At last the Grand Canyon!
It is not possible to adequately capture the grandeur of this sight. An immense gorge a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide opens up. The scale is so vast that even from the best vantage point only a fraction of the canyon's 277 miles (446 km) can be seen. The canyon is a mile (1.6 km) deep.
This photo is taken at Point Imperial on the northern rim on the canyon. The northern and southern rims are only about 10 miles apart as the crow (the raven here) flies but to drive from one side to the other by road is about 200 miles of driving.
This is the natural arch on the northern rim.
One canyon - two rims. We went to both the northern and the southern rims. The southern rim is the one closest to the Nevada side and it attracts twice as many tourists as the northern rim which is approached from the Utah side. The two parts of the canyon are both spectacular. The northern rim is about 1,000ft higher and about 10 degrees cooler than the south rim. The southern rim is open all the year around but winter snow closes the northen rim and often briefly blankets the south rim.
In common with Zion and Bryce canyons, the Grand Canyon has a free shuttle service at both rims, allowing tourists to leave their cars and travel around the canyon roads free, getting on and off and seeing all the sights. In fact, at the northern rim this is not strictly true as many parts of the canyon can only be reached by car. It is however possible to see all of the spectacular viewing spots at the southern rim by using the shuttle buses.
This is at one of the many lookouts. This one at least has a metal barrier so it is far less scary for a height-fearing person like Nikki but nevertheless the exposure to the very high cliffs is challenging.
A wonderful terrace at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the northern rim where one can sit and have a cup of coffee and admire the view.
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