North Rim Grand Canyon

We drove back south to Arizona yesterday - about a 2 hour drive - to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  What an amazing day!  We have been to the South Rim 3 times and I feel that if you don't want to deal with lots of people, want to feel nature and be peaceful and serene - the North Rim is what you want to see. Of the many things we have done in the last 2 weeks - the North Rim is by far the #1 - to me.  The South Rim has an average of 5 million people a year visit it whereas the North Rim has a MAX 500,000 people.  But - the North Rim is only open from May 15th to October 15th.  They get about 15 to 18 feet of snow in the winter which is why you can't visit it.

Pristine, relaxing, very lovely day.  We first had to drive south into the Rim which took us through the Kaibab National Forest.  The fires from last year as well as 6 years ago - wow, the devastation!  I really feel for the folks in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona that have to deal with wildfires every year.  Awful!  We drove next through a meadow and low and behold - tatanka! No, I guess not buffalo but beefalo.  In the early 1900's they brought in buffalo and they cross bread with the cattle.  You can see the difference - they are smaller, less hairy, the heads aren't as big, the horns ARE bigger.  Regardless, we didn't get out and try to pet them.  When I talked with the Ranger and asked her about the beefalo - she said they have to figure out what to do about their over population - supposed to be only 75 to 100 head but now it's over 400.  And who owns them?  Once we entered the National Park, we went to the visitor's center, looked see, then walked around the perimeter of the rim to get a feel.  We walked the Bright Angel Point trail on the rim, this trail if you went down into the canyon and crossed the Colorado, you could then come back up on the South Rim - about a 4 day hike.  The ranger said that the best viewing of the Colorado River is from a Cape Royal - to the east and about a 40 minute drive from the visitor's center.  Narrow road, Dave had to fold the mirrors into the truck - so they wouldn't get wiped off by a passing car.   But so worth it.  We drove to the eastern most spot - Angels Window and Cape Royal - and walked the trails to see over the canyon.  Absolutely beautiful!  We saw the Colorado River from a wonderful vantage point - they say the best in the National Park - and we could have stayed there all day. At Angels Window we could see the Colorado through the whole but once we walked the trail to get on top of the window (see above photo), truly breathtaking.  Glorious day!  Watched rain on the South Rim and we stayed in sunshine the whole time.

Talk about sunburnt!  We were 2880 feet above where we were on the South Rim, the temp was 72, and the sun was bearing down on us and we forgot about it.  I got scorched on my arms, face, ears, and neck.  Ouch.  But so worth it.  Very very long day - we left at 8am and pulled back in about 8pm.  Some observations:  very few foreigners on the North Rim - probably because it is not easy to get to, less trails to follow and but seems like more opportunity to be with nature here.  Drive into the North is much more lovely, the lodge blended into nature better, and definitely a lot cooler.  The South Rim has all the advantages - interpret center, more services for people and more opportunity to do things - like mule rides down, camping is more abundant on the South, and it's open all year.  You pick.