I slept like a baby at the Best Value Inn, or maybe like an emotionally drained victim of a mugging, either way I was well rested and was ready to go at 8:30. I returned to the MGM one last time for the Grand Buffet’s Breakfast event. I had been anticipating this meal since before I knew the MGM had a buffet, since before I had planned on visiting Vegas; I had been anticipating my turn at the Grand Buffet Breakfast edition since the dawn of the meal itself. Breakfast is my banquet of choice, and most often the only down side to the meal is having to chose from so many good options. At the buffet the choice was simple: Everything. Round two at the Grand Buffet confirmed that the MGM’s restaurant was one of the great Vegas highlights, and a sure fire selling point for a return visit to the city that never sleeps.
I was torn about my midday departure from Sin City; on the one hand I will miss the magic of the Bellagio fountain, the meet-and-greets at a Black Jack table, the edge-of-your-seat adrenaline that fills the MGM Sports Lounge, and the colourful atmosphere that makes up the Strip night after night, but at the same time I was feeling that itch to get back on the road and see what was around the next bend. Plus I really believe that a change was necessary; I just couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that yesterday’s dark hour had left with me. I kept playing it over and over again in my head, and felt that there was a shadow clouding my enthusiasm.Distraction number one: the Hoover Dam. Although I just drove over the dam, it was an up close and personal encounter. I’d love to talk about how amazing the engineering is behind the massive structure, but not even my Structural Engineering Enthusiast brother wants me to comment on that. I will say this though, the Dam is an amazing sight, especially since in the end all it is doing is blocking some water (which is not an easy task to glorify… well done Hover Dam, well done). As I crossed the dam and left Nevada behind, Arizona brought the beginning of a new leg of the trip to the forefront of my mind; it was time to explore the National Parks of the Southwest.
Highway 93 brought me to Williams where I turned north onto HWY 64 and started to reel in the Grand Canyon. As I moved across Arizona the small shrubs and weak little trees started to gather strength and size leading me into the Kaibab National Forest. It was nice to find the woods again after so many travel days of barren desert. The forest was however still a stretch of trees in the middle of a hot desert state; they were doing there best impression of the California Redwoods, but were struggling reach their potential.
I snagged one of the last sites at the Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon Village. It was 4:30pm, and by 5 o’clock my tent was set up and I was approaching the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for 
the first time. I couldn’t say anything. No words entered my mind as I let my eyes get lost in the depth of the canyon. It’s almost impossible to accept the size of the thing. It was beautiful and overwhelming and surreal, and I just stood there and starred over the end of the ridge for a solid five minutes (which is a long time to just stand in one spot and stare at rock, unless of course you’re zonked out on horse tranquilizers… or are a geologist). It was a great time to be arriving at the South Rim; the sun was starting to dip down out of the sky causing the Canyon to change every five to ten minutes. Over the course of the next two and a half hours the colour of the rock would shift from a light sandy hue to a dark red, while the shape of the valley seemed to transform as well with the growing shadows that crept across the canyon. I wandered around the rim trail near Mather point taking in the phenomenal views. Then at about quarter seven I caught the Kaibab Trail Shuttle and took in the final hour of the sunset at Yaki Point. I ate up some serious Megabytes on my Camera’s memory card, and after looking at the results I still can’t believe that this place exists. Like most of the ‘Amazing’ scenes I’ve witnessed on My Great American Adventure, the Grand Canyon has to been seen first hand. The first time you walk through the trees and reach the rim of the canyon… that is something that everyone should experience.
Day Thirteen: The Grand Canyon and I have been introduced, and I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
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