistake that was.  While I had time I should have spent a week or two at the Canyon.

A week or two?  Really?  Why?

Ummm, the place is cool and I want to take a long hike into the Canyon.  The trails are interesting, the canyon walls are amazing, and I can only imagine what it’s like in the canyon.

Dust off the hiking boots, check out the tent, and get the water purifier ready.  I’ll be planning a Fall hike for sure.

The Grand Canyon is one of those “destination spots.”  Yesterday Sadira and I set it as our destination.  I always thought it was further away, but when I planned the trip I found out that the Canyon’s South Rim was 2.5 hours away from me.  Amazing how close I am to the place.  Even more amazing, I hadn’t taken the time to drive up.

See, back in New England I’d run up to the White Mountains all the time for hikes, paddling, etc.  The length of the drive was the same.  I went there constantly.  Now that I know how far the Canyon is, you can be there will be more trips up.  I can’t wait to hike down into the Canyon!!!

The visit was special to me.  First time seeing the place.  More importantly, it was an important destination to my mother.  After recovering as well as she could from her bone marrow transplant she had a list of must see places herself.  She started addressing her list during the 90’s.  The Grand Canyon was one of those stops.  I’m glad I took the time (finally) and I completely understand why mom wanted to see the place so badly.

The drive up went pretty quickly.  Good company, good music.  You know how it is.  We arrived before 9 a.m., and I sincerely thought we’d beaten the crowds.  Well, I thought that until we stopped at the first viewing location.  Apparently the Canyon is a must see for tons of people, not just me. 

Our first overlook was an interesting experience.  It was, in my mind, a Disney moment.  Not the happy movies we all run out to see.  No, I mean the type of experience you have getting into a popular ride at one of Disney’s parks.  Lots of people, slow moving line, many foreign languages, etc.  Sadira was literally shoved by a woman walking away from the view site.  Nice!  That was 5 minutes out of the car!

That type of behavior continued throughout our visit.  People cutting into line for the rest rooms, folks walking 4 people wide on a foot path not letting others pass in the opposite direction, and more.  Gotta say, I’ve heard about the “Ugly American” going abroad…..guess other folks have taken on that role while visiting here.  I was pretty surprised!

Even with the crowds we enjoyed ourselves.  The backdrop was amazing, and we both wanted more.  There will be a return trip soon!  I’m already starting to plan hikes there, so I’ll be shopping around for some time off.  I rounded up a set of maps and a guide book.  Hike planning is always fun!

Our visit ended early into the afternoon.  Monsoons started up, and trying to view the Canyon during downpours isn’t a useful activity!  Fortunately the downpours made for a few interesting photos!  Nice to see the storm clouds rolling across a huge canyon!

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday!  I headed out of here at 6 a.m. to get an early start at the Grand Canyon.  That cut into blogging time.   But the trip was totally worth it!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 7:17 am and is filed under Arizona, Digital Photography, Notes from Gadget, Photo of the Day.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.