"I'm amazed in the quiet ocean
I'm amazed at your wrong devotion
I'm amazed at what the people saying
I'm amazed by a divided nation
Like the middle of the earth I get disrupted"
- I'm Amazed by My Morning Jacket
My last day at the Grand Canyon. I have to drive back to Phoenix to meet some friends. So I got up early. Grabbed a couple of muffins and carton of milk and hiked west along the Rim Trail from the Bright Angel trail head. The sun was rising behind me which lit the canyon very nicely.
I hiked out to Powell Point, stopping along the way at Trailview Overlook, Maricopa Point and anywhere else that looked interesting. The Trailview Overlook supplied a great view of the Bright Angel Trail.
The mules are heading down the trail. You can see (if you click on the picture, you will get it full size) the hiker stepping off the trail to give the mules the right of way.
You can see the trail zig zagging across the snow covered canyon wall.Yesterday I hiked down past the bottom left edge of the pictures. I turned around just short of the Mile and A Half Rest House. Today I stopped between the Trailview Overlook and Maricopa Point to eat my breakfast. The wonderful views were available all along the trail and you can sit and rest on the edge just about everywhere. So I sat down with my legs over the edge and ate the greatest poppy seed muffin with the most incredible half pint carton of milk I had ever drank. It is possible that the view with the sun rising over the canyon had influenced my taste buds. Anyway, I heard a woodpecker in the tree above me. I stood up to get a picture. Then I saw a female bighorn sheep climb down onto a rock outcrop in the canyon. I couldn't believe my luck as she stayed there while I changed to a telephoto lens.
A little bit later I hiked right over where the bighorn sheep were grazing and took some more pictures.
The next stop was Maricopa Point. The views into the canyon just keep getting better along this hike.
Another half mile west on the Rim Trail and I was at Powell Point. I walked out onto the point and just stood there. Unable to move at first. Completely amazed. It really is impossible to describe the feeling. How would you describe looking at something that does not exist anywhere else in the world. Eventually, me being me. I started taking pictures, lots of pictures. Here are a few of them.
Look at this, god damn it. Even with something as big as the Grand Canyon behind me, I still look fat.
I was running out of time. I still had to check out by 11am. But I couldn't turn back now. So I jumped on the shuttle bus and got off at Mohave Point. I continued to be stunned by the beauty of this place.
I had a hard time leaving each of these points. I was already planning my return trip here. Next time, I'm staying longer. I argued with myself , hey I'd been hiking alone for 4 days, about heading back. I won the argument and jumped on another westbound shuttle bus. I figured Pima Point was better than heading to the end at Hermits Rest because the bus turns around and heads back from there. Pima Point would give me 10 -15 minutes to take pictures before the bus got back. I love it when I win arguments with myself.
A quick shower and I'm off to Phoenix to meet up with some friends for a bachelor party weekend. I drove south out of the park and took the scenic highway through the San Fransisco Mountains. There were lots of people driving north into the mountains with skis & snowboards. Who knew you could ski in Arizona? I did meet up with Ian's party at the Library. It's a bar, the servers wear very short plaid skirts and white dress shirts, mostly unbuttoned and cleverly tied. Sorry, no pictures from the party. I gave up about 12:30am because I had been up since 5:30 this morning. OK, it had nothing to do with that, I just can't drink all night like those kids.
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