[You may view a map of Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim in PDF format.]

We took it easy this morning and J fixed a big breakfast of omelets (bell peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese) and potatoes. I made the whole-wheat toast and poured the OJ. It was great to relax over breakfast surrounded by the wonderful scenery out our windows. We left in the Jeep around 10:10.

We went to the East Rim Viewpoint parking lot then walked out to the rim and then along the rim for a while. The rim here in the Kaibab National Forest is quite different than inside Grand Canyon National Park. The steep slopes/cliffs were mostly covered with evergreens instead of being mostly bare red rock like in the park. J turned around to head back before I did, and about the time I was going to turn around, I flushed a Blue Grouse.

We returned to the RV around 10:50 and I walked around the area some more.

I returned to the RV around 11:10 and cleaned the solar-electric panels. There was some dust on them, but they were in surprisingly good shape considering the dust we kicked up yesterday on our way in. I did some computer work.

I had lunch around 12:40 then finished the text for my personal newsletter. Then I worked up my Photography Newsletter and prepped it for the web. J took a nap around 4:00 and I started to prepare dinner: Grilled Squash, long grain and wild rice, and Citrus Salmon. I used our new Galleyware 12-pc. Non-Stick Cookware Set for the first time, and the removable handles worked OK and the small and large sauce pans worked just fine.

I had dinner at 5:00 by myself because J wasn't hungry. The salmon and rice were delicious, but the grilled squash wasn't as good as when J prepares it. I did the dishes then left by myself in the Jeep around 5:45.

I reached the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim Entrance Station around 6:00 and purchased a new Interagency Annual Pass.

I reached Point Imperial around 6:30, and sunset was supposed to be around 6:55. On my last visit to the North Rim, I discovered that shooting after sunset gave me the most interesting images of the canyon because the diffuse light didn't create any nasty, harsh shadows, so I arrived just in time. I scouted around a bit, and ended up at the official overlook to shoot. Two other guys were there patiently, and quietly, watching the sunset. I set up and photographed Mt. Hayden (the white spire in the middle of the image to the far left) with the nice clouds in the correct location. I used my new Lee 3-stop graduated neutral density (ND) filter with a hard transition for the first time, and it was perfect for this image. After the sun set, I moved to another location and photographed the view to the north (near left). Because the sky was no longer so much brighter than the canyon, I switched to using my 2-stop grad ND with a soft transition (I don't have a 2-stop hard yet), and that worked OK. I left around 7:20.

I returned to the RV around 8:00. I downloaded the images I took then downselected them in Capture One (C1). Then I processed two images for the blog and worked up a blog entry.