Travels in a Tin Can

we been well. Hiking into the canyon even a little way would have enhanced
the views, and our memories of the trip, to a great degree. Looking into the
Canyon we saw a surprising number of brave souls hiking despite the
weather, which threatened snow several times during the day and actually
delivered a few flakes at one point. Looking like ants, walkers were visible on
various levels of the switchback trails, some were even marching across the
canyon floor - presumably having spent the night camped out there. We did
several short walks during the day, but only from various car parks to the
edge of the Canyon. One time when we did descend part way down to a
viewing platform we soon learned that we were not fit enough for a serious
hike here, colds or not. We were able to enjoy the spectacular views though,
and although at times it felt a bit 'samey' the shock of how the canyon opens
out in front of you when you push through the narrow screen of trees never
left us. It's like a giant yawn in the earth's crust. Perhaps the strangest thing
about this arresting sight was how the ground round the edge of the 'hole' was
snow covered, but the Canyon itself was mostly barren and desert-like. A
strange juxtaposition.
We also took in a few man-made features during the day. First,
Hermit's Rest - where you can see the remains of a prospector’s mine, visit a
typical 'tourist-trash' shop, and experience some of the scariest loos in the
US...not as small a category as one might think. Next we stopped in the
Grand Canyon resort town, which is called Grand Canyon Village – a name
obviously the result of as multi-million pound marketing exercise. This is
where many tourists stay and the nearest train station is based. It felt like a
Swiss ski resort, with wooden buildings and snow flurries. Here we had a