We started July 18 with a final short hike at Zion National Park. The added height gave us a different perspective on this beautiful, massive place.

We then ascended nearly 4000 feet on our journey to the Grand Canyon. One memento of that trip was presented to us by a passing truck – see photo of Chester’s windshield! But there’s nothing a little duct tape can’t fix (at least temporarily) so we continued on to the Grand Canyon.

Our first stop was a hike to the tip of Bright Angel Point on the North Rim – we took some photos but, as any of you who have ever tried know, it’s really hard to get photos of this immense place! Susannah really wanted to hike down into the canyon to relive a previous visit after college, so we headed to the North Kaibob Trail next. We thought our time was limited given our dinner reservation so we hiked/jogged as fast as the trail and oncoming mules would let us. Turns out we needn’t have rushed because AZ doesn’t adhere to daylight savings time (who knew?! maybe they should post signs…) so we had an extra hour. But it was probably just as well we ended when we did because the skies opened and lightning started to flash just as we got back to Chester.

We had an unforgettable dinner in the majestic stone lodge with panoramic views only slightly blunted by the storm clouds. Our final stop of the day was Point Imperial, the highest point on the canyon rim at ~8800 feet. Because of the time change, the skies got dark earlier; we were the only people at the viewing point and got to watch night descend upon the canyon.

Day 20: Zion National Park UT to Jacob Lake AZ, via the Grand Canyon (North Rim) – 180 miles.