Sept. 22, 2022
As we continued making our way out west, we made a plan to stop at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This was a bucket list item for both of us.
On our way, we passed Las Vegas – although, this was much to my dismay. ha!
If you aren’t familiar with all sides of the Grand Canyon, the South Rim is the one that most people visit, and is often shown in television and movies with the guardrail overlooking the Canyon; the West side has the Skywalk. However, all four sides of the canyon offer something different and unique.
The drive up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was like nothing I had ever experienced.
During the almost two-hour drive to the North Rim (and then another two-hours back down) my nerves were shot! Let me set the scene for you:
In the beginning of the trek – tall trees, vast open spaces, and the colorful changing of leaves decorating the view.
Then, imagine driving on the most narrow two-lane road you can imagine and as the passenger in the vehicle you look out the window and can only see straight down the side of the mountain! I literally could not see the road looking out of the side window. My fear of heights did not love this! But it was an experience for sure and also, obviously safe enough since hundreds of thousands of visitors drive up to see this beautiful site each year. This is the only photo I have of this imagery because I was terrified once I looked out the window.
The elevation was 8238 feet on average so possibly the highest point for us thus far. The height kept us both on edge, and created more than just a little bit of a panic (me, more so than Jay).
We started our visit by seeing the visitor’s center to get some souvenirs and while here, we also decided to donate to the Grand canyon Conservancy Society. Just a nice thing to do to support our National Parks, and we got the chance to share our story of our 12 month Adventure to the park rangers.
However, before we left for a quick walk around the Canyon, one of the staff members made sure to tell us to stay away from the sides of the walkway and to watch our steps – especially while taking photos. He mentioned that tragically, a handful of individuals lose their lives each year by not paying attention to where they walk. Unfortunately, due to the remote nature and height and location of this portion of the Canyon, rescue is often not possible and once you fall down the side and you may not come to a stop until you rest at the bottom of the canyon.
This sent my nerves into OVERDRIVE! Topped with the thinner air and my already height-induced anxiety, I could barely handle walking out onto the ledges to get a better view. But, alas, we did – and it was breathtaking!
But, also a great reminder to be safe, watch your footing and always practice safety!
The air was much thinner up here and it was a bit of a struggle to breathe for both of us. I think if we would have been able to spend more time to acclimate to the air it would have been easier, but we needed to head back down after just a short 1.5 hours up at the top since it began to get dark – and that drive back down was still ahead of us.
As we started to make our way down, we saw a fire up on the mountain off in the distance.
The pictures are a small reminder of the magnificent beauty we witnessed.
Life with Mary and Jay 