Grand Canyon
Woke up two hours earlier than the day before, which was already before dawn (!). Then, dodging bighorn sheep, sailed through quiet streets to the nearest parking area to South Kaibab trail. The 15 minute walk to the trailhead went by quickly, and I just managed to beat a van full of Korean hikers down the trail. They caught me as I was setting up for the sunrise at Ooh Ahh point, while they headed further down the trail, presumably onward to the canyon floor.
Due to the haze and the angle of the sun this time of year, Ooh Ahh Point (0.9 miles) was a less than ideal location-- oops. It's probably better earlier in spring or later in the fall with the sun further north, as a quarter mile further down (north) the the vantage points for sunrise were much better. The day's turnaround point, Cedar Ridge (1.6 miles), also would have been a great place to photograph the sunrise, although it was getting busy by the time I had finished taking pictures and was ready to turn around. And as much as I would have loved to go further down South Kaibab, I had the crowd to consider. Fortunately both Mather Point and Yavapai had ample parking this early.
By the time I left Yavapai Point, parking in the village area was filling up, so it was time to east to Desert View. On the way, Grandview Point easily lived up to its name, and one stop over, Moran Point, had a bighorn sheep relaxing in the shade! Lipan Point and Navajo Point were also worth stops. Sadly Desert View Watchtower did not the effort it deserved due to time constraints.
After being awake for something like 12 hours, it was finally time to think about food. Historic Brewing Co. in Williams, AZ, is a decent branch of a local chain. Food and beer seem to be typical of Arizona, especially touristy areas: tasty enough for American food but really best described as passable. The beer in particular was mostly disapponting.
Of the beers, Oceanfront Property Mexican lager, Salt River lager, Undercover Cucumber blonde, State 48 Mango wheat, Factz DIPA, Kellerfront Poperty lager, plus Big Blue Van blueberry wheat and Spare Moment IPA... both the blueberry wheat and mango wheat had decent hints of fruit. The cucumber wasn't quite refreshing, it was more of an in-between that didn't quite work. The two IPA's were the only two sufficiently interesting beers to be worth ordering again.