Saturday, July 12, 2008

Day 6 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 6 Saturday July 12 2008

This morning we are off to see one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. There is a great deal of iniformation about The Grand Canyon on Wikipedia if you want to learn more. We are touring with American Dream Tours. They picked us up right at the front door of the hotel.



The drive to the Grand Canyon took a little over an hour. I would recommend taking a tour rather than driving yourself. There is no doubt that we saw a lot more and learned a lot more having our driver/guide along with us. He brought a high powered telescope and showed us things that could not be seen with the naked eye. There was also a great picnic lunch provided halfway through the day.

We entered through the park entrance and rather than go to the most popular and most congested Mather Point Lookout, we went to the lesser known but equally impressive Yavapai Lookout. Here the crowds were few and we were able to wander around and get unblocked views of the canyon. Had we driven on our own, I am sure we would have gotten to Mather Point and that would have been the extent of our Grand Canyon Experience. With the tour, we went to at least 6 different lookout areas. Here is my first view and picture of the Grand Canyon.



It was a hot and humid day, and the haze shows up in the photos. I really think that September would probably be the best month, it would be cooler and no haze. One of our other tour group members took our picture for us.





Here is a VIDEO that I took while at the Yavapai Lookout.

Here is another VIDEO from the Yavapai Lookout

We then drove to Tusayan Ruins and the Watch Tower Lookout. Here is a picture of the Watch Tower. Our driver/guide is explaining the significance of this site to our group.



After the Watch Tower we went to the Grand View Lookout.



We had been dodging rain clouds most of the day, but here the rain caught up to us and it was time to head back to Flagstaff.

All I can say is that if you have never been to The Grand Canyon, you should go, and if you have been, well you should go again. I know that Karen and I will be back.

I took a couple of hundred photos today, so if you are interested in seeing more of The Grand Canyon, you can click on the link below and visit my Flickr Page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21055823@N07/sets/72157606389469399/

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