I know we are behind with posting on the blog partly because of poor internet service in the Grand Canyon.  We are in Sante Fe now but more about that later.

From Zion we took the north west route around the Grand Canyon to the south rim this time passing through Page and Lake Powell.  We had no idea that Lake Powell was so big which would account for the number of huge boats we saw along the highway.  We got to the Grand Canyon in time to get a lay of the land.  Like Zion, they have a shuttle system which makes it so easy to get to the hiking trails and tourist information.  We stayed just outside the park in an over priced hotel where the internet didn't work but the location was perfect.  We only had one full day of hiking so we decided to make the most of it.  Like Zion, the temperatures were unseasonably high, 95 F.  We started with an easy hike along the rim stopping in the geology museum along the way.  I wish my pictures did justice to the scenery.  We learned that the canyon is 277 miles long, 10 miles wide and 1 mile deep.  This was a real chance for me to meet my fear of heights.  After about 5 miles we came to the start of one of the below the rim hikes.  We decided to try and get to the 1 1/2 miles rest house.  It was still over 95 F.  We had lots of water and the electrolyte tablets thanks to Dean.  The hike ended up with an elevation change of 1,100 feet and took us 3 hours.  We have never done a hike with that kind of elevation and were proud of ourselves that we survived.  Thankfully we had cold beer waiting for us at the hotel. It is hard to describe how awe inspiring the canyon is.  You just have to see it to believe it.  The next day we were off to Sante Fe with a stop along the way to see my dad's old college hockey buddy in Albuquerque.

One of these pictures is from the rim and the other is looking at the trail we have just come up.