Day Five - The Grand Canyon

This is it - the big show, the main event, the primary destination of our journey. The Grand Canyon....will it be just a big hole in the ground, or will it take away our collective breath? Read on, dear reader, to learn the verdict.

We had a nice, slow morning (of course, the boys jumped out of bed and explored the breakfast ;-) in the cute little Route 66 town of Williams. We were fully committed to furthering our efforts in the license plate game - did I mention this already? We wrote down all of the lower 48 states, and we are trying to cross them all off the list. Alaska and Hawaii are bonuses, as is the District of Columbia. This was a banner day - we got so many, that we almost forgot we were going to see this:

I was the only one who had been here before, but that day, in 1998, it was overcast and foggy. It was still impressive, but this display of contour and color was, truly, breathtaking. We started at Mather Point, trying to overcome our vertigo.

The fences were helpful - but as we headed off down the rim trail toward Yavapai Point, the fence stopped...and there was literally nothing between us and the abyss. Last time here, I wasn't a mom. This time, I was a nervous wreck. But it was still fun, and amazing.

 

It was really lovely to walk the rim trail - full of visitors speaking different languages. Everyone seemed to be in such a fine and friendly mood, petting each others' dogs, enjoying the crisp air.

The Yavapai Geology Museum was interesting - we learned that the canyon was carved by the Colorado River over the last 5 billion years. We saw a cross section of the South Rim showing the different strata of earth...all the way down to "basement" rock. They had a panoramic window for a more secure-feeling view.

We walked back up to the Visitor Center, headed back to the car, and drove through the parking lots looking for license plates to fill out our list. By the time we hit the road again, we had over 30 of the lower 48, plus Alaska, and a few provinces of Canada!

Back in Williams, the boys did a quick video before we went in to clean up for dinner.

They were craving pizza, and there was a fairly well-reviewed place just a few blocks down Route 66.

 
The food was mediocre, but the post-meal shenanigans were amazing. This was outside a different restaurant - first they tried to "milk" the statue, then, whatever this is.

This is the picture I will torment Hart with on his first date.

There was an epic bullfight (Rune = toreador/Hart = bull) right outside the restaurant - we have a video, but once again are inhibited by motel wifi. Check this post again later for it! Here it is!

Next up - Monument Valley.