We fit so much into the weekend, after leaving Zion and trying to make it to Grand Canyon, we were tired of driving and tired of being in the car, so we pulled off early in Vermillion Cliffs- just a little place we saw marked in the atlas with camping. When we pulled in we were amazed! The red rocks opened up into a canyon surrounding the Colorado River. It was the perfect place to camp. There were lots of kayakers gathered there for guide training for the new season and they happened to be pretty good musicians that provided much of our entertainment for the night.
After making our camping meal, we got my new star chart out and began identifying constellations. The moon is getting smaller and the stars are getting brighter so it was an easy night to start.
We actually made out a couple of constellations and saw some shooting stars :)
The following morning we woke up and got on the road. We finished our drive to the Grand Canyon and got our first view at the watchtower. It was such a vast space and hard to even fathom that the tiny looking river below had carved out such an amazing structure. We arrived at our camping spot in Mather Campground and in touch with our friend Anastasia who is working at the park for the season. We met up with Anastasia after dinner and hiked out to a remote spot to watch the sunset. She took us to a location that the park rents out for weddings and special occasions- it was a place where tourists can't go, which is very key when you are in the Grand Canyon.
The next morning we woke up and packed our packs for an overnight hiking excursion, but unfortunately, by the time we got to the permit building, the backcountry spaces and the base campground spots were sold out... bummer. But, we were able to do a day hike on the South Kaibab trail, which we hear can offer much better views. All-in-all I think that I was a bit spoiled having been in canyon country for a week, so honestly the Grand Canyon wasn't my favorite- I'm still going with Canyon Lands National Park :)
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