Road Trip to The Grand Canyon++ (Part 3)

December 29, 2017. We were out for our final stage of the tour. South Rim was three and a half hour away from Kingman. Just an hour before our destination there was a traffic jam out of nowhere. It was around 2:00pm and we were held up in the jam for about an hour. Time was running out and everyone was getting impatient. There was few hours of daylight left for us to see our key destination of the journey. Turns out we were idiots and did not do proper hoemworks. An entrance fee had to paid at the entrance and that was responsible for the traffic jam. Waiting line gets longer towards noon. But if we started out early that waiting line could have been avoided. Finally we paid our $30 fee for a car which provides a ticket valid for 7 days. Just when we were debating whether we should take the Desert View drive or the Hermits Drive as we had time left to do only one, the majestice view of the Grand Canyon appeared before us at the start of Hermits Drive. We stopped immedietly to take a peak. An awe inspiring grandure of the canyon was shouting at us … you morons saved only a day for me? So we obliged. It was not possible to take in all the beauty of the South Rim in a few hours. Everyone agreed, we need another day. We decided to take the Hermits Drive first. It was sunset when we reached the Hermits Rest.

Next day we came back to take the mandatory picture! We started out early to avoid the long line. There was still some traffic but it was better than the day before.

We took the Desert View Drive and tried to take in as much as we could. A striking display of color, depth and enormity. Any description of it is less compared to what it is. It was a calming experience to watch the sunset at Moran Point.

Eight days of hectic journey. We were lucky one many levels. We had four drivers to share the driving load. None of us got sick. Weather took our side. Didn’t get any speeding ticket. From knoxville to Death Valley for less than five hundred dollars each. You couldn’t have asked for a better deal.

A tip for the readers. Use the restrooms at Loves Gas Station. They are clean. Specially on exit 163 at Williams.

Lastly there were two day ride back to den. There is nothing much to talk about it. But as a bonus enjoy a hint of our activity at the canyon.