The Grand Canyon is beautiful and magnificent from any angle. Dan and I have hiked all over in and around it. We've been to Havasupai, hiked rim-to-rim twice, hiked down to the Colorado and back, and even taken a stroll around to the various outlooks along the South Rim. Views from the South Rim are great, however, views from the North Rim are some of the best views of the vastness of the canyon due to it's higher elevation with respect to the South Rim.
We decided to end our wonderful two-week trip this summer by staying at the North Rim one night and just relaxing there. I was able to snag a campsite at the North Rim Campground, which is very difficult to get. Once we setup the tent, we drove around to the various outlooks along the rim drive. It was a bit hazy that day, but such nice weather.
Just goes on and on...
Canyon Selfie!!
Lots of greens and reds
I love this man!
It was approaching sunset, and dinner time, so we then headed over to the North Rim Lodge to snag some food and views out on the balcony looking southward while the sun made it's slow approach towards the horizon. It was not a disappointment.
You can make out the San Fransisco Peaks in the background!! Flagstaff!!
and the moon!
There was also a nice outlook that you could walk out to front our vantage point.
Another selfie!
The haze, we found out, was due to a fire which had been caused by a lightning strike! It was mostly under control by the time we got there though.
Dan took this cool shot of the smoke shrouding the sun
Outlook into the canyon
After dinner, we headed back to camp to start a fire and relax. It was the last camping night of the trip, so we had to eat the rest of the marshmallows! Smores!
Dan took some pictures of me carving a stick with my knife. We needed something to put the marshmallows on!
All smiles :)
The next morning we awoke to morning sun just barely peaking over the horizon and felt refreshed. Both of us knew it must be 0700 or sometime around then. We looked at our phones and it said 0530! Neither of us wake up that early and feel totally rejuvenated! Arizona is strange because it never changes for Daylight Savings Time. That means during the middle of the summer, the sun comes up crazy early and goes down at like 1900. Pretty lame.
Anyway, since we were up we decided to go back to the lodge and watch the sunrise over the South Rim. Again, the views did not disappoint.
The Grand Canyon never disappoints.
For me, these last two weeks were hands down the most memorable weeks from all of our trips so far...for obvious reasons. And both of us were all smiles, all the way. Dan and I have many more adventures together, but the important thing is we'll be together. There's no one on Earth I'd rather spend two weeks backpacking through the wilderness or watching a sunset with than Dan.
Dan:
Thank you for the best day of my life (so far!) on Half-Dome. Thank you for your smiles. Thank you for your love. Thank you for just being you.
I love you forever.