Last Day in Grand Canyon

As mentioned in our previous post, we awoke to cold rainy drizzle.  The canyon had disappeared behind a wall of white clouds..

There is a canyon out there somewhere

 It looked like a day by the fireplace at the El Tovar.  There are certainly worse places to be.  I made several ventures out to the rim only to be met by white clouds and disappointed strangers.

One in particular frightened me.  She stood out from the other rim walkers in her pink Duck Dynasty flannel pants.  In tow, she had a little boy about six or seven in his Superman outfit.  The little boy kept wanting to try out his super powers by running past the rim trail borders toward the clouded rim.  She would yell at him to get back to which he would stop for two seconds and then proceed as if nothing had happened.

We spoke briefly.  I should say I spoke briefly.  She on the other hand related her story that she was on her way back to Kentucky after swapping her new truck with an older one owned by her uncle in San Diego.  She couldn't keep up with the payments so the uncle would take them over.  The problem was that the tire needed fixing and she was down to $300.  She didn't have a spare but hoped she could find a Walmart where she could pick up a cheap replacement.  We parted ways just as her little boy disappeared into a cloud bank in the distance.  This exchange lasted at least a minute and a half.

I headed back inside the El Tovar to await the sounds of sirens that would signal the Superboy had flow his last.  I met Sue in the lounge for a large glass of stout.  Sue had a chardonnay.  The waitress brought out two identical orders, the second destined for another couple across the room.  I had to introduce myself to the two strangers with such good taste in alcoholic refreshment.

We met Tim and Sharon from Wisconsin.  Tim was a retired cop who had taken up woodworking and cabinet making as a second career.  They had wisely left northern Wisconsin for warmer weather.  That would be warmer by Wisconsin standards, certainly not by Miami temps.

At some point in our conversation I looked out the window to see that the sun had just broken through in a sliver of light across the canyon and you could actually see distant shapes.  I ran upstairs to our room and grabbed my camera and left Sue to entertain our new acquaintances.

After The Fog

I blasted away at what would probably be my last images of the Grand Canyon.  I moved up and down the rim for different vantages knowing that this light sliver certainly wouldn't last.  After shooting with my DSLR, GoPro and cellphone, I decided that I could use another cold beer.

Tomorrow, on to Prescott, AZ.