On our way from Lake Powell to our next destination (Bryce Canyon) we made a fleeting visit to The Grand Canyon (north rim). The north rim offers quite a different experience to the more-often-visited south rim. It sits atop the Kaibab Plateau about 1,000ft higher than the south rim, resulting in cooler temperatures, higher rainfall and a lush forest environment, very different to the desert-like landscape on the south rim. Unfortunately, the weather was wet the day we arrived, so our first view point, near the Grand Canyon Lodge was shrouded with low cloud and no canyon in sight!
In the hope of catching a few glimpses of the canyon we decided to hike out to Bright Angel Point about 3/4 mile (1.2km) from the lodge. The Grand Canyon is 275 miles long and is essentially made up of a series of canyons and river tributaries of the Colorado River. During our walk the sun did come out and we were able to see across Roaring Springs Canyon (above), although the view of the main canyon was still shrouded in cloud.
On the advice of a local ranger, we then took the winding scenic drive to Point Imperial at the north eastern end of the park. Point Imperial, the highest point on the North Rim at 8,803 feet (2683m), overlooks the Painted Desert and the eastern end of Grand Canyon.
Here, between the drifting cloud banks we were able to see the impressive size and colors of the canyon.
If you look closely you can see the moisture drops clinging to the fresh spring growth on the pine trees that lined the trail to Point Imperial.
Our next stop was Walhalla Overlook. At this point it started to rain again and was quite cold. As you can see from our expressions we were wondering if we weren't a little mad for wanting to see the views this badly!
A closer look at the canyon from Walhalla Overlook. Because of the height of the canyon and its steep walls, there are few places where you can actually see the Colorado River from the canyon rim. This is one of those few places. A bend of the Colorado River (and even some white water rapids) can be seen in the middle of this picture. (The river in the foreground is just a tributary).
The view looking east from Walhalla Point. From here it is about 8 miles (as the crow flies) across the canyon to the south rim. It is 215 miles by road! 
Our next stop was Angels Window Overlook at Cape Royal. As you can see, the clouds were closing in again, but it was neat to see the sun lighting up the south rim. In the center right of the picture a ledge of rock juts out from the main ridgeline and forms a natural bridge. The hole is known as "Angels Window". It is so hard to get a sense of the size of the canyon in a photo, but if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you might just be able to make out that there are people standing out on this ledge.
Our final stop was at Cape Royal. This shot was taken from the ledge over Angels Window. I like the mood in this picture as the overhanging clouds make dark silhouettes of the trees while the sun still shines on the other side of the canyon. Soon after this pic it started to rain very hard and we had to run the 1/2 mile back down the trail to the cars. As we got into our cars it started to hail! Although we didn't get to see the canyon in all its glory, it was a very interesting visit.
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