On the way out of Zion, we saw four bighorn sheep. Drove about five hours to the Grand Canyon National Park. Stopped in Kanab on the way for Breakfast and groceries.
When we arrived, we stopped by the Watchtower, a huge indian-style observation point and gift shop. We set up camp at Mather Campground with the two backpacking tents since the big one is on its last legs. We walked down to get a shower, but they were closed for cleaning.
Returned to camp and watched ravens pecking holes in and drinking from gallon water jugs in two different campsites. We have carefully stowed all our stuff in the car since.
Walked back down to the road and got on the Village Loop shuttle. Rode it around to the main visitor/shuttle hub and looked at the warnings about wildlife, proper hydration = 1 liter/hour and to not hike too far in one day.
Note the low temperatures. It was 28 degrees the night before we arrived!
Saw the general overview from the shuttle stopping at several points.
Gary writes: It was crowded. The roads were crowded. The shuttle buses intended to relieve crowding were crowded. After Canyonlands and even Zion, it seemed especially incongruous with the surroundings.
The overlooks were crowded.
It was fun, however, to watch some of the tourists.
The canyon was kind of hazy in parts because of the Park Service’s controlled burns. You can see the smoke in the background.
More scenic overlooks!
Hello? What’s That?
When we were walking along the rim, we saw a bunch of endangered California Condors which the park is trying to reintroduce to the area. There are about 325 left in the wild up from 22 in the 1980s.
We returned to camp, made hamburger helper and then took the shuttle back to Mather Point to do the full moon walk which would have been better without the clouds. Still, it was cool. We saw tiny green lights in the bushes which turned out to be glow beetles. Look ‘em up, they’re cool. Also saw lights from other park facilities in canyon and across it.
Evan fell asleep on the bus back.
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