The Gift of a Snowstorm

It all started with an offer we couldn't refuse. A local airline advertised a deep discount in the price of tickets to Las Vegas to celebrate the Superbowl. Our dream to travel together to visit the Grand Canyon several years earlier had been thwarted by unexpected issues in life at the time. This discount would make it possible for us to finally afford the trip.

It wasn't the Superbowl that we were interested in. We had heard that Vegas was crazy during this event and we weren't into crazy! But the price of the tickets would get us close to the Grand Canyon. We would fly to Vegas, check out the action there for a couple of days and then rent a car and drive to the canyon to escape the madness of the Superbowl. It seemed like a perfect plan.

As we neared the Grand Canyon an unexpected situation arose. It started to snow. Now, as Canadians, we were quite accustomed to snow, so it didn't bother us much. However, we were a bit shocked. This was Arizona. Wasn't Arizona the destination our neighbours chose in their desire to escape the cold of winter. So why was it snowing?

When we reached the Village at the Grand Canyon, it was already dark. We checked in at the lodge we had booked for next couple of days and headed straight to bed. Driving through a snowstorm may not be much a challenge for us, but it does make one tired.

The next morning we awoke to see our new home away from home. we were pleased to find very little snow had accumulated overnight. We would be fine.

In fact, as we looked out the window as we ate breakfast, we not only knew that we would be find, but that the snow would add a nice contrast to the photos we took of the canyon.

After breakfast we headed to the car, eager to see as much as possible as we could of this place we had heard so much about. We decided we would drive as far as we could to the west and then make all the stops on the way back to the village to enjoy the vistas. In no time at all, it seemed we arrived at Hermit's Rest, the furthest west you could go at the time, along the edge of the canyon.

Once we had explored that area, we got back in the car, driving east back to the village and taking the time to stop at all of the points of interest that were marked.

But then it began to snow again.

And in no time, it became difficult to see down into the canyon.

We decided to give up and head back to the village for lunch and an afternoon nap. When we got to the restaurant, a bus of tourists was just unloading, eager to get their glimpse of the canyon. Sadly, this is all there was to see, and yes this is a real photo. We were so glad that we hadn't made the choice they had.

We spent the rest of the day, after our nap, enjoying various aspects of the village, hoping that we would be able to see more of the canyon on the next day. It snowed all night and we woke up to a completely different world.

Of course, one has to understand that we were in Arizona, which doesn't get as cold as it does in Canada. As we ate breakfast sun came out and the clouds began to dissipate.

Giving us a real show, as the shadows of the remaining clouds added their on colour to the picture.

While the snow often added a sharp contrast to the colours of the canyon.

In time we could see blue sky again. It appeared that the storm was over.

We got back to our car and headed east to see the other side of the canyon. Driving through the village made us feel like we were back home in the mountains of Alberta, not in Arizona.

Again we chose to drive as far east as possible without stopping, planning to make the stops on the way back to the village. By the time we reached Desert View, we were back in blizzard conditions again. We chose to wait it out in the watchtower.

Once the storm was over it was time to head back to the village, stopping at various points to capture the views.

As the sun set to the west, the colours got even more vibrant.

We returned to our lodge for supper and a good nights sleep, totally satisfied with the time we spent at the canyon. The next morning we waited as the pack train crossed the road in front of us, a neat good-bye to this whole adventure.