I managed to drag Dena out of bed before the sun rose today! We went to Yavaipai point, one of the recommended spots for seeing the sunrise. I'm not sure what I thought it would look like.. It was definitely an amazing place to see a sunrise, but I think I'd enjoy a sunset more. Once the sun rose, the canyon was painted in pretty colors, but while it's rising, you really can only get pictures of a silhouette. But still quite the shot! We didn't feel out of place with our cameras and tripods for a change, since there were quite a few people there with much more equipment than us! I think I took a little over 200 pictures just for the morning!

After the sunrise we went back to the room to unload the cameras and relax a little bit. Once we had energy again, we drove out to Navajo point, the furthest point east aside from Desert View/Watchtower. Navajo is the highest point on the eastern side, at 7416 feet, so it's a pretty amazing view! After that we worked our way back westwards, hitting Lipan and Grandview points. It's crazy sometimes to think of taking pictures of something so big. So big you can drive miles and miles down to different locations and see entirely new views. It's also amazing to think about the distances involved... Things that look close are actually miles and miles away! The canyon averages more than 9 miles across, so the 1000 foot change between the north and south rims isn't even noticeable!

We made a stop also at Mather point, the most popular spot on the canyon, and also the busiest, since it's right next to the main entrance to the park. I tried to find the spot that I had been to when I visited in 2005, but it was not to be! Plenty of great spots otherwise. There was also a older lady that made me smile, since she was about the only one there without a camera. She just sat and soaked it in. Wish I had asked to take her picture.

We did another camera dump and then it was time to head off to the heliport. We made it there pretty early, though it got busy quick. We were delayed a little bit due to a lot of tourists in a group from Europe. They made their way through and then it was finally our turn! We had to take a smaller flight due to maintenance restrictions, but they credited us back the difference between the longer flight and the shorter one. We loaded the helicopter and off we went!

Seeing the canyon from the side is one thing. Seeing it from above is something else entirely! Even doing the shorter flight, there was plenty to see. I'm not sure if it was the best time to see it since the sun was setting, so really only one side could be seen well, but it's still amazing! It was also great to have Dena take her first time flying, since she's never even been on a plane before. High point of the day!

We had some dinner after going to see the IMAX film they have on the canyon. I had read about the place in a Grand Canyon guide, but it wasn't as good as described. The food was ok, but the waitress was pretty awful, or at least not very interested in us. Oh well!

What a day it was! Tomorrow we get to see the western side of the south rim, and then it's off to Las Vegas!

What do you get when you throw in together a sunrise at the Grand Canyon, much phototaking, and a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon? Yea, that's right - you get my day that I just had. Let me try to actually type out into words here what just went on during my day... I apologize ahead of time if my descriptions are lacking and or jumbled up in a not so coherent way.

First things first: the alarm clock sounded at 4:53am. I am NOT a morning person. Never have been, even as a little girl I refused to wake up to the morning with anything but complaints and sleepy eyes. But this morning I was up and out of the hotel room by 6am freezing my butt off and aiming my camera at the Grand Canyon. And to be honest, I am glad I woke up at such a horrid hour. The sunrise was at the Canyon was more than the word breathtaking could ever describe. To watch as the sun slunk it's way overhead past the line of clouds, shining it's light on the canyon below and revealing it's depths and beauty is certainly the most humbling and the most inspiring vision I have ever seen. And it simply gets better.

Throughout the day Keith and I wandered around the canyon. Each new location we ended up going was yet again a breathtaking sight to behold. If a person ever felt prideful of his or her significance in the world then I suggest that person to find their way to the Grand Canyon, find a point and simply soak in the depth of the place. If a person had any doubts whatsoever of Gods work, they seriously need to find themselves here at the Canyon. It amazes me to think on how our ancestors before us must have felt when the first saw this place. There was no vertigo upon seeing the depths, but instead disbelief. The "perfection" of it all reminded me of a painted backdrop in a movie.

After many photos taken between us we hit up a bookstore at the canyon and then head back to the room to relax before the BIG EVENT. The big event was this: a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.

With relaxing behind us we're on our way to do the helicopter ride. It was seriously busy there. At first I was anxious for I have never flown before (plane or otherwise). But once I saw the helicopter itself all anxiety left me. While waiting my name was called and they said our helicopter ride was to be shortened because of scheduled maintenance on the helicopter. They gave me a partial refund for the minutes taken away from us and thus we began to wait some more.

The ride itself was a short thirty minutes. We only had five people plus the pilot. The sixth person opted out for some reason or another. Let me tell you - there is nothing else like flying over the Grand Canyon and seeing the things you cannot see otherwise. There was some stomach dropping moments cause of how windy the area was but besides that it was AWESOME! We swooped over tree tops and from the South rim to the North rim and back. Looking directly DOWN the canyon from above is very different from looking simply from the edge of the rim. This ride has made me enjoy helicopters and I cannot wait for the day where I have yet another opportunity to do something like this. I would take the opportunity in a heartbeat!

But carrying on... after the helicopter ride Keith and I went to see a IMAX movie of the Grand Canyon where the helicopter company we had used helped make the movie. The movie was about the history of the Canyons as well as video of parts of the canyon many people cannot see. Not without some serious hiking skills anyway. The rapids, the waterfalls... yea. Just awesome.

After the movie we went to a steakhouse that I thought was too expensive, but looked good anyway. (I think we are spoiled with Outback steakhouse stuffs.) I had shish-ka-bobs which ended up being very yummy. The food was pretty good but the service was poor. We had no refills of our cokes and the waitress took her precious time to even give us our check. Whatever. Bad service at a restaurant was not about to put a damper on this awesome day.

Overall, today was wonderful. I think I shall forever remember this day. Out of all the roadtrip days thus far, this has been the best and most exciting. I am blessed too, to have such a wonderful man beside me to share this experience with. I am very very lucky woman. I want to come back here. I want another helicopter ride. I want to stay longer than two days. I say: Go to Grand Canyon! Do it! Do it now! Ahem. Yep.

And that's that. That's all she wrote folks. At least for now...