Farewell 2014 – Say Hello to 2015!

What is it about growing older that just makes the years fly by?  I feel like just a few weeks ago, I wrote my 2013 Year in Review post, and now it is time (actually a bit overdue) for the 2014 post!  There’s no doubt I had good year, but of course, it wasn’t without its hardships.  In no particular order…

1. Biz, my Quarter Horse gelding, had to have another tooth pulled this spring.  Fortunately, he had no complications.  He also celebrated his 27th birthday!
2. Jon and I took an amazing roadtrip to the Southwest.  We visited six states, got to hike in some of the world’s most beautiful places, and learned about our country’s history.  Plus, we drank some good beer, checked out the stars, and topped it off with a family wedding.
3. I finished my sixth half marathon, with several of my close friends.  It was a great weekend spent with good food, great wine, and fabulous company.  I love my friends!  It was my first half marathon with my husband too – I still consider it together even though he finished 90 minutes before I did.
4. My uncle died in August, after a several year battle with colon cancer.  I was fortunate to be able to visit him before he died.
5. Jon and I took a trip to Michigan in October to visit my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins.  We also got the chance to visit the northern part of mainland Michigan and sample some great beer and wine, and hike at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Posts coming!
6. Jon and I, with a lot of help from Jon’s dad, painted our huge deck.  It was an incredible amount of work, and many gallons of paint!  It also makes me wish that the previous owner had stained the deck originally, instead of painting it.  I’m glad it is done (for now)!
7. After driving by many times on our way to and from Portland, Oregon, Jon and I finally visited Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.  It was so cool!
8. It was a quiet year on the kitty front – everybody is healthy and happy.  Although Oliver is getting older, he is still well, Oscar continues to become more tame, and Coraline is a cheerful little pudge who loves tormenting her brothers.
9. I have another new niece or nephew on the way!  He or she – it is going to be a surprise – will be joining the family in February 2015!
10. I took the plunge and accepted a new job.  It is a promotion for me; I’ll be an HR Director!  I said goodbye to my old job and will be starting the new one next week.

I know I have said it before, but I do lead a blessed life.  I am married to a wonderful man, have a successful career, and fill my off time with travel.  I have family and friends who I love and treasure, and who love me in return.  I hope all of you have had a good year too, filled with more joy than sadness.  I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings!

SW National Parks Trip: The End

In my last post, I described our drive back to California from Williams, AZ.  Once we arrived, the focus shifted from Jon and I being alone in the National Parks with seas of strangers, to being surrounded by loved ones.  The masses were converging on the Marriott Marina del Rey to celebrate Jon’s cousin’s wedding.  Other than the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, the last two days of our trip were unscheduled.  We had some time to relax, and enjoy the company of family.  And relax we did.

Our hotel was located within walking distance (about a mile) from the famed Venice Beach, so we walked down to check it out.  Over the two days we were there, we walked to the beach three times.  The pier seemed bland, a hulking concrete structure that seemed to have no purpose.  The beach was beautiful, with lovely sand and gently lapping waves.  California really does have amazing beaches.  I collected some tiny seashells, and we walked along talking and soaking up the sunshine.

Venice Beach

 

Jon and Me at Venice Beach

We also were treated to a Brown Pelican visiting.  He was just hanging out on the beach, unfazed by the crowds.  I was able to get some nice pictures of him, and when I zoomed in, I could get just him without all the people who were nearby.

A Brown Pelican on the Beach

We also checked out the famed Venice Beach Boardwalk; I was completely and totally unimpressed.  In fact, I was more than unimpressed – I was really put off by it.  It was just shop after shop of souvenirs, and block after block of young men hawking black market CDs.  Yuck!

The wedding was great – the reception was a blast!  It was fabulous to be a part of Jon’s cousin’s new start in life; his bride is wonderful.  I’m sure they will have many happy years together.  I got to do a little swing dancing to Brown Eyed Girl (one of my absolute favorite songs) with Jon’s uncle, who is a really good dancer.  I just hope the video never makes it to YouTube!  Because while he is a fabulous dancer, I’m sure my dancing is cause for much laughter among the audience!

On Sunday afternoon, before heading to the airport, Jon and I made a visit to my uncle who lived in Los Angeles.  He was battling colon cancer, and the diagnosis was terminal.  It was a wonderful opportunity to spend a few quiet hours talking.  We talked about travel, family, love and loss, and he told me stories about growing up with my grandparents, father, uncle and aunts.  My uncle passed away in August, and although I did get to see him again only a few weeks before he left us, this visit is the one I treasure.

After our visit, Jon drove us back to the Long Beach Airport, to drop off the car and take our flight home.  We were more than relieved to hear the rental agent say “no damage” after the dirt road beating we had inflicted on that poor little car.  And I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they had to realign it after our trip.

