Day 12

After yesterday’s early start at 5.50 the one thing I would’ve liked was a nice long lie in, so when Natalie woke me up at 5.30 to watch the sunrise I wasn’t the most enthusiastic person in the world. Natalie on the other hand had already been up for half an hour and had her phone set up to record a time-lapse video. Although I had to drag myself out to the balcony, once I was out there I was very happy that I’d got up as the view was spectacular.

We could hear other people on their balconies and there was quite a large crowd of people watching from the restaurant patio. I was very glad we’d paid for a room with a good view as it meant that I was able to get back into bed as soon as the sun had finished rising.

Despite the people in the room above making the most noise in the world (it sounded like a herd of elephants walking around) we both got a bit more sleep and eventually got up at about 9 (or was it 10? Navajo time is different to Arizona), had some breakfast looking out at the Mittens and checked out of our lovely room.

Before we started the journey to the Grand Canyon we drove the 17-mile tour around the Monument Valley Tribal Park. We decided that I would drive and Natalie would take photos, I was very happy with this decision as it was a chance to go off-roading in our big 4x4 along bumpy dusty roads! It was great fun. It was nice to get up close to the mesas and buttes (we learnt that these were the names of the big monuments during yesterday’s Lake Powell river tour) and to get a different perspective of the gigantic chunks of rock. (Natalie wants me to say monolithic rocky outcrops but I think ‘chunks of rock’ is easier to picture) We spotted a tiny little squirrel type of animal on the side of the road, it was very cute and we watched it nibble away at something in his hands before scuttling off out of view. It looked a bit like a meerkat but a teeny tiny version (Laura christened him a Meermonk).

There were a couple of exciting moments on the way back up to the hotel where the car almost got stuck in the deep sandy parts of the road, I was glad I wasn’t in my Smart car, I’m not sure it would’ve dealt with the conditions as well as our Chevy did.

We finished the tour in good time and got on the road to the Grand Canyon, the landscape wasn’t as exciting as some of the previous drives and for the first time we both felt a little bit fatigued. Although the sky did look quite big at times.

Not a lot happened for the majority of the journey but as we approached the Grand Canyon park we started to spot elk, the first one was just munching on a bit of grass at the side of the road, it was quite large and I wasn’t really expecting to see it so it was quite exciting. Upon entering the park we saw quite a few more elk, some were in the forest to the side, at one point a bunch of them crossed the road in front of us, that was even more exciting.

We stopped at the Desert View Watch Tower just after entering the park; this gives you an opportunity to see a great view of the canyon. We didn’t stop and take as many photos as we have at other National Park sites, maybe it was because we were tired or possibly it’s because we’ve seen so much awesome scenery in the last few days that we’ve become a bit jaded.

The Grand Canyon is spectacular but because it’s so big it’s quite difficult to appreciate when you’re looking at it from the rim. What I’ve loved about the other National Parks is being ‘in’ them, I’ve really enjoyed being surrounded by massive, imposing walls of rock. If we’d had time to hike down into the canyon or do a helicopter ride I think I would’ve been more wowed by the experience.

We checked into Bright Angel Lodge, which is on the south rim of the canyon. We had a walk around the area, looking out over the view which was changing constantly as the sun started to set. As we were enjoying the view, a boy ran up to me and said, “we’ve been looking for you all day, can I have my photo taken with you”, I smiled, they took the photo and they ran away. We have no idea what it was about, it was strange, perhaps it was part of a scavenger hunt or something.

After having a quick shower, we went back out to dinner at the Arizona Room, while we were waiting for a table, the sky turned to a beautiful dark pink, it was very dramatic.

We were seated and met our server Paul, he was a lovely chap. We had a lovely burger then we came home nice and early, we’ve completely tired ourselves out! Time to get a good night’s sleep so that we have a bit more energy to get out and enjoy Vegas tomorrow!