I started the trek down the cut-backs and into the canyon at 4:30 AM, with just enough light beginning to emerge that I could safely commit to the trail.
While there were a few hikers ahead of me (I could see tiny dots of light - their flashlights - about a mile ahead if me) I had the first 45 minutes of the decent completely to myself. Unlike Bright Angel, which was already busy by the time we began at 6 AM, there was no other person within at least a half-mile of me in either direction. And while I know that this was just one trail within the expanse of one of the world's natural wonders, for a while I felt like it was just me and the Grand Canyon, and I might as well have been the only inhabitant of the planet.
And it was with that as context that I came upon "Ooh Ahh Point" and sat quietly, 'alone' 2.5 miles into the Grand Canyon, and witnessed an absolutely glorious sunrise.
The images that follow are shots I took after reaching my turn-around point and then proceeding back up and out of the canyon to complete the six-mile hike.
After saying good-bye to Terri and Allison (who should by now be on their flight back to Chicago) we spent our last hours at the GC exploring several more look-out points as a family. And in doing so ran into an Elk ... and a very curious squirrel.
Just before boarding the GC Railway we had the chance to see a short performance by Navajo dancers who were performing just outside the El Tovar Hotel.
Back on the train, this entertainer shed his cowboy hat, and borrowed sunglasses and a cap from a passenger, before raping to "Homie on the Range."
And the grand finale ... the train was robbed. Pretty funny: the train actually stopped to let bandits on, as the guide in our car explained "it's hard to find train robbers who will jump from moving horses onto moving trains for minimum wage."
We are just now pulling into Williams, AZ and getting VERY excited to push onward to see Uncle Addison, Aunt Amy, Oliver and Mila!
