Had so much fun, and took a lot of pictures. Seperating this by day. We flew into Vegas, rented a car, and drove across Hoover Dam, towards the South rim. Stayed there for 4 days, then drove around to the north rim, before heading back to vegas for 3 days, one of which we spent driving to Zion National Park, in Utah.
Day1. Wednesday, September 27th. Hoover Dam, and sunset on the south rim. This was on my birthday, we had dinner at the Arizona Room of the Bright Angel lodge, the food was good and the view fantastic. We stayed at Yavapi Lodge, and had a nice room, clean and quiet.
Day2. Thursday, September 28th. Fantastic weather, sunny and 70's on the rim. This was my day to walk down into the canyon, I had a reservation at Bright Angel campground on the bottom of the canyon for the night, so I walked down in the mid afternoon, down South Kaibab trail. It took about 4 leisurely hours to walk down, I had the trail mostly to myself after the first couple miles. I enjoyed my evening in my little Eureka tent, and had a beer at Phantom Ranch after the ranger talk & scorpion hunt.
Day3. Friday, Setember 29th. I walked out of the canyon, up on Bright Angel Trail. Unlike South Kaibab, this was a very busy highway. In addition to the many other hikers, I had to move over a half a dozen times for mule trains coming down into the canyon. The major rest stop at Indian Garden was very crowded with literaly hundreds of people, so I just continued on past it, with plenty of water. All in all, the hike up was refreshing and not all that bad. I didn't rush it, and it took about 6 hours. Fantastic weather once again.
Day4. Saturday, September 30th. Our full day of rim hiking, and visiting all of the stops on the south rim. Rode the busses around, walked up and down, went into the canyon a bit on the Bright Angel trail so Monique could experience the 'inner canyon'. Even had some entertainment, with a very funny performer that night.
Day5. Sunday, October 1st. The last day in the GC park, we got up fairly early and drove around to the east, to visit the north rim. I really liked the wilder, foresty north, if we go again I think I'd rather stay on the north side. We went out to Bright Angel Point for the scenic views & some photos, before heading back to vegas for a few days. Uneventful drive, though a long day in the car.
Day6. Monday, October 2nd. Relaxed in Vegas. Mostly ate a lot. Gotta love those buffets.... We walked the stip, Monique gambled a bit, mostly just did the basic touristy stuff. Met my friend Jim, and went to the 'Star Trek Experience' at the Hilton. Jim & I had a blast, being trekkies. Monique laughed at us a lot...we're ok with that!
Day7. Tuesday, October 3rd. Drove to Zion National park, a couple hour drive from Vegas. Had a really nice day, riding the mandatory tour bus up & down the park, getting out to sightsee & hike a bit. The sky was as blue as I've ever seen it. Enjoyable day, and a nice bonus on top of an already fantastic trip.