Grand Canyon, North Rim

May 31-June 2

We headed for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It is a 215 mile roundabout drive to wind up 10 miles from the south rim. The north rim is very different from the south rim. First it much less developed; there is only one hotel, compared with at least 7 or 8 on the south rim. It gets about one tenth as many visitors as the south rim. Second, it is quite a bit farther from the Colorado river, so the views are much more restricted, and not as panoramic as at the south rim. Third, it is about 1000 feet higher in altitude, so it tends to be cooler and is more pine-like forest, rather than semi-arid desert.

There are very few views of the Colorado river from the north rim. This is one of the few we found. The rock formation is called "Angel's window". You have to look  through the window to see the river.

We found that the north rim had more deer than the south rim.. This one seemed to be rather annoyed that I had disturbed his lunch. I can think of a few vulgar captions for this picture, but I'll let you make up your own caption.

We took a hike down the North Kaibab trail to the Coconino Overlook. As we headed down, two packs of mules came up the trail; this is the other way of seeing the Grand Canyon from the inside.

After looking at the trail below us, Nancy said,  "This is far enough!" At least I managed to get her "below the rim".

It is amazing to see where trees will manage to grow. You would think there would be nothing on this rock to support life, but there it is. A little crack with some dirt and little moisture seems to be sufficient. Why do I have so much trouble getting things to grow in our patio?

Next stop - Bryce Canyon National Park.