Several years ago, I read a passage in a book about the Grand Canyon. I can't remember the exact phrasing, or even where I read it, but it said something to the effect of "Everyone needs to go to the Grand Canyon. It is the one thing in life that will meet or exceed your expectations, no matter how high they are."
From that point on, I became obsessed with getting there as soon as possible. I managed it sophomore year of college, when I convinced my parents to make the 5+ hour drive from Mariners Spring Training twice in one day. And the book really was right.
This time around, I knew what to expect, but that doesn't mean it wasn't still absolutely gorgeous! And Katie had never been, so I got to vicariously experience it again for the first time through her reactions.
We took the Desert View Drive along the South Rim, stopping pretty much every time there was a scenic view with parking, and singing along to Josh Groban and Bon Jovi in between.
Almost as intense as the views was the wind that day. Our hair at this particular location should give you a vague idea.
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| Keeping it relatively controlled for the picture |
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| Going head on |
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| Challenging the wind |
It didn't help with the near-vertigo of being so close to such sharp drops to have huge gusts of wind that felt like they could easily take you over the edge. But I like to think it added to the drama of Katie's first visit. Dramatic vista, dramatic weather.
Once our visit concluded, it was off to California! Katie did some poking around and discovered a little desert oddity: Lake Havasu City, home of the original London Bridge. We have no idea how this little town got the bridge (I suspect some eccentric billionaire), but it was intriguing enough that we made it our home for the night, just miles from the California border. We did our drive over the London Bridge at dusk, so there aren't any decent pictures to speak of, but if you are ever out that way, it's worth a look. They have it going over water, with old fashioned street lights and everything.Very cute.
The city itself was pretty much just sketchy, though.
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