bearizona + canyon = fun!

the second day of our sedona/grand canyon getaway had us detouring around flagstaff and through williams, where we stopped at bearizona. we had noticed the sign for bearizona from the freeway and the name alone intrigued us to check it out. and (dramatic pause) it was FANTASTIC! the majority of bearizona is a drive-thru wild animal park, where the animals roam in their sections and even walk right up to the car! we got to see white and brown bison, wolves, donkeys, big horn sheep, bears, and more! the donkeys were the friendliest, coming right up and licking the windows! the other animals were less friendly, but it was great to see them wandering around, enjoying themselves. the highlight was definitely the bears. they weren't doing anything interesting, but it was so awesome to be so close to them (and be safe!).

the second part of bearizona is a more traditional zoo, where the babies grow and play. there were baby bears, raccoons, pigs and goats... the bear cubs were super adorable - they kept fighting and playing. and there was a tiny baby fox, who was sitting on a perch, sunbathing, and he was super cute! it was so fun and a great precursor to our grand canyon day!

after our bearizona sidetrek, we headed back to the grand canyon for a second day of fun. our Plan A was quickly squashed when there were no bicycles for us to rent, but we shifted to Plan B and took the shuttle out to the eastern end of the rim. we walked the rim trail at this end, spotting a few wild sheep, and the colorado river way down below.

say hello to the big horn sheep!

then we hopped the shuttle back to the opposite end of the canyon. at the westernmost point (that the shuttle goes, at least), hermit's rest, i was surprised by how different the canyon looked from just a few miles further west. we walked the trail for a few miles, stopping to take photos of the canyon and the river. there was one viewpoint that we could hear the river below. i can only imagine how loud it must be at the base of the canyon!

the grand canyon and colorado river

we hopped on the shuttle to be at hopi point for sunset. our bus driver was VERY PARTICULAR. two young parents got on the shuttle with their twin babies. the infants were in their travel carriers, and after some shuffling, the parents sat down in the front of the bus, in seats with their back to the windows, facing inside the bus. the parents put their babies (in car seats) on the floor, just in front of them. the bus driver proceeded to tell the parents that she would not drive the bus until the picked up the babies and held the car seats in the their lap, because (and i'm not making this up) she was concerned that someone would come through and kick the babies. really? when is that someone is walking by and doesn't see the two infant car seats in the middle of the bus? and why wouldn't the parents be watching? and why would the people be walking through the bus while it was moving? i don't know. but one of the other riders did say that the bus driver spoiled her fun for the day, as she was really looking forward to kicking some babies.

the crazy bus driver let us out at hopi point, just in time for sunset. it was a gorgeous place to watch the sun go down, and just like the day before, the colors in the canyon were gorgeous.

after sunset, we stopped for dinner and resting at maswik lodge. and after dinner (and a bit of shopping) we bundled up and headed back to our stargazing spot. it was another clear night, and although it was colder than the night before, it was a great night for viewing the heavens. and a great way to end our trip to the grandest of canyons.

all bundled up for stargazing (complete with hand socks!)

before we turned into little popsicles, we gathered up our stuff and headed back to sedona.

the grandest of canyons, part 1

for a little getaway, my best friend and i booked a long weekend in sedona, with plans to drive up from there to the grand canyon. i picked her up on the way up to sedona, and we enjoyed the short road trip to sedona. it was too bad we couldn't see the surroundings while we were driving that night, because the next morning as we headed out to the grand canyon, the views were incredible.

our trek took us along one of the most scenic roads in the country (rated by AAA!), past gorgeous red rock formations, deep gorges, through flagstaff (with a stop at bookmans!), and over flat grasslands, until we arrived at the grand canyon. we parked at the visitor's center and took time to orient ourselves with the information available there. after a quick snack, we boarded the shuttle to one of the most popular viewpoints near el tovar. we walked up the rim and got our first glimpse of this natural wonder. it was exactly what it looks like on tv, but SO MUCH MORE INCREDIBLE!

we decided to hike (at least a little ways) into the canyon on the bright angel trail. it was a nice hike, and at a number of points you could see the trail following deeper and deeper into the canyon. as we walked down, there were many hikers passing us as they came in from the 2-day hike to the bottom of the canyon and back. we also had to pause while a pack of mules headed up the hill - which of course only made me think of the brady bunch episode when they went to the grand canyon :)  (we also randomly ran into someone i had met at a conference in tucson the week before!) after a while, it was time for us to turn around, and (not surprisingly) the hike back up was a bit more difficult than the hike down had been :) but we made it, and even enjoyed ourselves on the journey.

we strolled the rim trail (a paved walkway that goes across the south end of canyon), and took a shuttle to the spot a guide at the visitor's center recommended for sunset. we got to the viewing point just moments before sunset, but it was still enough time to enjoy the beauty of the sun setting over the canyon, and the colors of the rocks changing as the light dimmed. beautiful!

we stayed at the viewpoint a while, and then packed up to head to a ranger talk on climate and seasons in the canyon. the talk started off well, with the ranger asking some of the 30 or so attendees where they were from, and what they had done that day. but - much like our hike on the bright angel train - everything went downhill from there. the ranger shared some stories that were off topic (like the furnishings in his apartment when he first moved here) and made a few comments that bordered on inappropriate (something about all the european tourists running fast everywhere they went... i didn't quite understand). oh! and he literally stopped his talk at one point, stood in front of a woman, paused, and then said, "am i boring you? i saw you were yawning." AWKWARD... anyways, after the terrible (but still entertaining) ranger talk, we grabbed some food at the ultra slow restaurant at bright angel lodge. then, we layered up the clothes and walked down the rim trail to find a stargazing spot that was far enough off the main trail to be dark (but not too far...). as you could imagine, the sky was lit up with stars in almost every corner. we were so lucky to have a clear evening. even though it was freezing, we could see so many constellations, stars, satellites, and even a few shooting stars. it was wonderful!

i'm going to skip over our 2+ hour drive back to sedona... i'll summarize by saying that i was a little tense (i'm being generous to myself), we saw a few deer, and even 4 or 5 elk! i don't think i had seen a wild elk before - they are so huge!!! we didn't get any pictures (just shots of eyeshine), but it was pretty cool to see them!