August 9, 2010 - The Grand Canyon

We woke up around 4 a.m. eager to drive up to the Grand Canyon.  After our breakfast, we drove along a lonely highway for about an hour and there it was.

Jay had seen it before when he was six or seven.  I had never seen it.  It's just as awe-inspiring as I'd heard it was.  Of course, I'm not The Fan of High Places so I was initially apprehensive.  However, it just took about two minutes for me to get my "feet" and I enjoyed our trail walks.

The first was Mather Point.  Since it was so early, the colors weren't as vibrant as I anticipated, but as time passed, the colors, too, woke up and showed their stuff!

We met a family from Austin.  I took their photo; they took ours.

Thankfully, the hat helps hide my face.

We drove over to El Tovar where Jay spent a few days with his family as a child.  Oh, how I'd love to come back and spend a few days and just walk all the trails.  It was just beautiful.  Of course, if - I say 'when' - we do return for a few days' stay at El Tovar, I'll be out walking, while Jay's on the porch rocking.

We didn't spend nearly enough time at The Grand Canyon, but we're on a schedule and need to be in Carmel Tuesday afternoon.

The drive got pretty grim once we entered California.  Desolation as far as the eye could see, until we got to Tehachapi which is rife with Joshua Trees on one side of the highway and wind farms on the other.

We're in Bakersfield for the night and I hope we can sleep beyond 4 a.m. tomorrow. 

The Face is doing exactly what the doctor predicted - both eyes are black and the bruising is traveling down the right side of my face.  There's just not enough makeup to cover any of it.  Ah, well!  No broken bones!

More soon.