THE GRAND CANYON | Desert Road Trip 2014
The Grand Canyon - Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon | Monument Valley
CLICK HERE to view my Grand Canyon photo gallery and order prints
Day 4 of our trip and we have already experienced the unique Narrows hike of Zion National Park, the unbelievable sunset view of Horseshoe Bend, the adventurous kayaking trip on Lake Powell, the mesmerizing scenes of Antelope Canyon, and the majestic monuments of Monument Valley and yet we still haven't seen what many people consider one of the seven wonders of the world! It just goes to show how many amazing places this part of America has to offer.
After our adventurous tour of Monument Valley, we packed up our car again to make our 155 mile journey to the Grand Canyon. Our desired route had us go to the south rim entrance of Grand Canyon National Park to view all of the famous overlooks such as Desert View, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview, and more. We would later make our way to our lodge in Grand Canyon Village for the night, but first we of course had to watch yet another epic sunset!
Approaching the Grand Canyon National Park wasn't exactly what I had always envisioned. I have always thought of the area around the canyon being extremely desert-like, however I was proved wrong as we drove up the beautiful mountains on US 64 towards the park entrance. I was surprised at how the drive reminded me a lot of back home in the Blue Ridge Mountains with the pine forests and mountains. The unexpected dreary rain in the area that day probably helped in giving me that sense of the Smoky Mountains as well. The drive had us travel up to 7500 feet elevation to the first major overlook - Desert View. After driving out of the forest and approaching the rim, I was delighted with my first ever view of the Grand Canyon! The looming clouds and rain showers in the area certainly gave us a unique first view of the amazing place!
The Grand Canyon Sunset - Grandview Point
After leaving Desert View, we hit all of the other overlooks before eventually making it to our desired location to watch the sunset - Grandview Point. After hiking down the trail several yards, I quickly found my spot on top of a ledge where I would set up for sunset. As I was setting up my tripod I was greeted by another photographer who was coming out to the same location (my first picture below). After telling him this was my first visit to the Grand Canyon and first sunset, I was soon made aware that he was a published photographer well known in this amazing land and has the privilege of photographing it many times. It was a pleasant experience getting to meet him and hear his tips he provided for my first time shooting in the Grand Canyon. I encourage you to check out Adam's award-winning work! www.adamschallau.com
It was amazing being able to photograph my first sunset in this such special place in the world. As I quickly got caught up in the moment of firing off pictures of all of the beautiful scenes that the light display was making, I made sure just to pause for a moment also just to take the view in for myself. I hope these photographs uplift you as well!
Grand Canyon Ooh Aah Point - South Kaibab Trail
After getting an excellent nights rest in our lodge in Grand Canyon Village, we headed out early the next morning to being our short hike along the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point. On this trail we got a small taste of what hiking down into the canyon is like. If we had more time to spend there, I would have loved to continue to hike further down into the canyon but I can save that for another trip. :) The hike to Ooh Aah Point, however, did make us do just that. It was such a beautiful way to experience the Grand Canyon during the morning light and with the gorgeous white clouds.
Last two were shot with my GoPro!
CLICK HERE to view my Grand Canyon photo gallery and order prints
Stay tuned as our we continue our last stretch of our amazing Desert Road Trip! We will continue our route south to Sedona, Arizona where there's plenty more for us to see!
God Bless!
