A GRAND Day!

Where else can you just decide on the spot to go to the GRAND Canyon just to take a few photos. That's what we decided to do Tuesday night. So, Bill Sullivan, Curt and I got up at 5am the next morning to catch some of the morning sun on the Canyon. We drove through Oak Creek Canyon in the pitch black. It is so dark here as there is no light from any populated area and all lighting in Sedona must be pointed downward. The night sky is unreal. (but I digress). We stopped in Williams for a quick bite and then north to the Canyon. Using my Senior Lifetime pass we saved the $25 entry fee, what a deal.
We were able to drive the Jeep along the Rim Road and stop wherever we wanted. (After March 1st, this road is only accessible via shuttle bus.) Sunrise was 7:15 and we got there about 8:45, so the sun had come up a bit but there still plenty of shadows cast in the canyon. We all took about 60 photos. There were just so many opportunities around every bend. I'll include just a couple. I am determined to try to do a large landscape of morning at the Grand Canyon.

From there our GRAND tour went to the Grand Falls. We were there last year and it was such a surprise that I wanted to detour there while we were in the neighborhood (an 80 mile round trip was in the "neighborhood"). The Little Colorado is fed from snow melt and run-off so we were glad to see that there was some water there. It is an amazing site way off in the middle of the Navajo Reservation. I'm still not sure how the river flows NORTH to the Grand Canyon.
A road just above the falls led across the Little Colorado. I wasn't sure what was under the water, mud or ledge, but figured the only way to find out was to drive in. Curt jumped on some rocks in the river to get a photo of the attempt. It turns out it was pretty solid ledge and pretty shallow. Later when the snow melt fills this river, it is fairly trick to cross.