The capstone of our summer road trips this year was our two-day visit to The North Rim of The Grand Canyon National Park.  The North Rim allows overnight visitors from May 15 to October 15th.  In light of this short camping season, anyone who intends to see this remote area should plan ahead to secure camping or cabin/lodge accommodations inside the park.  The spot for our overnight was sorted out in the campgrounds very close by. In an earlier post, I already shared where we did our camping.

There are so many ways to engage with the scenery and expanse of this majestic park. I expect that we will return again when our children are older. Those of you following our blog already know that back country hiking is out of the question for me these days because we travel with three children; one still in diapers.

Visitors may go down into the canyon riding on horse or mule-back, ride the Colorado River in a raft,  take a helicopter ride, or hike in on foot.  There is ample opportunity for wildflower peeping and stargazing near cliff edges.  It’s also possible to drive to many scenic viewpoints, with essentially universal access, to soak in the spectacular high-elevation views.  It was imperative that we do a mixture of both driving to scenic viewpoints and easy hiking trails. This allowed us to keep the children engaged and interested.

To see more photos from my visit, check out my Flickrstream (click here or on that cute sidebar button —->)

Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim, Imperial Point; Elevation 8803 feet above sea level. | 1/250 sec.; F/10; ISO-100; 18mm | August 9, 2014; 5:02 PM

This photo was taken after a quick break in some light monsoon rain. The clouds overhead that deposited the rain into the canyon also blocked the sunlight.  Patiently, I waited for 10 minutes before a beam of sunlight illuminated that first rock tower at the 3 o’clock point on the right.  On account of the hour and elevation, I knew that the sun would strike something dramatic if it were to reveal itself.  If I had bet wrong, there wouldn’t have been any harm watching the changing scene. The view, with shadows moving over and along the interior canyon walls, was incredible to observe.