Grand Canyon--Riding the Shuttle Buses

First of all, happy birthday to me!  Yes, I turned 58 today.  I am very happy to be celebrating my birthday at the Grand Canyon instead of in the hospital like last year!   The photo above was my first view of the big ditch this morning from Yaki Point.  Magnificent! 

This morning we did our usual routine when we get to a new national park, we rode the shuttle buses so that we could see all the stops and plan where we want to spend our remaining time. 

Part way through the shuttle rides, we stopped for lunch at the El Tovar Hotel.  El Tovar Hotel, the premier lodging facility at the Grand Canyon, opened its doors in 1905 and was most recently renovated in 2005.  It is situated right at the edge of the canyon, which makes it a popular place. The El Tovar cost $250,000 to construct and was considered by many to be the most elegant hotel west of the Mississippi.

El Tovar Hotel

As we finished lunch, a Native American song and dance program was just starting at Hopi House, which is located across from El Tovar Hotel. 

Hopi House

Hopi House was completed on January 1, 1905, just weeks before the completion of El Tovar.  Designed by Mary Colter, Hopi House started an association with the Fred Harvey Company, that spanned more than 40 years.  It is a multi-story structure of stone and adobe masonry typical of Pueblo buildings.  The ceilings on the inside are thatched with successive layers of saplings and timbers.

The shuttle buses at Grand Canyon have three loops.  Blue Loop makes stops at Trailer Village, where we boarded the bus, and at many other stops in the village, including the Visitor's Center, market place, railway station, observation points, etc.  From the Visitor's Center, we transferred to the Green Loop which goes east on Desert View Drive to Pipe Creek Vista, South Kaibab Trailhead, and Yaki Point. 

                          Pipe Creek Vista

We visited the Visitor's Center before we transferred back to a Blue Loop village bus and went west as far as we could, where we transferred to a Red Loop bus, which goes west along the Rim Trail.  We didn't get off until the very end, at Hermit's Rest, which was about 7 miles.  Today we just got oriented, but during the next couple of days we are going to stop at all of the places along this route, because all had fantastic views of the canyon.

Visitor's Center

Hermit's Rest

This is my favorite photo from today and was taken at Hermit's Rest.  It was about 2:45 pm and the sun was out and shining on the Canyon.  We'll explore this place more another day!

The birthday girl at Pipe Creek Vista