A Colorado State of Mind: Day 4- Grand Canyon and Sunset Crater National Monument

There was a distinct shift in weather as we headed southwest towards Grand Canyon’s south rim. It didn’t get cold right away, but the wind and clouds spoke of what was to come. Sneaking in the back way, we made our way into Grand Canyon NP at the less popular East Entrance. By the time we reached the first viewpoint, already late in the day, the cold had infiltrated. Bundling up in hats and winter coats it was hard to believe less than 24 hours ago we were laying out in our bathing suits by the pool. Such is the reality of spring.

We two nights at the Masawik Lodge (the only lodge with availability back in January when we booked), located a quick ¼ mile walk from the rim. Our room was dated, but clean, quiet, and serene on the 2^nd floor, looking out into the ponderosa pines. The lodge also contained a massive cafeteria which I quickly discounted, mentioning “oh, maybe we’ll eat there once…” We ended up eating there not once, not twice, but FIVE times during our stay. The cold brought with it an insatiable hunger that demanded retro comfort foods not often indulged in, such as tuna melts, onion rings, pancakes, and meatloaf. In fact, the next day we spent most of our time alternating between hot meals at the cafeteria, naps in our room, TV watching, and brief trips out to the rim hoping to catch a peak of the sun. As the cold wind howled, kicking up dust and dirt, we gave up on any plans to hike below the rim. Around 4 pm the snow began and closed in one the canyon. We watched from the historic Kolb Gallery, perched precariously on the rim. The warmth of the gallery matched with the Native flute music that they piped out helped diminish any disappointments from the weather, as we bought books and souvenirs from the Grand Canyon, already planning in our minds our next trip back.

We got up early Thursday, searching for a sunrise that would not be. We left Grand Canyon with a still present biting wind, and headed for hopefully better weather back in the desert. Leaving Flagstaff we made a quick stop to stretch our legs at Sunset Crater National Monument, containing a volcano that erupted a mere thousand years ago. We jumped on I-40 and drove east to Holbrook, our stop for the evening on the historic Route 66.