We took a quick 20 minute nap after breakfast, packed the car, and started our drive towards the Grand Canyon. I had never been to the Grand Canyon. It has been on my bucket list for quite some time. From Sedona, the drive is about 2 hours and 15 min to Grand Canyon Village. Most of the drive was gorgeous, driving through red rock and tree lined mountains.
One quick stop was at a scenic vista point, where Navajo vendors had a few booths filled with hand crafted items. I bought a cute bracelet as my souvenir for the trip. We didn't hit much traffic, except for the 64 that had some construction taking place. As we waited, the view of fields from my side of the car was lined with desert shrubs and a beautiful black horse, with the mountains in the distance. This ended up being on of my favorite photos from the trip.
Having already completed our almost 4.5 mile hike that morning in Sedona, we were looking forward to viewing the the Grand Canyon and walking along the Rim with Miss Reagan. Upon arrival, the visitors center was closed. They had signs throughout that area giving suggestions on what to visit and how much time it would take to visit the various destinations within the Grand Canyon. Only a 5 minute walk from the visitors center is Mather Point, one of the most popular spots in the Grand Canyon. There were a number of tourists at the Grand Canyon. That being said, I imagine there would have been many more if not going through a pandemic.
The Grand Canyon is up to 1 mile deep and 18 miles wide. 90% of visitors of the Grand Canyon view it from the South Rim. I am sure this is due to its easy access and majestic views.
After a short walk and plenty of photos, a gentleman suggested we drive to the end of the Grand Canyon and watch the sunset. Because we had already completed a hike that morning, Ben and I decided that driving towards Navajo Point was a good idea. The drive was about 45 minutes, with magnificent peek-a-boo views of the canyon. The drive was well worth it.
Navajo Point is the South Rim overlook, with the highest elevation and includes views of the Colorado River. Originally, we were hoping to continue our road trip on Desert View Drive to the 64 to Lake Powell, but the road was closed immediately after the entrance to Navajo Point. Roads to Navajo Nation are closed due to the pandemic. We were forced to backtrack about and hour and half to Flagstaff, where we stayed for the night.
When we first arrived in Flagstaff, we were confused by how dark the city was. To us, it seemed almost dangerous, but then I remembered Flagstaff is a city focused on lessening its light pollution. Flagstaff was the worlds first International Dark Sky Place. Flagstaff is home to the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered! Checkout https://skyglowproject.com/dark-sky-movement for more interesting facts about the Dark-Sky Movement.
