A walk in the park on a sunny day

 

Or is it?

Both pics are from the same location at 10 am. The first is looking down the canyon toward Havasupai Gardens campground, a short distance away. The second is looking back at the south rim, 4 miles away and 3000' up. By noon the skies had clouded over, but I was already back from my hike.

The campground really is an oasis. The pics speak for themselves.  

Only real conversation today was with another volunteer ranger, a schoolteacher from Phoenix. She said that visitations were down this year, especially from Canada. I have no way to verify this.

On the descent, I passed three guys that were razzing each other in a good-natured way. One had a muddy shoulder, so clearly he had slipped in the mud. Another accidentally dropped his trekking pole while waving me ahead. After I passed them, one of them said: Crap, my pole is bent! One of his companions asked if he had considered using a walker.