A Grand Day!

 Sunday October 11, 2020

We arrived at Grand Canyon Camper's Village in Tusayan, just outside the South entrance to the Park.  We're excited again about being old...our senior pass will save us the $35 entry fee!   

The East entrance is closed due to Covid-19 lockdowns on the neighboring Navajo Nation.  In fact, the Navajo Nation had a complete lockdown this weekend! It's hard to determine whether the closure has affected the traffic at the South entrance.  To us it looks pretty calm. 

Our campground is rustic, but has all of the important things close by...A Chocolate Factory for Connie and a Starbucks for Jim!  You walk down the path by the office, and can reach both places in less than a minute!  How handy is that?😉  Cell service isn't great and there's no wifi, so I may have to join Jim at Starbucks in the morning to get the blog posted!

We arrived early at the campground today so we could watch the NASCAR race, and we're glad we did, because Chase was the winner!  Way to go #9 team!  

We caught up on laundry and cleaning while watching the race, and took inventory of our food situation.  Before we left Indy, we packed the freezer full, and Jim commented today that he was impressed that we have not had to go to the grocery store since we left!

It's been more than 20 years since we were at the canyon (Spring Break when the kids were in high school!) so we were interested to see what has changed.  We decided to go experience a sunset at the canyon which is something new for both of us.   We found what hasn't changed is the magnificence of the canyon!  It was as magnificent today as when we saw it 20+ years ago.

What has changed is the protocol.  Everyone was masked up, and the shuttle buses were limited to 15 passengers, with every other seat roped off.  It's interesting to note that Grand Canyon Village has had only 21 positive cases, and Tusayan (where we are staying) has had only 47 positive cases.

Shuttle bus seats restricted

We watched the sunset at Mohave Point...(a tip from the ranger at the gate to avoid a crowd). 

Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon at sunset

 It was absolutely beautiful!

Sunset at Mohave Point

"It is never the same, even from day to day, or even from hour to hour...Every passing cloud, every change in the position of the sun recasts the whole."  --Clarence Dutton, US Geological Survey, 1882