Who Could Resist a Road Trip Like This?! Day 2

    Day 2 of our fabulous Southwest road trip - was the Grand Canyon!  We got up at our comfy hotel in Flagstaff, ate breakfast, and headed out for adventure at the Grand Canyon.  However, silly me.  We got about 50 miles from the Grand Canyon, when I remembered to glance at my gas gauge...and only had about 114 miles to E.  We debated, since neither of us had been there, whether to take a chance on there being a gas station at the Canyon.  Finally decided to backtrack about 15 miles to get the much needed petro, then headed back that way.

     By the way....they have a gas station.  Of course.  But, if you ever need to know that, now you do!

     A mostly cloudy morning was quickly turning in to all clouds, then drizzle, then out and out light rain.  Were we daunted?  No!  I'm not made of sugar, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't melt.  We parked the car, making sure to remember where we were.  (If you know me pretty well, you know that is not always my strength.)  Next, we began the ordeal of boarding shuttle after shuttle to get up to the viewing point.  I know that it is possible to drive your car, but not many do it and I didn't want to mess with that.  The shuttle is free with your entry to the park, so we rode it...along with about a zillion people. 

     Still not to be daunted, despite lots of people and rain!  If you enjoy people watching, it's a great place to do it.  And we heard so many different languages being spoken! 

     Finally we get to the first stop where you can get off the shuttle, look as long as you want, and get back on another shuttle that comes along.
     Drumroll......I mean we are at the Grand Canyon, right?  And here's what we saw.

     Breathtaking, right?  WRONG!  Our hearts sank down to our hiking shoes.  Denice and I both kept squinting, trying to make ourselves think we were seeing shapes of rock and the canyon.  But nothing.  We were literally "in a fog"!
     We stood there until the next shuttle came along, and hopped back on.  Still we weren't going to let our adventure be ruined!  We went to the next stop, and it was the same.  So we stayed on the shuttle for a couple of stops, then finally decided to get out, catch the return shuttle, go down and eat, and regroup. 
     While we were waiting for the return shuttle, in the pouring rain, we did get to chat with a mom and her two daughters from Nova Scotia!  They had come this whole way, so I began to not feel so pitiful about our situation.
     We went down to the bottom, ate and tried to decide what to do.  After much going back and forth, we finally decided to give it one more try.  After all, we were there, right? 
     On the shuttle back up, we happened to sit behind a man who lives around there and visits often.  He was explaining to another visitor that this happens and that often, if you are patient, the fog will finally lift and the sight is unbelievable.  Restored our hope!  He also explained how the Canyon makes its own weather.  Pretty fascinating.
     We went back through the process of getting on the shuttle that takes you to the red line.  Which means you go on all the stops.  When we finally got out at the first stop, it appeared that things had not improved.  At first.  I'll let the next few pictures tell the story.

 

 

 By this time, we are literally jumping up and down.  And squealing.  No one stared at us, though.  :-)

We could actually see the fog lifting.  We hopped back on the shuttle, going from viewpoint to viewpoint.  Here are some more pictures of God's handiwork.

     I will always wonder if we would have appreciated it as much if it had been clear from the beginning.  Needless to say, we both stood there with goosebumps, tears in our eyes, and wonder that anyone could look at this and not believe.
    After a wonderful day of ups and downs, we stopped for our souvenirs and got in the car to head back to Flagstaff. 
     As we are heading out of the park area, we got another treat!

    

Elk were eating right along the side of the road!  Pretty close.  But wait...there's more!
We got to the heavier traffic area where many vehicles were coming and going.  And this is what greeted us there.

There were two!  And they were prancing around a little as if to say, "Welcome to the Grand Canyon!"  It looked as if they had been hired. 

What a day of adventure!  Coming soon...Day 3!