Grand Canyon – Day 2

Woke up, and had breakfast of hash browns and pancakes.

On the way out, we saw ravens pillaging a campsite near the bathhouse.  Feathered brigands!

 

Took about a gallon of water each and descended the Bright Angel Trail.  We saw mule trains carrying passengers and supplies to the Phantom Ranch lodge at the bottom of the canyon which has no auto access.

 

  

We made it to the 1.5 mile rest area which was 1100 feet below the rim.  This made the drop 1 foot per 7 linear feet of trail!!  There were aggressive mooch squirrels there too.  We then returned to the top passed by 3 mule trains ascending.

At the top we ate our peanut butter bagels while fleeing the killer mooch squirrels at the top.  We bought a Grand Canyon patch for Evan’s jacket and got an ice cream cone each.

After boarding the shuttle for Hermit’s Rest loop, which is accessible to shuttles only for crowd control, we visited some of the best views of the canyon hopping off to read signs and take photos.

This is Hermit’s Rest which is at the end of the loop.

  

The interior is dominated by a huge fireplace.   It was built so that it intentionally looked old and somewhat decrepit.   The architect added soot and cobwebs to the building for the grand opening (back in the 1930’s).

Rode back and visited the Yavapai Observation Point which did a good job of explaining how the canyon was formed.

Went back to the campsite, got the car, and drove to the showers  and had one each.  Went in search of laptop power/wi-fi and a place to sit while hair drying because it was cold.  On the way, we saw an ELK!  The rangers looked very disturbed because the elk was blocking traffic by being cool and rare.

Standard “Shot while driving by in a car” photo of an elk at the roadside.  Sorry, Gary was driving and photographing….

At the Canyon Cafe in the Yavapai Lodge, we found a hotspot with power and had dinner.  Leaving to drive home tomorrow a.m. early.