Southwest Road trip - Grand Canyon west rim

 The west side of the Rim trail is only accessible by shuttle bus now.  It was a great service though with buses running very frequently.  It allowed us to hike between the different points and catch the next bus to go to another point or to the top at Hermit's Rest.  We never had to wait long for the next bus if we decided not to hike to the next point.  The hikes in between the different stops were scenic and gave us a bird's eye view of the canyon.  It's like looking down from the penthouse...

Panorama from the west rim

We were lucky to bump into an elk family.  Here are the three kids admiring the scenery.  We also saw the dad with the antlers but couldn't get a good photo of him as we were on the bus.

The Colorado River cuts deep into the canyon here

Love the many trees bent into bonsai like shapes by the wind

View from the top

A clear view of the east end of the canyon 

Top of the trail at Hermit's Rest

Some of us did short hikes down the canyon just to get a different perspective.  I did my hike in 2013 so stayed for the last golden hour and sunset on the rim instead.  For photos of the hike down the canyon on the Kaibab trail, please visit my 2013 posting here.

We finished the day at the historic El Tovar lodge.  We were lucky to get a table as the place was booked solid most days.

The lodge in the golden hour

Sunset on the west Rim trail

The last sunrise before we said goodbye to the Grand Canyon -  an awesome landscape with a special place in my heart.  I could still remember being moved to tears when I saw it for the first time decades ago.  I am grateful for this unscheduled visit - who knows if or when we will meet again...