The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is amazing. So amazing that even though it was too cloudy to see the sunset at all, we were still blown away.

Our mascot, Diego (a wooden turtle we got in Mexico), poses in front of the Grand Canyon.

---photos of the Grand Canyon covered in snow after the jump---

After sunset, we ate at a stereotypical, but genuine, Steakhouse, then headed back to the motel to share some Moscato in the spa pool. We didn't realise until we were in the pool, in the freezing cold, that the bottle wasn't a screw top. Doh! Paul ran all the way back to our room for a corkscrew in his soaking wet togs. People stared, but he said it was worth it. That's my boy!

At the Steakhouse.

The next morning we woke up in the middle of a snowstorm. Everything was smothered in a 15 - 20cm layer of powdery snow. Packing the car was interesting... Everything got smothered in snow. Freezing cold, we put on every piece of warm clothing we had brought with us. I wore two pairs of thick socks and long underwear, two pairs of pants, a thick Kathmandu fleece, and my leather jacket. I looked about 30kgs heavier! The smartest thing I thought of was to tie plastic bags around my feet so they wouldn't get wet when I walked through thick snow. I was very thankful for those later!

As soon as we had finished checking out of our motel, we headed back to the canyon. White-out at the Grand Canyon has to be one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced. If I hadn't seen it the night before, I never would have believed that the nothingness in front of me was actually one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Yep, that white nothing is it.

Paul demonstrates the temperature.

A little disappointed that we couldn't see anything, we decided to head back into Tusayan, where they have a Grand Canyon IMAX show on loop.

I was really nervous about driving in the thick snow and navigating the wrong side of the road at the same time. So nervous that when we arrived at IMAX I left without getting my keys out of the car. I didn't even turn off the engine! (More on that story in my next Life Lesson).

After about three hours locked out in the snow, we finally found a guy who could get us in.

The only good thing about the icy experience was that a lot of the snow had settled by the time we left, so we decided to head back to the canyon. What we saw was awe inspiring... the photos just can't capture it.

AA