Trip to the South Rim

With an anticipated departure time of 7 AM, a single bathroom apartment with 5 occupants is no pleasure cruise. The giddy energy of three out of towners helped to lessen the pain of a 5:50 wake up time, however this sugar-high-esque energy would eventually lead to a cranky crash in a few short hours. Perhaps not all felt this way, but I know myself better, it was inevitable. Promptly at 7 AM we piled in our rented X-terra, aptly name "X" and headed up the road. With a quick stop at Montezuma's castle and only one gas stop in Flagstaff we arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon a little before noon.

Our first stop included absolutely breathtaking views and a reminder of just how extensive the entire canyon is. We could see millions of years of canyon creation in just one small panoramic view and our view was just one tiny, tiny portion of the massive canyon. After some of the many foreign tourists cleared out we tool a few obligatory tourist photos, enjoyed a quick lunch and made a brief tour of the visitor’s center where we decided on a three mile hike that was suggested for visitors with only a few hours to spend in the canyon.

The Cedar Ridge hike was a great choice. I'm not one for heights but there was something about the grandeur of the canyon that took away my fear. The weather was gorgeous, the trail was un-crowded, and the haze was relatively low, basically we couldn't have asked for a better day to hike. On the way down Brian was a bit timid about the thin trail and the shear drop-offs, but he successfully conquered the fear, made the entire trip down, and sped like a bullet on the way back up. Round trip was a 1000 ft descend/climb that included many a photo pause and took a little under two hours to complete.

Following the hike some of the group went to confess their sins while the rest of us sinners stopped by one of the lodge areas for a quick libation. During our hour wait we saw some goats, a couple of javelinas and a nice little sunset over the canyon. I found it a lovely finish to the visit.

Our trip out of the park included a mean combination of low blood sugar, pitch black driving conditions and constant “watch for deer” signs. Why I didn’t pack the Xanax was beyond me. About 45 minutes out of the park, to prevent becoming another Donner party, we stopped at the Cameron Trading Post. The restaurant was the only dinning location within a two hour radius and its heaping portions were a pleasure on the eye and the belly.

Like over watered cacti we loaded back into the car and finally arrived in Page around 10:30. Apologies to those that had to witness a Caetano with low blood sugar. It can be a very scary site and risks the safety of all, and should be avoided at all costs.