Set our alarm and headed off early Friday for the Grand Canyon. There was a scenic lookoutnot long before the entrance so we pulled in. Surprised to see that it had a fee booth but no one was there taking money. Then noticed open air outbuildings with a few Navajo native craft vendors so seemed likely that this particular scenic viewpoint was on Navajo land. It was the Little Colorado River Gorge and very nice indeed but those venemous creatures do seem to be chasing us!
Then we arrived at the main event.
There is no way to describe that first look at the Grand Canyon. The Desert View Watch Tower overlook is perfect for that first sighting. We climbed up the Watch Tower getting a different perspective at each level as the light and view changed.
Next stop was the Tusayan Museum. Small and a bit out of the way but a great little museum with a nice walk around a few ruins.
We gradually made our way to Grand Canyon Village stopping at pretty much every outlook along the way. We were very fortunate to have gotten a room in Kachina lodge on such short notice and got ourselves settled in there around 4. The lodge is right on the Rim so great location to walk along the Rim trail.
We took the park shuttle out to Pima point for sunset, stopping at various outlooks along the way.
Timing was pretty good so we were only moderately frozen by the time we caught the shuttle back. Dinner at the Arizona Room warmed us up and we were soon off to sleep.