We decided to get up early and do the Red Route before the park got too busy, so got ready, packed up our stuff and were on the bus by 7:45. Once again the views were amazing, but then you wouldn’t expect anything different from the Grand Canyon! It was still very nice and quiet and at a few of the stops we were totally on our own and could sit down in blissful quiet, just looking out over the canyon and enjoying the quiet and the views. We made our way all the way to Hermit’s Rest, getting off at all the one-way stops, and then got the bus back, stopping at all the two-way stops, eventually getting off at Powell Point and walking back to the village and the Verkamp’s Visitor Centre where we parked the car. By the time we walked back it was just before 12 and there were queues of people waiting at the bus stop, so we were very glad that we got going early!
We went on the Desert View drive to exit at the East Entrance to the park, stopping everywhere for some more amazing views and pictures. As we carried on the weather was starting to get heavier as the predicted rain started to settle in, and we saw some heavy clouds and rain over the canyon – probably not something you see that often! It was very impressive but at the last stop (Desert View Tower) it became a race against time to get back to the car before getting soaked! As we left the park loads of cars were still coming into the park but I think there would have been little chance of seeing too much of the canyon, judging on how it looked when we left! We drove to Flagstaff and checked into yet another Motel 6, probably the worst we’ve been in (to me anyway). Dirty towels, wet bedspread, ridiculous charges for Wi-Fi and not even that cheap!
We went for a burger across the road at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, which was ok – after they eventually got our order right! The burger didn’t taste of too much but it wasn’t bad. From there we went to the Buffalo Wild Wings just opposite the motel for a few beers and I had to try their famous hot wings, which were ok but quite small – I a becoming a wings expert! As we left the restaurant the rain finally caught up with us and we had to run to the hotel to not get soaked!
It was another lovely day and I think we managed to see as much of the Grand Canyon as you can, all of it beautiful. It is very hard to pick pictures to post as we have so many and I’m still not sure they truly show how amazing the views are.
Biltong and Burger 