Man Plunges to Death at Grand Canyon Near Thunderbird Lodge and El Tovar Hotel

The Thunderbird Lodge and the El Tovar Hotel near the Grand Canyon in Arizona are usually wonderful places to stay, but they handled a pretty morbid scene early Monday morning as a motorist plunged 600 feet to his death after driving his car over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

According to an AP report, the body and car were found below the South Rim and there is currently an investigation underway by the National Parks Service.

Obviously our condolences go out to the family and friends of the as-yet-unnamed gentleman who passed in this accident. However -- and I, in all honesty, mean absolutely zero disrespect here -- it might at least be worth pointing out that, provided he wasn't drunk and/or passed out at the time of his crossing over the edge of the South Rim, that is one hell of a way to leave this world.

National Park Week: Amazing Photos

In honor of National Park Week (April 18-26), the folks at Professional Travel Guide have put together a photo tour of America's most beautiful national parks.

The photos included above and below are from Havasu Falls in Grand Canyon National Park and Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park, respectively. Check out the full photo tour of amazing parks at PTG.

Spectacular Grand Canyon Photos

The Los Angeles Times was fantastic enough to assemble a vertical gallery of shots from the Grand Canyon during sunrise and sunset last week; I meant to link them up earlier but never got a chance (more on that in a bit). 

As you can see above, the photos are pretty freaking spectacular. Swing over to the Times' website and check the full gallery out. Or, alternately, start planning your trip to the Grand Canyon right now so you can take your own pictures and not live vicariously through someone who sent pictures to a newspaper.