The flight home was uneventful, and a great end to a trip that made memories to last a lifetime.

SW National Parks Trip: Hiking into the Grand Canyon

No day at the Grand Canyon would be complete without some hiking into the Canyon.  When Jon and I (mostly me!) were originally planning our Southwest tour, we were both really interested in hiking to the bottom of the Canyon.  Although it is possible to make the hike in one day, most people recommend hiking to the bottom, staying overnight at the Phantom Ranch, either staying in the hostel or camping, and then making the hike out of the Canyon the next morning.  Unfortunately, as we were only going to be at the Grand Canyon for one full day, we ultimately decided that we wouldn’t be able to do the full hike on this trip.

Earlier in the day, while we were exploring the Grand Canyon Village, we hiked a short way down the Bright Angel Trail.  The Bright Angel Trail head is right next to the Kolb Brothers Studio; it is the longer of the two routes to the Phantom Ranch, with a total length of 9.9 miles from the trail head to the Ranch.  It is also the more popular trail most for day hikers descending only a short way into the Canyon and also for hikers doing the entire route to the bottom.  It is not as steep, and it is situated right at the Grand Canyon Village.

On our hike of the Bright Angel Trail, we discovered that the trail is very popular.  There were dozens, if not over a hundred people hiking on the early portion of the trail, ranging from serious hikers with poles, lots of water and sun protection, to tourists in flip flops charging down the trail with no water and only a cell phone camera.   We even saw a dog, although the trail is clearly marked with a sign indicating dogs aren’t allowed.  But as I  have said before, people are stupid.  There are beautiful views, and lots of places to stop along the trail for photos.  We only hiked about 1/3 mile down, because we hadn’t had lunch yet and hadn’t filled our water bottles.

The Bright Angel Trail is much more crowded

After we finished checking out the Desert View Watchtower, we parked along the highway and walked over to the trail head for the South Kaibab Trail.  This trail also descends all the way to the bottom of the Canyon and meets up at the Phantom Ranch.  It is significantly shorter than the Bright Angel Trail, reaching the Phantom Ranch in 7.4 miles.  However, it is also much steeper, with grades as steep as 22% in some places.  And unlike the Bright Angel Trail, the South Kaibab Trail does not provide access to water at any point along the trail, only at the trail head and the bottom of the Canyon.  Plus, the trail head is much more remote, which cuts down on the scores of tourists.

As we walked over to the South Kaibab Trail Head along the Rim Trail, we started seeing our first live elk.  They were literally standing on the trail about 10 feet away from us!  Which left us in a predicament, because the rangers say you are to back away from the elk, but we needed to go that direction!  And the elk didn’t seem to be the least concerned about our presence.  After a few minutes, they moved off the trail and we were able to scoot around them, but not before taking some photos.  And we definitely weren’t at the recommended 75 feet of distance!

Elk just off the trail near the South Kaibab Trail

The South Kaibab Trail begins with several switchbacks that take you quickly below the rim; I think there are 9.  It reminded me of Walter’s Wiggles at Zion National Park, on the Angels Landing Trail.  And you are greeted with amazing views!  We hiked 0.9 miles down into the Canyon, to Ooh Aah Point, and I was struck by the view the entire time.  At Ooh Aah Point, we stopped and rested for a little while, before beginning the hike back up to the Canyon Rim.

The South Kaibab Trail, with the first set of switchbacks dead ahead

The South Kaibab Trail – if you can see the tiny person near the middle of the photo, that’s Ooh Aah Point

So, what did I think?  Well, it was strenuous, with sections of the trail that were fairly steep.  I’m certainly not a super athlete though, so people that are reasonably fit should manage just fine.  I’m pretty convinced that although I probably could do the entire Rim to River to Rim hike in one day, I’m not sure I would want to.  I think that would make for a very tired and sore Camille the next day.

Me at Ooh Aah Point, with the Grand Canyon in the background

The South Kaibab hike did test my fear of heights in some sections, because the trail is cut right into the edge of the cliff, and there is no railing or berm to keep you from going over the edge if you were to lose your footing.  Seems like another reason not to try the entire hike in one day, because fatigue could certainly cause some missteps.  There were some areas where the scree beneath our feet was pretty loose, and made our feet slip a little bit before finding our footing again.

But all that said, I enjoyed the hike, and in fact it was one of my favorite hikes during the trip.  I think we only passed about a half dozen hikers on our entire two mile hike!  It was very peaceful.

Back at the top of the Canyon again, we walked the half mile back to the car, seeing that the elk had multiplied since we last went through.  As it was getting close to sunset, it made sense that they were out looking for their evening meal.  We still tried to give them their space, but it was difficult as they were literally all around us!  Fortunately, they showed no aggression towards us at all, and we were able to get back to the car without a mishap.

