What a fantastic day! We started with a relaxed hotel breakfast. Our drive took us past the entrance to Meteor Crater, aka Barringer Crater – which boasts itself as the largest intact meteor crater on earth. It is a mile across and 500 feet deep. We took the drive into the entrance way, but the only entrance fee was for the full experience and we didn’t feel that we had time to do it justice. They have done a superb job of blocking any view of the crater from outside the museum grounds, so our detour in to the entrance became just that; a detour.
Next stop – Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon and the best preserved Route 66 stop. It is a charming place with great character. We had a classic diner lunch a bit early at 11am. We walked around the town where we ran into a woman whose father-in-law in the 1940’s helped build the building we were contemplating. Rum running tunnels were built into the foundations of most of the buildings post prohibition and this building was the only one where the tunnels had not been filled in. They are now used as a cold cellar for storing the booze!
Finally to the Grand Canyon. WOW is the most commonly used word I heard today. Just WOW. I thought I knew what to expect, but just WOW when you are physically there.
It was busy but not crowded – hard to imagine what the busy season must be like. Everywhere there were so many happy and friendly people from all corners of the earth. We walked the rim trail and stayed through sunset. Every turn provided a new vista. The amazing thing is that you approach via flat, non descript land and then BOOM – it’s there. WOW.
We supped at the Yavapai Lodge where we were staying where one meal easily fed us both. With no wifi and no phone service it made for an early bedtime – which was perfect to ensure an early awakening to catch sunrise over the canyon in the morning.
