The Grand Canyon

We flew out of DC (actually Baltimore airport in Maryland) back into Denver. The weather was much clearer than last time we were here so we had a beautiful view of the snow-capped Rockies. We were headed for the Grand Canyon and the drive took us through the Colorado snow fields and we passed some well known places such as Aspen and Vail. Ski season had started so we watched some skiers and snowboarders going down the slopes. Next we entered into Utah and headed south towards Monument Valley, at the border of Arizona. Some very interesting landscape formations along the way and we were looking out for Roadrunner and Coyote as we drove.

Heading into Monument Valley

We arrived at the Grand Canyon and our first views didn't disappoint us. The canyon is massive and no photos could possibly capture the size of it. The layers of the canyon walls have many colours and patterns that seem to be ever changing in different light. We took some snacks to the rim and watched the sunset.

The IMAX movie gave us a greater appreciation of the life inside the canyon. From the top it looks rather dead and dry, but down below in the shadows there are little mossy waterfalls and animals that you just wouldn't think would be there.
Next morning was the much awaited helicopter flight over the canyon. Because of the high winds, we had to take a shorter flight, but what we saw was spectacular. We flew from the south rim across to the north rim (about 18miles at the widest part) and got to see the canyon walls close up, as well as getting a birds eye view right down to the bottom where the river wound its way through.