10/25 Bike RIde on East Rim of Grand Canyon

 Today, I rode my bike to the market area just behind the Trailer Village campground.  What many people do not realize is that the Grand Canyon Village area is a real village with both seasonal and permanent residents, nearly all employed by the national park Xanterra, the company that runs the hotels and campground.  Seasonal employees tend to live in dormitories, but there are also families with children who live there full time.  

So, there is a market, a post office, and a real bank.  There is even a school and a public library.  Hidden in the woods are apartment buildings and even a few single-family homes for park administrators.  In fact, Trailer Village used to be half permanent mobile homes for staff, although it is now only about 25% permanent mobile homes, and they are all clumped together at the far end, separated from the tourists. 

Anyway, I went to the market for a few things like milk and bread, took it home, and then went off on my bike ride.  Here is the market.  The post office and bank are at the far end.  Good place to pick up a picnic lunch or regular groceries, by the way. 

I was disappointed that the main visitor's center was closed.  Usually this area would be packed with tourists.

There is also a gift shop, book store, and bike rental place in the visitor center area, and they were open, but I pushed my bike the few hundred feet to Mather Point to take some photos.  Restrooms were open, by the way, but water fill stations were shut off.

Most people who visit the park, spend most of their time in the Village area to the west of this visitor center, but the views on this east end are just as fantastic.

This looks like a pleasant place near the bottom of the canyon.

And part of a hiking and mule trail.  I used my telephoto lens for these last two photos.

This is Mather Point--lots of people on it.

Even though the visitor center was closed, there were a lot of posters that gave you information about the park.

This is the bike trail that goes along the east area of the South Rim.  You are only about 10 feet away from the edge in some places.  There are walkers on the trail, but it is wide enough to avoid them.

Had a couple of people offer to take my photo, so this is one of the results. The top part of me had several layers on, but I wore only cutoffs and sandals.  Probably at least should have worn socks with my sandals.

So, next time you go to Grand Canyon, either take your bikes with you or rent bikes at the main visitor center!  Best way to see the park.