The Grand Canyon is so ... GRAND

Before we get to that, though . . . one last point about Page:

Size matters. 

We all know Hoover Dam, but the second largest dam in the USA is Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, just south of Lake Powell (which the dam created in the 1960s). At 710 feet tall, Glen Canyon Dam is only 16 feet shorter than Hoover Dam and 275 miles upstream. 

There's a visitor center with wrap around windows for a great view of the dam, and they have a tour in the summer months. And yes, there is even a dam gift shop (you have to write that whenever possible), and since it's a National Park, we got to stamp our National Parks Passport. SCORE!

And speaking of National Parks Passport stamps...

Let's segue to yesterday when we went to THE GRAND CANYON.

Because of those anticipated high winds (which turned out to be correct - holy cow), our tour was shifted to Saturday, and we got up way too early to drive the 2 1/2 hours from Page to Flagstaff by the 8:15 departure time. No traffic and beautiful early morning vistas, so we were glad that we moved it up a day.

We ended up being really glad we took a tour. If you're heading to the Grand Canyon, here are some tips we learned from our guide (Grand Canyon Adventures, if you're interested):

1. Enter through the East Entrance rather than the typical South Entrance. Much less crowded, and you get to the same beautiful viewing spots, just in a different order. She said that the South Entrance often has a wait of 30-45 minutes just to get in the gate. We waited for 5 minutes. 
2. Going later in the day (say, 3PM) isn't any better at the South Gate because so many folks want to be there for sunset.
3. Most visitors go from the South Gate to the main Visitors Center, look out from that area on the canyon, and leave. So we COMPLETELY SKIPPED that whole area. Parking there is always a nightmare anyway, she said, and there's plenty to see and lots of ways to learn stuff about the canyon besides at the visitors center. Interesting, right? We were pretty sure that if we'd gone on our own, it would have been South Gate --> Visitors Center --> Viewing Area and then a whole bunch of frustration about crowds and parking and how much time it had taken, and then we'd probably question if we wanted to battle the crowds at other viewing areas.  There are dozens of scenic overlooks, and our guide selected five prime spots. 

Want to see some pics??

 The beauty is immense, and we were simply stunned for a moment at first to take it all in. 

When I first saw it, I may or may not have had a moment. It was breathtaking.

Just like the landscape we've been traveling through and marveling over for the last week and a half, the Grand Canyon is beautiful in different ways at each new viewing point. 

There were still crowds, but at times you could find a quiet spot on your own to sit and contemplate the wonder of it all.

We liked the comfort of walls and fencing, or at least 5 feet between us and the edge of the canyon. Some folks were perched way out on the rocks for photos. We were very glad we hadn't gone on a day with high winds.

We've headed south now to Sedona, so give us a couple of days to have some more adventures!