Day 7 - Friday, July 31 - North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Even though Kanab seemed like a sleepy town, we decided to explore. The downtown streets were lined with markers commemorating old western movie stars who filmed movies in Kanab. At the edge of town we walked into a corny movie museum that had several old western sets deteroiating out in the sun. Very fun! Kanab also happens to be the site of the Stampin Up manufacturing plant, so we decided to drop by. They have a beautiful plant set against a backdrop of the Vermillion Cliffs. When we walked into the reception area, we were greeted by Josh, the Human Resources Director for the plant. He was soooo nice. He gave us a private tour of the plant including the entire rubber stamp making process from baking the rubber into their molds, to the cutting and packing process. Very cool tour and a very nice guy.

Next, we were off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were surprised at how lush the North Rim area is. When we visited the South Rim over twenty years ago, it was a hot, dusty desert. Here on the North Rim, it was pleasantly cool, covered in Pine forest and green meadows. Our first stop was the Grand Canyon Lodge. We could imagine tourists from the 1930's enjoing the view from this beautiful old building. The view across the canyon from here is magnificent. The canyon walls are striped in colors from soil deposits from millions of years ago. From here it is about 10 miles across to the other side.

After lunch, we drove the winding road to Imperial Point. In the distance we could see where the Colorado river begins cutting the canyon. Far to the east are the Navajo Indian reservation and the Painted Desert.

We continued down the winding road to Point Royal. Here we could see the Colorado river far below. By now, the setting sun was casting long shadows across the canyon.

This was the first day we had a problem finding a hotel. We didn't plan on spending all day in the canyon, so it was dark when we finally got to the park exit at Jacob's Lake. The lodge was full, so had to drive an hour toward our next destination to find a hotel room at Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River at 10:00 PM.