It was suggested to us, while in New Mexico, to get to the Grand Canyon before sunrise and to have whatever you like to drink in the morning, tea or coffee, in a thermos or mug and ready to go. Then you can hike out onto the North Rim and find a place to sit. There you can enjoy the sun coming up. We decided that the advice given to us sounded pretty good and after no discussion, we decided that is exactly what we would do.
The drive from New Mexico to Arizona was wonderful and not at all what I had in mind. The Southwest was much different in terms of heat than I had imagined. After a good haul, a couple of pit-stops, a trip to a local grocery store later, and a stop at the Grand Canyon Tourist Center we checked into our hotel room.
The next morning we got up early, before sunrise and had our breakfast and walked to the main lobby to get some free coffee. Then we headed up to the North Rim through the park. We got there plenty of early and well before the majority of the sight-seers. We scrambled out of the car, grabbed our bags and coffee and hiked a short distance to the canyons rim. There was hardly anyone there and we had no issues at all finding a nice, quiet place to site and take in the view.
Then the sun started to rise. Just some light at first came peaking out from behind the cliffs. Then more and more as the sun made its way up past the rock structures and finally above the rim of the canyon. That is about the time that I took this photo. We then hiked along the rim to the right and left taking it all in.