Grand Canyon & Four Corners

March 5, 2009 - Yesterday was a day of driving and sightseeing. We left Flagstaff early and headed back west to pick up the highway that would take us north to Grand Canyon. The drive is through a large Hopi Indian reservation and is pretty boring.

I am going to take you through the pictures of the day. Below is the main visitor center at the East rim lookout point. I love taking pictures of flags blowing in the wind especially when they are American flags.

Sarah pointing the way to our destination. The day was beautiful but we had 30mph+ winds.

Our first view into the canyon. The first thing that popped into my head was "wow that canyon sure is grand!" The next three pictures are a panoramic series. I took each picture and then turned left just enough to capture the right edge of the previous picture on the left edge of the new shot. The view was spectacular.

The "couples shot" of course. I used my trick again to get some lady to take our picture.

Look I found the canyon!!!!

This tower is called the watchtower and was built in 1933. It was built as one of the first tourist attractions in the canyon. It has a wood burning fire place inside and they use the native mesquite wood so the entire place smells like a bbq joint, it was amazing. The building is built from steel and clad in native rocks. Everything was hand built and looks like it is hundreds of years.

A few quick thoughts on the Grand Canyon. 1. It is very big 2. The visitor center is very helpful 3. Go in the summer time so you can safely hike down 4. Plan your trip so that you can stay for a few days either hiking or rafting.

After the Canyon we headed North East to the Four Corners. Along the way we drove through some desolate land. It was low 70's in early March so I can only imagine what it must be like in the summer. One thing I can say for sure is I would NEVER EVER settle here.

Along the way we broke a milestone I didn't think we would hit, the 6,000 mile mark. Regardless the trip is still called 5,000 Miles Of Freedom.

The Four Corners! This place is really not exciting. There is a plaque on the ground signifying the border and some flags. I am happy we went and saw it but don't expect much when you are there.

"Couples picture"

Taking a nap in four states at once, so relaxing.

For those who don't know about the Four Corners the states involved are New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado.

In the process of our days drive we crossed over two new state lines which gave us an opportunity to take a few more state line shots.

Now that we are back in Colorado it is appropriate to take a look back at where we have been. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado. It took 6,194 Miles to get back to the great state of Colorado and now we have 4 days left of the road trip. Last stop Telluride, CO to get reacclimated to the altitude. The trip has been amazing and the wrap up blog will be even better. Thanks for reading and joining our adventures. I am sure I will blog in from Telluride so stay tuned.

Hope all are well!