Today’s agenda originally called for a 5-7 mile hike along the South Rim – we thought we’d take the shuttle bus to some indeterminate point east of us and walk back to the hotel. Ideally, we would have taken the shuttle a few miles west to Hermits Rest, then return via 7 miles of the Rim Trail with views to the western reaches of the canyon we’d yet to see, but the shuttles don’t run to Hermits Rest in the winter. Our sore bodies, after 30+ miles and 14,000 total feet of elevation change into and out of the canyon, coupled with ambient temps in the 30s and a brisk breeze that would last throughout the day, served to make today a car tour of the South Rim (although we still ended up walking about 4 miles all told). We started our tour by driving about 45 minutes east of Grand Canyon Village to Desert View, where the architect and designer Mary Colter had erected a four-story observation structure and cultural center called the Watchtower back in 1932. The tower was pretty cool, and we followed its narrow staircases up to its enclosed observation deck on the top floor, but the real treats were the views into the eastern canyon that were best appreciated outside – despite the cloudy weather, the colors scattered across the canyon rocks and cliffs were magnificent. We stayed here for over an hour, perusing the gift shops and wandering around before resuming our trek – we figured we’d just drive back west, stopping at whatever viewpoints happened to catch our attention along the way. The first of such overlooks was Lipan Point, just a mile or so west of Desert View – the vistas were not much different from those of the Watchtower, but the cliffs below are much more sheer. Jane predictably gave Chris a heart attack by balancing in a scale pose on the short wall above the cliff, and another couple watched our humorous and repetitive efforts to take a good selfie before offering to get the shot for us, just to stop the insanity no doubt. We stopped at Moran Point a few miles west, and then again at Grandview Point – here, a decent trail drops into the canyon, joining the Tonto Trail below and offering access to the areas east of our route to Phantom Ranch. Further west, we stopped briefly at Pipe Creek Vista before a more lengthy stay at the main Grand Canyon Visitor Center. The displays within were interesting, particularly the movie footage of and an actual boat preserved from an early scientific expedition through the canyon, but again, the real show was up on the rim. Mather Point is one of the most popular spots on the park, and for good reason – its vistas are wide open and encompass 180 degrees of incomparable scenery across the most familiar central sections of the canyon (that the canyon actually extends about another 100 miles in either direction from Mather Point is difficult to grasp). This was the longest walk from the car, and the day had grown colder and the skies more threatening – we had still talked about walking perhaps 2 miles back to the hotel from here, but we decided it would be hard to stay comfortable in the weather and instead made our way several miles west of the Village out to Hermits Rest. Like at Grandview Point, a trail network may be accessed from here as well – if Jane had continued her misguided foray down the Tonto Trail the previous day, she would have eventually ended up here below Hermits Rest. Again, the terrain features were unfamiliar to us, so it was nice to get the different perspectives over the canyon and its various landmarks in this area. It was just plain cold by this time in the mid-afternoon, so we retreated back to the Kachina, stopping twice more at Mohave Point and at a Bright Angel Trail overlook just west of the Village. Jane stayed in the car at this last stop, Chris hopping out without his jacket thinking he’d just snap a quick couple of photos – however, he spied some concrete steps leading down to an exposed landing maybe 50 vertical feet below, so he followed another couple down the steps. It was very cool, as the whole of the Bright Angel Trail above Indian Garden was in view – Chris could pick out the various waypoints from yesterday’s ascent, made all the more impressive in his memory now that he could see the journey in its full perspective. But it was stupid cold out here in the wind, and he beat a pretty hasty and painful retreat up the steps back to the warm car. We hung out at the hotel for a while before having a Valentine’s Day dinner, again at the Bright Angel Lodge – although not much today in the way of hiking, it was great to get more exposure to other areas of the canyon, broadening our appreciation and experience of this tremendous natural wonder.