Wonderful Wednesday At The Grand Canyon

Woke this morning to the sounds of small running feet and happy child chatter. Turns out that during the night a family with 6 kids moved in beside us! MMG spent the breakfast hour staring out the window and reporting to me as the family emerged one at a time from the TT. Was beginning to look like the clown car at the circus.

Thankfully, the kids are all well behaved and fun to visit with. They range in age from 2 to 11. The young mother doesn't look nearly as worn out as she should. Ah, youth!

We watched this young guy for 10 minutes or so as he climbed up and down and around the tree, wondering what his Mom would think if she knew......

He made a safe landing.

Then it was off to the rim of the canyon to enjoy the sights. One of the most anticipated was seeing again the California Condors which have been "transplanted" to this area. One of the Earth's rarest animals, these magnificent birds have been making a comeback, from 26 in the mid-eighties to around 325 now. You can get all the details here and here.

We lucked into a trio resting and sunning on a rock outcropping below the rim near the Bright Angel Hotel. The unnumbered one is a juvenile about 6 months old.

The Trio.

Number 27 showing off about 2/3s of his 9 1/2 foot wingspan.

Number 23. Loveliness personified, eh?

For the rest of the day we roamed the canyon rim just marveling in the vastness and beauty of this unique place. It's frustrating trying to capture the grandeur of the Grand canyon, but here are a few attempts:

Where that trail disappears over the edge is about 3 miles away.

Showing off her "big lens". Those rapids are about 3 miles away. Of course they are BIG rapids, too!

And all the sights are not in the canyon:

Hopi House Trading Post. Built circa 1932. Still in use.

Use whatever materials you have. Petrified wood in the rim wall!

And here are a few for Granddaughter Mary:

Lizard 1.

Butterflies.

Lizard 2.

Mule Deer.

Elk.

Wishing you all the Best!

MMG and DDG