b. clemons photography: We made it to the Graaaand Canyon!

     Even though we've done the trip across the United States before, we've never made it to the Grand Canyon. Normally, we take the northern route, through Colorado and over to California. This time, we took the southern route to avoid some winter weather (ironically, that didn't work at all...) and knock out a few states we hadn't yet been to.
     The Grand Canyon was about an hour and a half out of the way- due north of i40 on the Historic Route 66. It's a short drive for an amazing sight. The vegetation quickly changed again- with large Ponderosa Pines like we are used to seeing in California.
     Once you reach the Canyon, there's a short hike from the Visitor's Center (<.5mi) that is a great first view of the Canyon.

Be prepared for LOTS of people. (And I do mean LOTS.) Getting a clear view of the canyon without tons of people in your photo is tough. If you venture to other views of the Canyon that aren't at the Visitor's center, the number of people goes down significantly.

Once you go beyond the visitor's center, you can take a drive on Desert View Rd., that has lots of vista points and turn offs for amazing views of the canyon. (All photos below taken on Desert View Rd.)

You couldn't count the number of selfie sticks! HA! We got a huge kick out of this. I would venture to say there are more "selfies" taken in National Parks than anywhere!

We weren't at the Canyon at an ideal time for photos. At noon, the light is very flat, which doesn't allow you to see much depth in the canyon. Sunrise and sunset is where you get your amazing red colors, with beautiful shadows cast on the canyon walls. I did the best I could with the light we had!