Day 10 - Canyonero

On Saturday, I said goodbye to Las Vegas and set forth for Arizona. 

(You know, they say you can't win if you don't play, but I left Las Vegas with $0.03 I found on the floor and an extra soda after I figured out how to liberate it and my purchased stuck soda from the vending machine. All in all, I think I came out ahead.)

My goal was to get to the Grand Canyon before sundown and I rolled into the park at a little after 4:00 PM.

I had plenty of company, about half of whom did not sound like native English speakers. I parked, took a big breath, and followed the trail to the edge.

The rest of this post pretty much speaks for itself.

Don't drop your phone, don't drop your phone
don't drop your phone . . .

Don't drop your keys, don't drop your keys

don't drop your keys . . . 

Some people have tossed coins onto the surface of these rocks 

(Close up of coins)

I guess they didn't read the sign that said coins can kill animals,

not because of velocity, but because some animals eat them 

But I read the sign, I'm a good park visitor

Don't drop your hat, don't drop your hat

whoops!

Friendly and helpful park ranger

complete with hat!

When I had inadvertantly walked in front of enough people taking pictures, I started back to my car. Then I stopped, turned around, and came back.

I took ten deep breaths while scanning the horizon. One . . . two . . . three . . .

This may very well be my only time here and I wanted to be able to say that I was really there when I was there.

I took one more picture and left.

I think I actually bought this exact picture at the gift shop

Tomorrow I'm off to Tucson to visit with a friend from the University of Puget Sound.


Odometer Start: 35822
Odometer End: 36177
Miles Driven Today: 355
Miles Driven Total: 2357
Today In/Around: Grand Canyon, AZ
Tomorrow: Tucson, AZ
States Visited: 5 (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona)
Three-Legged Dogs at the Grand Canyon: 1
Half-Assed Toilet Paper Points Encountered: 5

(I think this is the worst yet)