Exploring the South Rim

Captains Log September 19 – Time to get out and see the Grand Canyon! This was Melissa's

first time and if she was wowed at the North Rim, she was was astonished at every turn and and overlook at the South Rim. For me, that was the highlight! I've been there a few times and to see it thru someone's eyes for the first time can't be beat. Between the 2 of us I'm sure we took well over 200 photos of the various stops and rocks and points of interest.

We agreed that photos will never do justice to what the eye sees. The brilliance can't be reproduced in a photo or a painting. To do our sightseeing today we decided to go on the free

shuttle system provided by the park. Did every stop along the route and no 2 places looked the same for sure. The depth of the canyon is awe inspiring in itself. We were blessed that we came after Labor Day when the crowds were much smaller and not a lot of children running wild.

Wildlife spotting for the day included a ground squirrel, 2 elk, a wolf and male mountain goat. Unfortunately I only managed to get the squirrel and the elks! Bummer! We were on the shuttle when I spotted the wolf and the lady seated behind me looked and saw it as well. The goat I
heard along one of the view points and moved  and I saw his horns but he started moving downward and across the front of the viewpoint and disappeared. Another guy heard me saying it was there and he got a shot of its butt on the way down the mountain.

We had lunch reservations at El Tovar which is the area where the train from Williams, AZ arrives and departs. We sat at the train station and took some photos of the tracks and building and as they say, “timing is everything”, and here came the train!
We got some pictures but headed up the walk to the rim where El Tovar and the other buildings were so we could avoid getting caught up in the crowd departing the train.

Train station

We visited the shops and historic buildings and walked along the rim until it was time for our lunch reservation. We were seated on time but the service getting started was a little slow. We all had a Navajo Taco and we all ate every bite and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our server was an older gentleman and he had been working there

for many, many years. He was a very good server with an awesome personality.