When we opened the door to leave our room this morning, we found a visitor. A female elk was looking at us. Our presence did not seem to bother her as much as her presence bothered us. We finally decided to walk close to the wall of the lodge until it was okay to go to the car. Once we got to the car, she laid down on the ground since the invaders of her space had left.
We got our supplies for the day from the car and walked to a nearby bus stop. We rode buses to Powell Point. Then our hiking began.
There was some morning fog in the Grand Canyon at Powell Point today. It did not obscure the view, but it did add a new look. Looking to the west provided a more familiar canyon scene.
From Powell Point, we could see the Colorado River again. We caught a glimpse of a Blue Jay in a tree. One last look at the foggy part of the Grand Canyon and we were hiking to Hopi Point.
By the time we arrived at Hopi Point, we did not see any more fog. We did have wide views of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. The first three photos are a distance photo of the Grand Canyon, a closer look at the Colorado, and a zoom in on a sand bar in the river. The last two photos in this group focus on the lower part of the Colorado to the west.
From a different angle at Hopi Point, we spotted some rapids in the Colorado River. Our stop at Hopi Point gave us a broad view of both the canyon and the river.
We continued our hike by heading toward Mohave Point. We saw the rapids again from a better vantage point. We also saw one place where the cliff at the top was especially steep and the end of the cliff looked like a knife edge.
As we got closer to Mohave Point, we noticed that the views of the lower canyon more vividly show the deepest and narrowest part of the canyon near the river. We also took a picture at a place where the trail is very close to the rim.
At Mohave Point, you can see the part of the canyon formed by Bright Angel Creek. The Bright Angel Creek Canyon is impressive on its own, yet it is only a small portion of the Grand Canyon.
Here is a closer view of the Bright Angel Creek joining the Colorado River. Notice the wide range of colors in the rock.
In this zoomed in picture, you can even see some of the details of the lower part of the canyon near Mohave Point.
The view to the west from Mohave Point is totally different from the view to the east. It is a side canyon of Monument Creek. There are many more trees and lots of green. It is not far from the view to the east toward Bright Angel Creek to this side canyon.
Looking northwest from Mohave Point, you can see the Colorado River as it winds its way toward Hoover Dam. It flows over rapids, past sand bars, and through very narrow passages on its way across the Grand Canyon.
We also took a panoramic shot of Mohave Point. From this location, you cannot see directly east.
Here is a version of the previous photo that lets you use your mouse to examine a particular place or just enjoy the view.
Mohave Point Pano 2 112421
The next stop on our hike was the Abyss. While the canyon is no deeper here than anywhere else, the steeper drop from the rim does a decent impression of an abyss. There are also places along the rim where you feel like you are looking straight down to the bottom of the first level of the canyon.
We did see a couple of interesting flowers while we were near the Abyss.
Photographs do not fully capture the entire feeling of the Abyss that standing on the edge of the rim does. However this collection of photos were some that did the best job.
Here is a wider angle view of the Abyss.
In the photo below, you can “tour” the Abyss. You can adjust the speed of rotation or the focus using your mouse.
During the hike Monument Creek, we saw a wider portion of Monument Creek. The first picture sets the context. You can see the wider portion in the middle of the photo. The second photo gets a little bit closer so that you can see Monument Creek more clearly. The final zoom shows how the creek fills the canyon from side to side.
The two pictures at the bottom of this gallery show the broader canyon as seen from Monument Creek Overlook, and a trail that runs along Monument Creek.
The walk to Monument Creek gave us more opportunities to see easily to the bottom of the canyon. The smaller canyon in the lower part of the photos is Monument Creek. We also saw a nice purple flower called a Tahoka Daisy.
At Monument Creek Overlook, we had a chance to get a direct shot down into the side canyon.
After Monument Creek Overlook, we caught a bus to Hermit’s Rest at the end of the Rim Trail. There is a small building that is now a Visitor Center, small shop, and an ice cream and snack food restaurant. The view of the Grand Canyon from the porch of the building is restful and overwhelming at the same time.
Hermit’s Rest is the end of the Rim Trail, but it was not the end of our hiking. We hiked back up the trail to Pima Point.
On this longest segment of our hike today, we saw additional magnificent views of the Grand Canyon.
At this point on the trail, we got to see a wider section of the Colorado River.
Further down the trail, we saw the same portion of the river, but had a good angle to see it even better. Compare the two pictures to see how the angle to the sun changes the tints and hues of the colors in the canyon.
The Ninety Four Mile Creek on the far side of the Colorado River is at the bottom of the canyon in the middle of this photo.
Here are a couple of pairs of photos of the Colorado flowing through the Grand Canyon. In each pair, the distance shot is on the left and the close up is on the right.
At Pima Point, we had an exceptionally wide view of the Grand Canyon. There was an extended view of the North Rim from here as well.
Here is the 360 view of the panoramic scene at Pima Point.
After Pima Point, we got on the bus and rode back to the Yavapi Lodge. We had a wonderful day exploring another section of the Grand Canyon Rim Trail.