Day 13

Woke up and the water on the tent was not just water, but ice. Must have been cold eh ? A quick wash of the hands and face with cold water in the basin was an exhilarating experience. I was certainly awake after that and feeling real alive. We got in the van and drove through the Hopi reservation. We were going to the big hole in the ground. The famous Grand Canyon.

We arrived at the Eastern entrance and on to Desert View. It has a very nice watchtower there that overlook the canyon. The view was grand indeed. The snow on the ground added to the scene. And yes it is definitely a big hole, deep to. Then we took off to Tusyan, a little town just outside the Grand Canyon National Park. The question of tent or hotel was asked. In the end it did not really matter as the campgrounds were closed for the winter. Bummer, looks like a hotel for the rest of the trek.

Now it was off to the airport to do the scenic flight over the Grand Canyon. Even though I had done this before I thought that I could not pass up the chance to see this marvellous place from the air again. It was like I was flying over a different place. The north rim and surrounds were covered in loads of snow. The contrast from the snow and the reds and browns of the canyon were unbelievable. Many photos were taken and the breath was taken many times at the spectacular views. The sun was low so the shadows that were cast were long and seemed to extenuate the canyons contours. The flight seemed to be over really quick, Well you know what they say about time flying when your having fun. I could have spent hours in the air and it would not have been enough.

We had our hotel, but the most important thing to us was a shower. Ahhhh, the feel to be clean. It was a most relieving experience. We cooked dinner outside the front of the hotel. As we were almost used to now, it was cold. It was almost painful cutting up the chicken in the fridge like conditions. After dinner we just chilled out and watched a bit of TV, ice hockey if I remember correctly.