The Grand Canyon

On Saturday October 25th, we drove from Bryce Canyon to northern Arizona, and on Sunday morning we continued driving to the northern rim of the Grand Canyon.



On our way there we saw a herd of bison! And there may have been some goofing off, too:)



The northern rim was mostly closed - we could drive to the parking lot and walk around, but nothing was open there - not even bathrooms (so glad we travel with our own facilities, haha). Which meant it was really quiet there, no tourists to photo bomb our pictures:)



It was amazing. Canyons as far as I can see, depth so deep (nearly a mile!) you couldn't see the bottom of the canyon - the cliffs just kept going down, down..




This would have been an amazing place to fly over....!



We settled for scary hikes:)



And trying to photograph the vastness - which was impossible. But maybe these images are enough to whet the appetite... The Grand Canyon is a must-see place for sure, and next time we'll plan on visiting the more popular southern rim, also. (Apparently only about 10% of the visitors go to the northern rim.)



The North Rim of the park closed for the winter on December 1, 2014. The North Rim is scheduled to reopen on May 15, 2015.

The North Rim, Averaging 8000 feet/ 2438 m above sea level, rises 1000 feet/ 305 m higher than the South Rim, and because of its remote location, is much less accessible than the South Rim. The North Rim has a short season. Lodging and restaurants are open from May 15 through October 15 each year. ---- North Rim driving directions

Even in good weather the North Rim is harder to get to. It is 220 miles / 354 km by car from the South Rim, or 21 miles / 34 km by foot across the canyon by way of the North and South Kaibab Trails.
You can read more here and plan your visit to Grand Canyon National Park.

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Bryce-kanjonin jälkeen suuntasimme Grand Canyon'ille. Ajoimme pohjoiselle reunalle, mikä olikin jo osittain suljettu. Pääsimme ajamaan parkkipaikalle ja kävelemään ympäriinsä, mutta mikään ei ollut enää auki, ei edes vessat. Tähän aikaan vuodesta ilmeisesti ei edes pääse parkkipaikalle enää? Vain noin 10% Grand Canyon'in miljoonista vierailijoista vuosittain käy pohjoisella reunalla. Meistä oli upea olla siellä omassa rauhassa...

Ja kyllä se oli vaikuttava paikka! Noin 1.5 km syvä, niin ettei kanjonien pohjaa näy, ja kanjoneita näky niin kauas kuin silmä kantoi. Kyllä ihminen on pieni.. Eivät aivot oikein pystyneet ottamaan edes vastaan tätä upeutta, ja oli kyllä vaikeuksia valokuvatakin - ei kuvista näy kuin aavistus siitä kattavuudesta.

Upea ja pelottava paikka!