Grand Canyon




Amanda and I begin our descent into Bright Angel Canyon from the Grand Canyon North Rim.




We didn't actually make it into the Grand Canyon proper, but with this kind of scenery all around, it's hard to be disappointed.




A place known as the keyhole where the trail hugs the side of a vertical cliff.




A yellow collared lizard - lucky thing that you don't have to carry around a tail twice the length of your body.




Agave plant sending up a spectacular flowering stalk (well visited by bumble bees). 




Our tent site at Cottonwood Campground.




The couple we shared our campsite with - they were constantly doing push-ups to demonstrate their fitness.




The gorgeous cascade of Ribbon Falls, water sliding over a moss-covered dome of sediment.




Behind the falls, where water splashed down onto a mossy pedestal and trickled off in all directions.




The epic of the water snake - it climbed up vertical mossy surfaces to finally reach the top, but later fell all the way to the bottom of the falls.




Amanda finds another way to get behind the falls - this time exploring the hollow interior of the sediment dome.





A brief visitor to our campsite - this Grand Canyon Rattlesnake was close to three feet long.




On the way back up, we climbed about 4200 ft vertically and finished in time for lunch.