Quick trip to the Grand Canyon

 I had a lot of fun visiting the Grand Canyon, although it was a short “long weekend” with most of Friday and Monday taken up by travel.  Day 1 featured a run at 3 a.m. then a long travel day and a 7 p.m. (my time) run along the canyon rim scouting out where I’d run on Saturday.  After that it was off to see Kevin Fedarko, author of “The Emerald Mile” and “A Walk in the Park”.  I’d read both of his books this year and enjoyed his talk/slide show and book signing.  Saturday was a lot of fun.  I started the day with a 10 mile run at 6:30 am.  I ran out from Yavapai Lodge to the Grand Canyon village then got on the Rim Trail.  I visited Maricopa Point and Powell Point on my way to Hopi Point Fire Tower.  I made a quick stop to climb the tower and check out the view before running back into the village via Hermit Road which runs parallel to the Rim Trail but at that hour had no traffic (only buses are allowed on that section).  I finished the run following the Rim Trail past the village to Granduer Point and back to the Lodge.  On the way out I only saw two other people (runners) but by 9 a.m. the trail was bustling.  After a bite to eat it was time to check out a bunch of view points.  A quick 25 mile drive and Desert View was in sight.  The view was impressive and the side trip to check out the benchmark was especially fun.  After that it was mostly quite busy view points (Navajo, Lipan, Moran) before a detour off the beaten path to the Grandview Fire Tower.  This was a fantastic tower, 80’ high with great views (although it was also quite windy all weekend and a bit nerve wracking on the top steps).  After that it was a couple of more view points (Grandview and Mather) before heading out onto the Arizona National Trail (paved bike path) for an afternoon run.  Closed out the day with a visit to the rim at sunset to watch stupid people tempt fate climbing over railings and walking out on exposed rock to get that perfect picture.  On Sunday I was back on the Arizona National Trail for a 8 mile run that had me huffing and puffing.  The 7,000+ feet of altitude really hit, especially at the start of every run and on any slight uphill.  After a long day of travel back to Phoenix I hit the Greenway exploring options for my Monday morning run then enjoyed some authentic Mexican food before winding down for the night.  I was up early on Monday for a pleasant 10 mile run on the Greenway.  Conditions were ideal with temps in the 50s and low 60s and no wind.  Closed out this excellent weekend with this rare run over 8 miles and happy to be breathing some thicker air!