Grand Canyon - Hermit Road

It was cold and foggy the next morning when we drove back into the National Park.  It was 46 degrees, and the fog was so thick that it covered any view from the overlooks along the Rim. 



The fog was so thick that it would crash into the canyon wall and then run up and over it like a river.





Since we couldn't see much of the view, we headed to the Yavapai Observation Station at Yavapai Point. There is a museum there that covers the geology and history of the Canyon that we thought we'd check out until the fog cleared. But we were only in there for a few minutes because we could see the fog starting to break. We hurried to an overlook just as the fog lifted.





It was like a spotlight shining through the fog. The fog would dissolve away, leaving a hole that briefly provided a window to the canyon behind it. The hole would move and change, swirling and growing as the fog started to fade away.





As the sun finally broke through, the fog stubbornly clung to the sides and edges of the canyon.





The overlook provided a wide panoramic view of the Canyon and the Colorado River, barely visible as it ran through the deep walls of the inner Canyon.



After that we hopped on another shuttle bus that would take us along the Hermit Road. This section of the canyon was at a different elevation than the Yavapai Overlook, and it was still covered in fog. On the first shuttle stop, at the Trailview Overlook, thick fog again covered up the view. We were the only ones who got off the bus, and again we got there just in time to see the fog start to clear. Here is the fog lifting, revealing the canyon wall and the zigzagging path of the Bright Angel Trail.



Within a few minutes, most of the fog had been cleared away.



We hopped back on the bus and stopped at all of other overlooks along the road (at least the ones that were open). The fog had all been cleared out, with just some low clouds hanging around the top of the canyon on the North Rim.





At the Maricopa Point overlook, I found this view. There was a dead tree that provided a neat silhouette against the Canyon.



The full sunlight was a little harsh in the canyon, creating some deep shadows that didn't translate well in the pictures. But we still went to each stop along the way, taking pictures and enjoying the view. Even if the pictures didn't all turn out, the view was still amazing.





We finally made it to Hermit's Rest, which was the last stop before the shuttle bus returned to Grand Canyon Village. We headed back, and then had time to make it to another great overlook in time for sunset....