Both Dennis and Michael have visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon several times in recent years. Dennis had not visited the South Rim since he was a boy and Michael had never been there. We favored the North Rim because it was less developed and less crowded. We quickly discovered that the South Rim provided much better lighting on the canyon for photography.

We were very impressed by the Desert View Watchtower a stone tower designed by Mary Coulter in 1932. The tower fits beautifully into the rugged landscape. We were not prepared for the interior walls covered in Native American images. We had planned to stay in the National Park for three nights, but only stayed for one. The weather forecast changed. Overnight lows were predicted to be in the single digits and daytime highs in the 30s. The campground we were staying in did not have electricity so we were not able to run our heater. So we departed early with plans to return another time. Although our time at the South Rim was short, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Desert View Watchtower

Views from the Desert View Watchtower at the eastern end of the national park

A raven

Breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel in Grand Canyon Village

Sunrise from Grand Canyon Village

Views along the road to Hermit's Rest on the western end of the national  park

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay

Yearling Mule Deer

An elk

Trailhead for the Bright Angel Trail that leads to the North Rim with a bit of exertion

The temperatures have settled down in the Southwest. It was finally time to visit our neighboring state of Arizona. On the way out of New Mexico we drove through the Gila Wilderness. We stopped at Catwalk Recreation area in the Gila National Forest. Set in a rugged canyon a series of walkways clinging to the rock walls were built to provide access for the gold and silver miners. The walkway now allows visitors to hike into this majestic canyon. We spent our first night in Arizona at Lyman Lake State Park.

Catwalk Recreation Area

The Gila Wilderness

Lyman Lake State Park - St. Johns, AZ

The next day we arrived at the Grand Canyon. We have decided to share those photos in a separate post. Leaving the Grand Canyon we drove to Phoenix to camp at Lost Dutchman State Park in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains and to visit Dennis' niece Meredith and her family. While in Phoenix we visited the Heard Museum of American Indian Art.

Lost Dutchman State Park - Apache Junction, AZ

Heard Museum of American Indian Art - Phoenix, AZ

iPad drawing of Yosemite National Park by David Hockney exhibited at the Heard Museum

Phoenix sunset from the Melowski's back yard