Got picked up at the hotel by our tour guide....there were 3 of us - a couple from Oregon & DC then another couple from Virginia were picked up in the Grand Canyon Village.
Our guide told us that there was a chance we'd have to cancel the tour due to the high winds. I think we all thought this sounded rather silly till we were actually on the road up to the Park. This goes through some desert-like country and the gusts of wind just hammer the vehicles. Once we were there, it didn't seem too bad however, we were pretty well surrounded by trees until we were actually standing at the rim of the Canyon. Again, our guide warned us that at the further viewpoints, this might be a factor in cutting the Tour short.
After being given a huge amount of information and taking multiple photos at 2 different outdoor spots plus the inside Observation Building, we proceeded back to the van to move on to the next. This brought us out of the shelter of the trees and suddenly the wind was a big factor! A gust blew my jacket off the strap of my backckpack where I'd tucked it and, as I lunged to grab it, another gust hit me in the back and down I went, doing a perfect faceplant. Fortunately, I had my camera around my neck which took the brunt plus the ground was soft and 'peaty'. The only damage I suffered was a small bruise on my hand which I'd obviously put out to stop myself plus some dust on the lens shade of my camera. Phew! Even my glasses, also around my neck, were saved by the camera.
Once dusted off, and back at the van, a ranger came to our guide & said that one of the highways coming up to the Park had been closed due to high winds and dust storms. As this was where we were going to be going, the guide reluctantly suggested that we might be better off to call off the tour at this point. As we all recognized his knowledge of the area, we sadly agreed. By the time we got back to the hotel, it turned out that the I-40 which was the route I needed to travel to Albuquerque had been closed due to the winds.
This meant that I had to book another night at the Williams hotel and revise my arrival date and reservation in Albuquerque. I was lucky enough to get the same room back plus changed my booking early enough that there wasn't any charge in Albuquerque. So, I had a chance to look at my photos from the Canyon plus have a nice leisurely dinner at the inhouse steakhouse then spend some time in the lounge chatting with a couple from Scotland. A nice unexpected evening all round. The big question was whether the winds would let up enough the next day so I could complete the first leg of my Epic Journey!
It is important to note that although we all thought the price of the tour was very inexpensive ($98 including lunch, soft drinks, Park fees plus the formidable knowledge of the guide) he insisted on charging us a minimal amount due to cutting the tour short. The name of the company is American Dream Tours Inc and I would highly recommend them to anyone who has the opportunity to be at the Grand Canyon. The guide we had (Kevin) is also an extremely talented photographer so knows the spots for some great shots.
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