2014XC: Day 20, July 1 – Grand Canyon, Arizona (Mather Campground)

Last night we slept with the windows open and just the screen door closed, without closing and locking the trailer door. It was on my mind a bit, but the breeze coming in the door was so cooling, and the campground wasn’t too packed. It seemed safe, and I prayed about it anyway. I’m glad that I did, and I am thankful for God’s protection. When I woke in the morning, the sun was shining across the screen door and some American Indian tribal music was floating on the breeze – nothing against it since I’ve never really listened to it, but there was something about it with being in the Grand Canyon it was fitting. Total blessing to wake that way, and won’t be quickly forgotten. There was also a raven squawking, maybe he thought he was a rooster, but I didn’t mind it. The last few park campsites we stayed at had signs all over about keeping your food in containers to keep the bears away. This park warned about keeping your food contained because of the ravens. They were always in the trees watching and waiting to score some food.
A little breakfast and we are were ready for some sightseeing. Really cool thing about staying in Grand Canyon was that they had shuttle buses you could use to see the park. So we walked up to the main entrance from our campsite and boarded a bus. We took one route to another route that stopped at about 7 scenic overlooks of the Canyon. We were able to get off the bus at each stop, take in the view, walk around a little and then catch the next bus. They ran about every 10 minutes so you could catch them at about any time. You could walk from stop to stop on a paved trail that went the entire route as well, and we did that once between two of the stops. It was nice to board the bus and get right into some air conditioning after being in the heat. We carried our lunch with us so that we could stop to eat wherever we wanted. Even though each stop was just another view of the Canyon, the change in perspective was picture-worthy.

At the end of our sightseeing, we opted to walk back to our campsite rather than wait for a crowded bus, since it was towards the end of the day. Glad we did because we walked right past an Elk just helping himself to a tree branch snack.

Dinner back at the campsite and a few games of checkers…and those Ravens outside picking up some leftover rice from dinner.

Tomorrow, hike the Bright Angel Canyon Trail…