Grand Canyon North Rim

I think we saw the Grand Canyon in perhaps the best possible way in order to really develop a sense of the scope and scale of the canyon.  We began with the north rim of the canyon.  Although the north rim views are harder to come by, and less dramatic – you cannot see the Colorado River from the views we went to – they are the ones from highest up, and they are ones that involve looking down long side canyons.  If you understand the vastness of even these side canyons, then it is easier to understand the size of the full canyon when seen later from the south rim.

My favorite walk on the North Rim was the one which began directly at the visitors center and lodge.  The path descends gently on a long spur of rock jutting out into the canyon with side canyons cut close to either side.  David had great fun climbing the rocks beside the trail to reach various vantage points.  Miriam wanted to do this too, but was confined to her backpack, and bribed with skittles to remain in that vantage.  Anna wanted to climb the rocks too, but selected a too-challenging starting point, and I refused to help her up it – sometimes the capacity to get yourself in trouble is a good way to limit the degree to which one encounters trouble.

While waiting for a ranger program at the North Rim campground – the ranger didn’t show – we talked briefly with a man from Germany who has been bicycling the world since 2011.  He has toured all over Europe, and also much of the United States.  He maintains a blog, and writes about his journey. 

My emergency repair kit came in handy on the North Rim as well – while getting things ready for lunch I noticed that one of the back tires of the van had lost a lot of air – down at 20 PSI from 80 PSI.  At each stop I added air to the tire, nursing it back to 65 PSI by the time we departed.  At the service station at the junction of Rt. 62 and 89A it had dropped to 60 PSI, and the very friendly young men who work there as a summer job did an excellent job of fixing the flat after removing a screw from the tread.  Jacob (one of the men) said working at this shop was a family tradition – his Grandfather worked there many years ago for six summers.  Then it was on to the South Canyon.