Sunrise Grand Canyon - Sedona AZ - Williams AZ

It's 4:30 am, Rain had been falling all through the night, but had stopped within the last 15 minutes. We are attempting to see a Sunrise in the Grand Canyon before our departure later in the morning. We are the only car moving in the Hotel lot as we pull out and one of about 3 we see on the highway heading toward the park. The grit from the road sticks to the tires as we drive down the park road, It seems strange to me since the road is wet. We pass the

Ranger Station at the entrance, no one is on duty, we roll into the park and see only one set of taillights way up in the distance, the lights turn left, we turn to the right, down the dark, lonely road and head to Grandview point. It's about a 12 mile drive, there are no streetlights, we do not see another car on this stretch. We pull into Grandview and see a small camper in the lot, no sign of life, a dim light shining through the window. There is a small tree down from the rain across the walkway as we head toward the area where the paved trail ends. We go past the wall to the small path near the ledge, be careful the rocks are wet. We walk down the gravel path, the only sound is the crunching beneath our feet, the only movement, a small rabbit jumping up from somewhere below, toward the 6' flat rock hanging near the edge and we wait. No sound, only the wind blowing up from the canyon below, not gusts, it is a steady wind, the sound is soothing, and also a bit eerie. The wind had for the most part cleared the sky's, and in the predawn light we can see the canyon, it is like we

are the only people on earth, absolute silence, except the wind. We smile at one another, we both are feeling a connection to nature we have never encountered before. Then, as the pre dawn light gets brighter the birds begin to sing, a lonely song at first almost lost, hanging on the wind. Then another and then another, this canyon is starting to wake, we are humbled to be able to welcome the day in such majestic surroundings. After about 20 minutes a few more people begin to crunch down the path to find their spot to watch the Sunrise. It is strange, no one talks, there are only whispers, as if speaking will cancel the event. It's now 5:11 and the sun is coming up, lighting the canyon walls behind us with rich colors we had not seen yesterday at the same spot, the canyon seems to explode into view. It was worth the 20 minute drive, it was worth starting the day so early. We stay about an hour, soaking in the beautiful sights before us, then it's time to leave, to bid farewell to the Canyon, it was a great

experience. On the way out we notice the still smoldering undergrowth, from a prescribed burn, the rain had not distinguished it, the whisks of smoke mixing with the fog in the forest. As we round the corner a large Elk is grazing by the roadway, not fazed by the car or the sunrise, he ignores us and goes about his business, we head down the road.

After we eat breakfast and check out we head south, a little over an hour back toward Route 66. We have decided to go a little further South and East to make the drive through Sedona AZ since we are so close, we have heard it is worth seeing. We were not prepared however for what we encountered. The narrow winding road descending into the valley, the bumper to bumper traffic on a Saturday, the cars parked one after another on the narrow road, the people trying to walk on the road, here and there softball size rocks that fell from above were on the road or near the road. It was crazy,

but the Red Rock formations lining the road were stunning, we spent a lot of time in traffic getting there, but it was well worth the trip. We finally reach the town, the amount of people on the streets was unbelievable. It looked like a great little upscale town, but parking was hard to find and we wanted to move on. We had gotten what we came for with the beautiful scenery, so we did not waste time getting out of town and heading to Williams AZ.
Williams is a small town on Route 66, much like a lot of others we had encountered in the last week. One big difference though, Williams had their act together, the stores were still open, this late on a Saturday evening, most of the restaurants have live entertainment, the shops were bright with neon and the streets were full of tourists, walking and riding in horse drawn carriages. We sat and listened to a great Duo, JC and Laney, they played everything from Pink Floyd to Beatles, to Dolly Parton, Kenny Rodgers, to Rolling Stones, we ordered Pizza and a salad and enjoyed the evening.