Last week saw me with a bunch of time off, a vision, and a plan to make that vision reality. Unfortunately, the heat was too much, the smoke presented challenges that I was not prepared for, and I just wanted to ride more than I realized. Despite me not being acclimated to the stifling heat my vacation time contained, I did manage to make the first part of my vision reality, checking the Grand Canyon off my bucket list of things to see.

I arrived at the Grand Canyon on the third day of my vacation, having stopped to visit friends and family the first couple of days. I rolled into the park after paying my $30 entry fee at the south entrance and set out to find Mather Campground and my home for the evening. After taking care of camp, I made my way to the South Kaibab Trailhead. I stopped at Pipe Creek Vista and checked out the scenic view on my way to the trailhead. It would turn out the trailhead was closed to vehicles and I was forced to return to the vista parking area and walk to the trailhead.
At this point, I would like to suggest to anyone interested in checking out the park, use the free shuttles. The shuttles will get you to the points you want to see without having to pay anything or find a place to park. There are numerous points that the shuttles stop at, and the time you will have to wait for a shuttle is very little. I wish that I had known this as it would have saved me a bit of walking and concern for my bike that I left parked on the side of the road.

As I had previously mentioned, the smoke made things a bit difficult on this journey. Taking photos of the canyon walls close to me were acceptable, but the long distance shots were not turning out how I wished to see them. The experience at the canyon was well worth the setbacks tho. The views were good from the points that I walked to, and on the following day, drove to. The Kaibab trailhead offers several destinations along the trail that one can visit and return from. I had originally planned on hiking to Ooh Ahh point, which is less than two miles round trip, but I opted out because of my foot and fear of heat exhaustion having rode in temperatures over 100 degrees for several hours. The Rim Trail and Kaibab Greenway Trail are paved and follow along the rim for a decent distance, offering individuals with disabilities a great way to see the canyon.
The Grand Canyon Village Market and Deli was quite reasonably priced and had a great selection of food and drink to choose from. The campground was nice, with a picnic table, fire pit and large area for tent placement. There are bathroom facilities in each loop that have flush toilets and running water for drinking and cleaning. There are shower facilities available near the campground entrance. The showers are $2.50 in quarters and there is a change machine available for those who do not want to carry change with them. There is a laundromat available also. My campsite cost $18 for the evening and had to be reserved through recreation.gov.

The Grand Canyon has been on my bucket list of places to see for quite some time. I was surprised by the forest surrounding the South Rim. In my mind, I always pictured the canyon as being surrounded by desert. This was happily not the case. I saw deer and elk tracks on the dirt paths that I followed, tho I did not see any wildlife other than some birds and lizards. The rock striations are pleasing to look at, and the sheer size of the canyon really made me appreciate the power of water, even if it took millions of years to create this land feature. I think that anyone who can should go see the Grand Canyon at least once as it really is something else.

Here is the official NPS website.

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