Grand Canyon, Arizona (Part 2)
The time was almost 5pm when we finally arrived and as it was winter then, the day was shorter. Fortunately, we still had about an hour to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation at the Grand Canyon before darkness overtook us. By then, the other buses had left for Vegas. We started off at Mather Point (Grand Canyon Visitor Centre) and ended at the Grand Canyon Historic Village, skipping the trails in between (recommended if time is on your side). The temperature then was between 5-10 degrees Celsius (even lower at night). We could appreciate the leftover ice from the previous night’s snowfall.
To many, the Grand Canyon is just a boring, deserted, huge crater, but to me it was the manifestation of God’s magnificent handiwork. It seemed like a perfect place to meditate and reflect on myself, so long as it wasn’t too frigid.
Next, the bus picked us up at Mather Point and sent us to the Grand Canyon Historic Village. The sun had by then almost set and the temperature was dropping as well. We had to do a quick round at the historic village and snap whatever sceneries that was still reasonably visible. We started off at the Bright Angel Lodge, which had an entrance to the Grand Canyon lookout. This historic village is a place worth spending the night if you are not in a rush as there are cabins or hotels available for rent, the grandest of which is the El Tovar Hotel (perched on the South Rim’s cliff).
We finally wrapped up our tour with a visit to the gift shop at the Bright Angel Lodge. This gift shop sold all kinds of handicrafts from the Hopi Indian tribe and we got ourselves a unique piece of art on a tile. At that time, the Bright Angel Lodge was also beautifully festooned with Christmas decorations. The feeling of being in a cold country around Christmas time was just indescribable.
After a long day, we eventually left for Vegas around 7pm, stopping by Kingman for toilet break. Dinner wasn’t included so we bought something from Carl’s Jr. On our way back, we had another glimpse of the brightly-lit Hoover dam. The bus driver was kind enough to slow down the bus for us appreciate this man-made wonder. When we finally arrived at Vegas, it was close to 11pm – too tired and late to do anythings else.
Now here comes the annoying part, the driver had the nerve to announce over the speaker that he would appreciate a US$10 tip per person, not having the slightest common sense to forgo his tip considering the setback we had to face earlier in the day. Anyway, our day was filled with enough fun amidst some frustration, so we reluctantly gave our fair share of tips. Oh, what a day!
The next leg of our adventure would be San Francisco or what some would refer to as Frisco. Stay tuned…
NOTES:
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