We decided last-minute to change our plans so we could include the Grand Canyon on our trip.
We originally weren’t planning on going because there were no campsites available. We originally were going to spend the day properly exploring Zion, but we sacrificed that time to add another stop!
From our campsite near Zion, it was about two and a half hours away to the North Rim Visitors Center.
We decided to break up the drive down by stopping at Pipe Springs National Parks, which is a site where Mormon settlers came and took over a spring where Native Americans had been living for a long time. They tried to set up the museum to show about the Native American life there as well as what the Mormons built. It’s actually on a reservation.
We also walked around to see a bit of the scenery in the National Monument. There were some really good views of the landscape. When we left for the little walk, the ranger told us it was “a bad time of day to see rattlesnakes.” By that, she meant we weren’t likely to see any, which was definitely good in my mind.
They had a recreated ranch in the style of the Mormon ranch – how it would have looked.
They also showed some examples of Native American buildings/shelters.
We then headed towards the North Rim!
On the way, we gained a lot of altitude and when we stopped, we got a good view.
We also noticed the name of one of the landmarks…
Before we got to the park, we stopped at a gas station in Jacob Lake. It looked like such a pretty area. It’s pretty high in elevation, so there are lots of trees. I’d really like to go back sometime.
We then got closer to the park. There was a sign by the road that said “Wildlands fire in progress. Do not report.” We didn’t know what that meant. We didn’t know if we should even try to go into the park. After 20 minutes or so we started to see the smoke. It irritated our throats, even though we were in the car.
After a while, we passed the smoke and we got to the entrance of the park. We asked about the fire and they said it had been going on for weeks. It started with a lightning strike and they were letting it clear the area to prevent worse fires. The last thing the ranger said was to watch out for bison on the road! Almost immediately we saw one!
And then we saw the whole herd!
The drive to the North Rim was really pretty. There were still a lot of trees!
Then we got our first view of the Grand Canyon!
There was a little trail around the rim, so we followed that for a while – obviously the view was incredible.
After walking around, we went to the lodge. It was built in the 1920s and it was really incredible. There’s an amazing lounge that overlooks the main view of the North Rim. There was also a restaurant that has the same view – I wish we could have eaten there.
We then headed further east to a different overlook.
You could see past the end of the Grand Canyon.
This was probably the most interesting view and had the best lighting for the time of day when we were there.
We then left the park. We had a long drive ahead of us to get back Quail Creek State Park in Utah.
On our way out of the park, we saw another fire! It was in the direction of Grand Escalante. The two fires we saw that day were the first of several that we saw on this trip.
The evening light was really beautiful on the landscape!
Finally, we made it back to Utah after a long day of driving.
That night we spend our second and final night at Quail Creek State Park. The next day, we were headed up to Bryce Canyon!
