Last full day at the Big Ditch

We came, we saw, now we are wentin', well, tomorrow we will be moving on anyway. I have taken a bunch of pictures and hit most of the spots on my list that I wanted to here on the South Rim. There are a couple that only have access by Shuttle Bus and I never got near them, to many people I expect. It is probably a lot like Lake Louise or Moraine Lake back home, shoulder to shoulder folks all looking for a unique picture, and I don't deal well with crowds anymore. This morning I just ran up to a roadside pullout that has an iconic rock formation, they call "Duck on a Rock" for obvious reasons, it does kind of have a rubber ducky type of vibe to it.

Although I could see the rubber ducky in my minds eye the pic above, Ducks on a Rock, is for those of my readers who don't have as good an imagination or maybe a need to try out this new AI in the photo world. Here is the real shot.

This afternoon I ran back over to the Grandview Point, just to see what the Canyon looked like from that vantage point in the late afternoon before sunset. I have found sunrise to be a lot more calm and almost zen like, the crowds are not up and at it that early in the morning except for those most popular and accessible sites like Mather Point and Yavapai. In fact some mornings there have been only one or two others out there before the sunrise. There were a couple of nice vista's one straight across the valley and the second back to the eastern end of the Grand Canyon, capturing the meanderings of the Colorado River and for the eagle eyes a shot of the Desert View Watchtower in the far off distance.

One thing I have noticed is that most of the folks out picturin' these views are using their iPhones and a few years back I would have wondered why bother, but the newest models do a great job of capturing images and are even pretty easy to post-process and send back to those not so lucky as to be there with you. The shot below was back at the camp via my phone and Starlink well before I even packed up my real camera's and headed home.

Another Grand Day at the Canyon

They are never just another day at the Grand Canyon, the scenery is spectacular and the weather is cooling off a little here. We are thinking about pulling up stakes in a day or two and heading down the road again. Our welcome and our permit run out here on Thursday at Sunset so we are thinking we will find a spot over on the Markham Pass road to hang out for a few days then.

This morning I ran over to the Grandview Point to see what I could stir up for a sunrise shot. There haven't been a lot of clouds in the sky here the last few days so the Canyon and the colours down in there have been taking the big part of the picturin' load. There are only a couple of viewpoints that I haven't haunted over the last 4 or 5 days either for sunrise or sunset, or maybe just a mid-day visit.

This evening I went back to the East to Moran Point and got a little more cloud action there. Other than the usual picturin' I spent an hour or so overhauling my Braid Nailer so that I can refasten some trim pieces that have decided they needed to come loose on the rough road into our present location. I have ony drive about 50 nails with it but it seems to need a good lubricating and all I had was a little WD40 silicone spray and some engine oil so that is what she got. It is working better, not perfect, but at least it is driving the odd nail now.