Grand Canyon visit

Well, what a beautiful day! Not in my normal sense, which is nice and warm, but how can you argue with the beauty of the canyon. It was cloudy and rainy when we left, and I knew this little trip would cost me physically, but we needed a getaway, so off we went. Chris, David's business partner, had never been to the canyon, so we took him and Rachel up for a day trip.

I had never been there when it has been so snowy and foggy, so we couldn't see the bottom of the abyss, but it was still so amazing. We spent more time indoors, and went to the Hopi House, designed by a woman in the 1920's, I think. It's based on a traditional Hopi building, and is now used for a store that displays and sells Native American crafts. We also went to Verkamps, which is a mini-museum and store. Both are some of the older buildings there, and I hadn't been in them since high school. El Tovar lodge is still gorgeous, I'd love to stay there sometime. Less expensive in the winter, so maybe next year. I do better if I have a chance to lay down during the day, so that will be my excuse.

We had lunch there, and tried to see Julie Hutchin's mural at the Shrine of the Ages building, but it was locked. The nice thing about going this time of year is how uncrowded it was. There were a couple buses there, but not dozens, like usual in the summer. With the fog and spaciousness, it felt quite cozy. The road was pretty snowy on the way back, and we passed a nasty 3-4 car accident on the freeway outside of Flagstaff, but we reached home safely.

I haven't been able to walk much since we got home, but it was worth the down time, just to see the canyon in winter.