The Grand Canyon is Exactly That: Very Grand!

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief deposited us in Flagstaff, AZ, exactly on time at 5:00 a.m. Still dark and damn cold. The temperature hereabouts gets into the high 30s at night, but runs on up to nearly 80 during the day.

While waiting for the rental car agency to open, we had a great breakfast in the local diner along with some very interesting people we had med on the train: a young Brit who has just earned his masters on math from Trinity College in England and is looking for a U.S. school for a doctorate. An Australian psychologist specializing in children and a German lady, now living and working in New Zealand, who is, by coincidence, also a psychologist working with older kids, most of whom have been abused. Breakfast lasted two hours and flew by!

We arrived at the South Rim in our rental car around mid-morning and to my relief and despite all my fears, the place is not swarming with people. There are plenty of folks, but not the hoards I had been warned about.

The canyon itself is a real WOW! … wherever you look, whatever the time of day. You just sit and stare at it, not knowing where to look. Fortunately, today was very clear which just enhanced the experience. But, as for photographs, fergit it! They will be spectacular when I post them later, but none can begin to do justice to the grandeur of this place. It’s just too damn big!

No plans for tomorrow yet. Just whatever strikes us. Fun, eh?