Arizona Day 8

The Grand Canyon was a great vacation.

We spent the night in the Kachina Lodge right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. This is a much nicer hotel, so everyone slept a lot better. We even had a “partial” view of the canyon, but from our spot on the first floor, we were only able to see the top of the rim. Still, we could walk out our door and over to the edge in less than ten seconds. If was a beautiful morning, and we got up and moving early.

This was our view out the window from our hotel. 

The only downside was we had to haul our luggage quite aways. 

After packing up the van, we drove over to the Visitor Center. Luckily, there was plenty of parking, so we left the van and walked to Mather Point. We'd looked in the Grand Canyon so many times that it was hard to remain impressed, but this viewpoint did it. The canyon is just so huge. It is hard to imagine just how big it really is. Of course, the boys looked and looked for condors, but they just aren't on the east end of the park.

We got a great family picture at Mather Point! 

This one shows the canyon really well!

We hoped on a shuttle and rode to our only hike of the day. This was a walk down into the canyon to a place called Ooh-Aah Point. It was only a couple of miles, but the second half was straight up to the rim. The boys did great, though. Hiking doesn't seem to be any sort of problem for them. We enjoyed the hike and the viewpoint. It was easily our favorite hike in the park.

There were elk sitting at the trailhead. 

They were right next to the trail. 

The view from the top of the trail was pretty great, too! 

The elk were also here when we came back up!

We loved this trail. It was the best one in the park. 

Randy and I love watching the three boys hike together.

Everyone was getting along nicely (at least until we hit Ooh Aah Point). 

Ooh Aah Point had lots of great spots for pictures.

We had to elbow people out of the way for this picture.

We got one picture of Dad on the whole trip!

Mom oohed and aahed over this sign!

Seth was the best picture taker on this trip!

Dad has made sure we take lots of pictures together. It is great!

We watched the park movie and had lunch at a taco truck outside the Visitor Center. Then we drove east along the rim. There were some really nice overlooks, and we stopped at each one. Dax was sure he saw a condor at every stop, but it just wasn't happening, and he was getting pretty grumpy about it. Finally we got to Desert Tower at the far east end of the park. This was our favorite stop because there is a tall stone tower and they let you climb up it. There are several levels and an observation deck. The higher you go, the better you can see the canyon spread below you. It was amazing to see the tower perched on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

The viewpoints along the Desert Rim Road were wonderful and less crowded. 

No matter how many times we look at it, we still like seeing the Grand Canyon from every angle.

Seth and Dax were great buddies this trip.

Seth loves Mountain Lions and it is his life goal to actually see one.

Dax can't wait for his birthday in a few weeks.

Seth was really hopeful once we saw this sign, but we didn't see any cougars.

Mark lost his hat on this trip, so he had to use Dad's Arizona Diamondbacks hat, which fit in nicely in Arizona.

Our last look at the Grand Canyon.

This is looking up into the Desert Watchtower.

We found a Utah shaped window!

The Grand Canyon did not disappoint!

Dax still didn't see his condor, but he asked every ranger he passed where to see them. They all said the same thing: back toward Hermit Point in the west end of the park. We told this ranger that we were leaving the park and she said, "Well, there are sometimes condors at Navajo Bridge west of Page. Try that." Suddenly the boys' hope was sky-high again. 

It meant driving an extra fifteen miles each way, and we already had plenty of time on the road, but we decided to see Navajo Bridge anyway. It was stunning against the background of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Alongside the highway bridge is a walking bridge that is 466 feet above the Colorado River. We were encouraged when the lady at the Visitor Center said she saw the birds earlier in the day. We walked out along the bridge checking each truss and crag, but there just weren't any condors. The bridge is quite long and pretty wide (maybe 15 feet), and walked back and forth looking down into the water and scanning the skies. After about a half hour, it was time to give up and go home.

The scenery at Navajo Bridge was stunning!

We loved walking on Navajo Bridge and looking at the Colorado River.

Then suddenly, Mark spotted two tiny dots far away to the south. They grew larger and larger, and the boys grins grew wider and wider. "Are you here to see the birds?" a man with a beard asked, "Because I'm a condor tracker with the Peregrine Fund. Two condors are coming in now!" We watched as one condor landed on each bridge. The female landed on the car bridge across from us, and a one-year old chick landed right below us. The man, whose name was Tom, was there to do research on the condors. He was also there to educate people about them. Over the next hour and a half we asked him a million questions. He showed us how he tracked the condors using radio telemetry and joked with the boys. We watched as a total of seven massive condors wheeled in, their ten foot wingspans stretched right over our heads. The only thing better than seeing these condors was seeing them with someone who had a passion for them and all the answers to our questions. Mom took over a hundred pictures, and Dax proclaimed it the best day ever. Though the condors were no more than 50 yards away, they didn't seem worried about us at all. It was definitely the highlight of the trip.

Those are the dots that Mark spotted.
They were even further away when he first saw them, and he knew right away they were condors. 

The momma Condor landed on the bridge across from us.

This Condor was born last summer. He hasn't been tagged yet, which is special because all California Condors are tagged.

This guy, Tom, was the best. He was so good with our boys and knew everything!

The young Condor flew around and tried to land in different places.
This slant beam wasn't a great choice.

Here is the mom sunning!

Soon the dad showed up. We looked at him through the openings in the bridge. 

Mom walked around and got a better picture of the dad.

The condors flew over us a few times. It was spectacular!

Mom and Dad together!

These two are a young pair of condors.
Condors heads don't turn orange and pink until they are 5 years old.

Finally we begrudgingly dragged ourselves to the van. We just got it started up when we saw the condors fly right over on the bridge, one landing right where we'd been standing. The boys poured out of the van again, and we watched as Tom chased it away (he doesn't want them too close to humans). We spent a few more minutes until it was nearly dark before we were able to drive away from Navajo Bridge. 

It was almost an hour back to Page, Arizona, and we hadn't had dinner. But no one was complaining as we recounted our amazing adventure. It was a perfect day that won't be forgotten!