We awoke to brilliant sun, bright blue skies and a temperature of about 15 degrees! Absolutely gorgeous to go sightseeing. We reboarded our bus at the leisurely time of 10 AM and immediately headed 20 miles to the east end of the park that is not commonly visited by tourists. We wanted to see the  “Desert View Watchtower”, designed by Mary Colter as part of her design collection at the Grand Canyon. Indeed there is an 70 ft brick structure, built in 1932,  that was probably used as a watchtower long ago. It is also the highest point in the park -7500 feet of elevation. We were lucky, as often the road is closed after a snowfall but today it was snow covered but open. It took a few miles of travel before the canyon revealed itself to us in all it glory. Wow!  The presence of snow made it all that more dramatic. We lingered for pictures and to absorb the majestic views- all without the presence of crowds! We were the only bus in the parking area. Joe, our driver, said that during high season there might be as many as 50 buses there. Certainly this is reason enough to visit the canyon in the off season.

Over the next few hours we gradually worked our way back to the main tourist area on the south rim, stopping along the way at Grand View( it was!) and other viewpoints for more pictures. As you surely know it is virtually impossible to capture the immensity and grandeur of the canyon with a camera, even by trying to take a panoramic shot. You simply have to be there to take it all in.

We stopped for a quick late lunch  at one of the very few eateries open that day (personal pizza or elk chili) because we wanted to view a Grand Canyon sunset at the main tourist viewpoints at the Bright Angel and El Tavor Lodges. Marvelous! More pictures, along with visits of both historical lodges (and gift shops).

We returned to our respective hotels at the end of the day, marveling at what we saw and experienced. Mother Nature certainly made up for yesterday’s less than stellar weather. It was, indeed, a very Happy New Year and start to 2022!