Woke up early Saturday morning to get some hiking in before it got too hot. Before 8am we were heading down Bright Angel Trail, dodging piles of mule poop and geckos and flying bugs. By 9:15am Miss M and I were done; she had enough of the bugs and while I kept wanting to walk down, I was concerned about how strenuous it would be to hike back up. Along the trail we met hikers on their way back up the canyon after spending the night at the bottom, and a couple introduced us to eating fresh currants. Paul and Big D returned to the rim 90 minutes later having made it down to the layer where the rocks turn red.

After a brief ice cream and water break, we hopped on the bus to explore other viewpoints. Powell Point which gave a view of Bright Angel Trail, The Abyss, Mohave Point, and then we walked two miles from Monument Creek Vista to Pima Point before ending at the most western point on the shuttle bus route, Hermit Trailhead. We loved the walk from Monument Creek Vista to Pima Point — no people, no buses, just quiet.

By 3:30pm we were back in the room to relax, but shortly afterwards Paul and I took off in the car for Desert View. Thirty minutes later and we reached the Desert View watchtower with gorgeous views across the canyon. The national park look out points outside of the tourist-accessible shuttle bus stops were really lovely, especially as the sun began to set turning the canyon into a beautiful pink.

Dinner tonight was at the Yavapai Lodge. All week we’ve had mediocre meals (except for our last day in Vegas and the diner in Kingston.) Miss M remarked earlier in the week that this summer she wasn’t going to eat well, between all the crappy meals on this trip and sleep away camp dining. She’s longing for meals of past summers in Italy, France and Spain.

At night, Paul and Big D caught the last night of the Grand Canyon’s star party, one of the activities held in celebration of the canyons 100 year anniversary as a national park. There were astronomers giving talks and telescopes set up to enjoy the night sky. They could see flickers of light in the canyon from campers.

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