Late Day Drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Jun 25, 2011 Sat0National Parks

After we left Mom and Pop's RV Park we swung by the four corners monument where you can stand in four states and take your photo. However the Navajo wanted way too much money to get in so we continued to Mexican Hat, UT and proceeded down through Monument Valley. Many of the old western movies were filmed here. Later that night we watched the movie 'Stagecoach' with John Wayne which was filmed in Monument Valley.

We had decided we wanted to get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon on this day so we were driving through Page, AZ and the Vermillion Cliffs late in the day. The low orange glow of the setting sun made the sandstone mountains breath taking. Bradley had no cell phone coverage and could not text his girlfriend. So the four of us cranked up the music, took hundreds of photos, rolled down the windows and drove into the setting sun telling jokes, being goofy and just having a great time. The humidity here is so low that 95-100 degree temperatures are really not that bad. Especially if you can get into some shade. Anyway, it was a great time.

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is definitely nicer than the usual south rim. The elevation is about 2000 feet higher. The temperature hit 52 degrees during the night. We were camped about 40 miles north of the rim.

The next morning we got up at 3:45am and drove down to the Grand Canyon. The lowest temperature we encountered was 31 degrees at 8300 feet in elevation. We had just been in 95 degree temps the evening before and we would hit 113 degrees in Death Valley 36 hours from that point.

Getting up that early made for a long day but we all agreed it was worth the effort. Seeing the sun rise in the Grand Canyon is not something you will soon forget.

Jun 23, 2011 Thu 7:33:12 PM MST Altitude: 5853 ft Camera: Nikon D90Display on Google Map
An overlook for Vermillion Cliffs while climbing to the mountain forest north of the Grand Canyon.
Laurie, Bradley Taylor, Tucker Riley
Jun 24, 2011 Fri 5:21:08 AM MST Altitude: 8207 ft Camera: Nikon D90Display on Google Map
Sun rising at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Tucker Riley, Laurie
Jun 24, 2011 Fri 5:37:35 AM MST Altitude: 8212 ft Camera: Nikon D90Display on Google Map
Sun rising at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Jun 24, 2011 Fri 6:30:03 AM MST Altitude: 8595 ft Camera: Nikon D90Display on Google Map
A mountain meadow north of the Grand Canyon.
Mom and Pop's RV Park in Farmington, New Mexico




TagsConfederate Statues  (32),Motorcycle  (97),National Parks  (9),Odd  (1),Route 66  (33),Unemployment  (6),Zombies  (1)