This morning we were up and at it early... Gerard and Debbie arrived to pick us up at 7:30 sharp...no horsing around today. After a 5 minute stop at Micky Dees we headed up the highway towards Flagstaff. We knew we would run into some snow as Flagstaff is over 7,000 feet up in the mountains. It was a real scenic drive up and we have some pictures from a lookout we stopped at. In the first pic the local Native Indians are setting up all their homemade crafts etc. for sale to the tourists... it was not real warm here.... not the type of job I want....
That is Judy, with Gerard not far behind.... making a b-line to the lookout...notice how they try to stay as far away from that white stuff as possible... wonder why????
I took this at Flagstaff, as I thought that mountain with the white top looked real cold!
It took us about 2 1/2 hours to hit the Grand Canyon.... lots of clear sky and sun are good!
The Grand Canyon is about 1 1/2 hours from Flagstaff, and yes, there was some more of that darn white stuff at the Canyon.... we were dressed a bit better today for it though, and with the sun, it was not all that bad. This building below is the main tourist centre... well done!
They limit the vehicle traffic around the village, however you can get on and off the bus anywhere along the route, and there was always another one close behind.... great system... we just parked the car and took the bus....
A Park Ranger gave a very good talk at the visitor centre about the formation of the Grand Canyon... and we got our first peek of one of the wonders of the world. 
The Canyon is over 1 mile DEEP here, and it is over 10 miles to the side, or the North Ridge.... we are standing on the South Ridge.
It is a Loooooong way down.... you don't want to go there.....
We made our way along the South Ridge, and got off the bus every now and then for more great shots....
The Colorado River runs the length of the Canyon and runs fast in some places.... I saw a little dot with my eye, so put on the big lens and got this great shot.....pretty good ehhhh!
Will the pictures ever end.....
Wow.... it just got better....
What a bunch of tourists.....
This was a lookout, with an art gallery and tourist trap inside.... life on the edge....
It is a tuff job being a tourist, so you have to stop and recharge the batteries every now and then....
Yes, you can rent a mule and ride down the actual canyon, it is a lot warmer at the bottom as it is 4,000 feet down.... if you don't want to ride the mules down, you could take the elevator, it was right beside the mule trail.....
The bus took us a far as it could so we got off.... a great little spot with a tourist trap.... Judy got a nice Grand Canyon jacket... Hermits Rest is the name, and a nice lady took our picture...
Debbie is keeping an eye on the edge... you don't want to fall...
The views were great from here, and as the day wore on, so did the shadows in the pictures...
Debbie took this for us.... *My favorite pic of the day*
The shadows start to take over.... never get sick of looking at this....we walked for about a mile on the way back, right along the canyon.... amazing.... before we got on the bus and rode back to the car...
OK.... one last great Canyon shot...
We had to transfer to another bus, and as we waited for the bus, these two guys appeared out of nowhere and begged me to take their picture, so I did... they could run pretty fast....
Just a great day that Judy and I got to enjoy with some great Friends.... we had a blast!
Debbie was our pilot on the way home and did a great job of finding Sedona. Pizza filled out our day, and before you know it.... time for the blog.... at least I had time to do it tonight!
Till tomorrow.....
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