Day 35. Ain't life Grand!

Friday 12th, September.

We were up before dawn this morning and had the bikes packed and rolling before 7:00am. Big day ahead!
But first things first, we had to fill up the bikes at this cool place:

Then, we headed South and gradually climbed up onto the Kaibab Plateau, here we could look back to the various steps we had been exploring over the last few days. The various parks we have visited have all been part of a giant wrinkle in the earth - a waterpocket fold. Now we have climbed up onto the last part of the wrinkle:

 We continued riding along some beautiful pastures where a buffalo herd may be seen on some days - though not today. The forest is comprised of lovely Aspen as well as various pines.

We continued, barely seeing another soul until we reached our goal for the morning:

And took a few peeks at this:

We made it! Here we are at the Grand Canyon - the North Rim to be precise. This is the quieter and higher side of the canyon and we felt we had it to ourselves for the better part of the morning. We carefully rode along the Walhalla  plateau catching glimpses of the canyon as we went. Frequently, we would stop and peek in again - just incredible and deservedly one of the seven wonders of the world. It was a little hazy, especially early so our photos aren't the best.

A spectacular setting for our picnic lunch

 After Lunch we moved off the Walhalla plateau and rode around to the true North Rim, where more spectacular views awaited

The mighty Colorado River, responsible for all this, can just be seen on the right

This is the Grand Canyon Lodge - perched right on the edge of the canyon

Our cabin for the night!

After sleeping soundly in our cosy cabin we got up in time to see the sun rise.

It was very tough to pull ourselves away from this incredible place.

The Grand Canyon: 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep.