Colorado River from South Rim
Colorado River from South Rim

First Day at South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We got to the South Rim in late afternoon. The first place we stopped was the Desert View Watchtower. The tower was designed by American architect Mary Colter. The watchtower was completed in 1932 for the Fred Harvey Company the owner of the El Tovar built in 1905. It is operated as a gift shop by a concessionaire.

Watch Tower
Desert View watch Tower

We spent some time taking in the various views around the tower and investigating the inside.

Grand Canyon from Desert View
View from Desert View

Grand Canyon from Desert View
View from Desert View

After our time at the Watchtower, we head to the El Tovar, one of the Grand Hotels in the National Park system. El Tovar was built by Fred Harvey in 1905 before the park was created. When we got there, the elk had taken most of the parking places.

El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar

We checked into our room and headed out to enjoy the sunset.

Sunset Grand Canyon
Sunset

Sunset with Tree in foreground
Sunset

Sunset with moon
Good night moon