Day Three; grand canyon

Day Three.

After waking up in Flagstaff, Ben, my mum and I, hit the road.  We had seen signs for some drive through safari.  Not my thing but I do like to see the animals.  We drive in, getting my 23 year old brother in for the 12 year old child rate!  There were some pretty awesome non-human animals to see but it would have been better if they were in the wild.

Next stop, the grand canyon!  After a short drive (comparably) we were at the front entrance.  I got an annual national park pass from a mildly rude ranger and we were in.  After watching a brief IMAX film about the canyon, we drove out to see it.


As soon as we departed the visitors center we were bombarded with wild elk crossing the road in front of us.  I have seen elk before but they are always stunning.  It was fun for my family to see them for the first time.  Then we got yelled at by a park ranger for taking pictures.

I do not want to discourage anyone from visiting the grand canyon.  It was incredible however, there was something that left me feeling a bit underwhelmed with it all.  I think it was to massive for my brain to comprehend.  I often felt like I was looking at a very well done green screen or CGI piece.  I know that it does not make much sense but, it was kind of insignificant in its wonder.  I felt like you had to see the canyon with something in front of it to get a frame of reference.

All in all, I am very happy I was able to see it.  It was something I will not forget, especially that initial site walking up to the rim.  We also saw some huge elk in the woods on several occasions.  It was a great day.  I really enjoyed being there with my family.  This was the prefect trip for the three of us to take together.

The day ended with a long drive through the night desert.  We finally stopped in Kanab, UT for a very rundown motel after eating dinner in Page AZ.  The vegan options were very limited so I just grabbed a sandwich from the car.