A collection of travel and adventure stories
A collection of travel and adventure stories
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Description:
Grand Canyon National Park is located in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is a magnificent canyon carved out of the Colorado Plateau by the Colorado River. Views of the canyon can be seen from both the North and South Rims. The park offers many camping sites, tours, visitors center and hiking trails. The South Rim is the most popular with visitors. Many overlooks are accessible by car, but Hermit Road is closed to private vehicles and may be accessed via a free shuttle bus run by the park.
Activities:
hiking, camping, picnicking, rafting, sightseeing
Directions:
The Grand Canyon National Park (SOUTH RIM) is located 60 miles north of Williams, Arizona (via route 64 from Interstate 40) and 80 miles northwest of Flagstaff (via route 180).
From Flagstaff, AZ - there are three ways to go:
* Take I-40 west to Highway 64. Take Highway 64 north directly to the South Rim.
* Take Highway 180 west to Highway 64. Take Highway 64 north directly to the South Rim.
* Take Highway 89 north to Highway 64. Take Highway 64 west to the East Entrance on the South Rim - known as Desert View.
From Las Vegas, NV - Take Highway 93 south to I-40. Take I-40 east to Highway 64. Take Highway 64 north directly to the South Rim.
Story Date 8/13/2000
Publish Date 4/15/2004
According to Mikala: The Grand Canyon is an awesome place to see! The U.S. definitely has some of the most beautiful national parks. During this trip, we camped at one of the campgrounds in the park and visited many of the canyon overlooks by car and the park shuttle.
Our camp stay was very eventful and memorable. One late afternoon, a heavy thunder and lightning storm developed. At first, we continued to sit under our tarp, playing games. We soon started to notice that the lightning was getting closer and the thunder louder. All of a sudden, lightning struck a tree at the campsite right across from ours. I remember a bright flash, and a very loud bang. You could definitely feel the shockwave from the strike. We decided that we would feel much safer in our car, rather than under a tarp with metal poles! Other campers in the area decided to stay in their cars also. Once the lightning had passed, we ventured over to the opposite campsite to take a look at what Mother Nature had done. We could see burnt bark scattered along the ground and a streak on the tree where the lightning had struck. Very scary and too close for comfort!
We took a trip to some of the overlooks right after this. The view was spectacular! There were still storm clouds over the canyon, but the sun was shining through. Rainbows! Very beautiful.
During our stay, we also took the park shuttle to some of the other overlooks on Hermit Road that are closed by car. I felt very small when looking down at this massive canyon. I could see the Colorado River in the canyon below. On a future trip, I would like to take a raft down the river to see the canyon from below.
Please click on a picture for a larger image.
Massive canyon walls.
Unbeleivable view.
After lightning strikes a tree near our campsite.
Burnt remnants from the lightning strike.
After the storm.
Another gorgeous view.
Rainbows developing after the storm.
Rainbow over the cliffs.
Another shot of the rainbow.
Double rainbows over Yavapai Observation Station.
Rainbows and golden canyon views.
More beauty.
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