This guy wasn’t bothered by the elk – too close for my comfort!

Our very full day at the Grand Canyon was coming to a close.  We got into the car, and after navigating the car through dozens of elk walking in and near the road, we headed back to Williams.  Our time in the car was spent recapping the day and all the amazing experiences that we had.  Jon had originally not been that excited about the Grand Canyon, because of the high numbers of visitors, but it ended up being one of his favorite places.  Amazing geology, historic buildings, stunning views, California Condors, crazy squirrels, stupid humans, elk, and the hike of a lifetime.  We packed a lot into one day, and I can’t wait until we have the opportunity to return!

Back on the Rim Trail, as the sun starts to sink low on the horizon

What was your favorite part of the Grand Canyon?  What do you still want to see and do there?

 

SW National Parks Trip: The Grand Canyon’s Desert View

We had already seen a ton in our first couple of hours at the Grand Canyon.  We saw the view from Mather Point, hiked a couple of miles of the Rim Trail, looked around the Grand Canyon Village, and hiked about a quarter of a mile down into the Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail.  But now, it was time to see something different.  I wanted to check out the Desert View Watchtower.

From the Grand Canyon Village, we took the shuttle bus back to the main Visitor’s Center where our car was parked, and we drove 26 miles to the east in the park, to where the Desert View Watchtower is located.  Along the drive, you are met with views of the Pinyon Pine forest, along with signs announcing that this is elk country.  And there is even a sign announcing that there are cougars crossing the road!  Sadly, we didn’t see any cougars, and the only elk we saw was a dead one by the side of the road.  Please people!  Slow down – what’s your hurry!?

In short order, we got to the Desert View Watchtower, went to the Visitor’s Center for this section of the park to get my stamp and made our way over to the tower.  The Watchtower was another of the Grand Canyon’s historic structures that was designed by Mary Colter and built in 1932.  Colter spent six months researching Puebloan ruins to try to emulate the style.  It is believed that the ruins at Hovenweep National Monument were a major influence of the final design.  Although the Watchtower is much taller, at 70 feet, than any Puebloan architecture, she created a structure that contains some similar stylistic elements.

The Desert View Watchtower – Built 1932

The Desert View Watchtower is four stories, with a gift shop on the first floor and a series of narrow stairways leading to successive floors.  There are windows of various sizes throughout the tower, giving visitors impressive views of the canyon.  There are also murals painted on the walls inside by Fred Kabotie, a Hopi artist who also served as the caretaker for the Desert View Watchtower for a period of time.  The furniture inside the tower is original to the structure, and has held up well over time, given the millions of tourists who have visited.

Some of the furniture and interior painting in the Watchtower

When viewing the Watchtower from the outside, you notice that Colter did not do any shaping of the stones used to build the tower.  She believed that marks from the mason’s tools would detract from the visual appeal of the structure, so stones were chosen and placed without any shaping.  It gives the tower a very natural look.  You can also tell that she created and filled in T-shaped doorways, to replicate the structures at Mesa Verde National Park and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

The detail of the historic Watchtower was intended to make it look more authentic. Notice the blocked over T-shaped doorway in the lower left.

There is a patio in front of the Watchtower that gives visitors panoramic views of the Canyon.  The Grand Canyon Village, Cape Royal on the North Rim, and a cinder cone to the east are all visible from the Desert View Watchtower’s patio.  We enjoyed just looking at the view for awhile.

A view of one of the Grand Canyon’s Cinder Cones from the Watchtower

But we couldn’t linger too long, because we were going hiking next!

 

 

SW National Parks Trip: The Rare and the Regular

No blog post on the Grand Canyon Village would be complete without a nod to the wildlife that also make their home here.

In the village, we saw one of the most rare Grand Canyon residents; the California Condor.  I have blogged about the California Condor before, after our visit last year to the World Center for Birds of Prey, in Boise, Idaho.  The center is one of only a few California Condor breeding facilities, where these magnificent birds are hatched and reared for release into the wild.  The Grand Canyon is one of the locations where the condors are released, and there are currently 73 California Condors known to be making their home in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

A California Condor standing on the ledge beneath Lookout Studio

But knowing that there are a small number of condors in the Grand Canyon is different than actually seeing one, and I didn’t dare to dream that I would be one of the lucky ones!  He (or she) was sunning himself on a ledge just below Lookout Studio.  Just hanging out, unaware of what the fuss was all about.  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see him.  Jon would say I’m being sappy, but it was a very special moment.

A California Condor resting on the ledge beneath Lookout Studio

Also, in the village, we saw one of the most prolific Canyon residents, and also probably the most diabetic.  No, I’m not talking about the people, I’m referring to the Abert’s Squirrel.

Immediately upon entering the Grand Canyon Village, you see signs warning you to not feed the wildlife.  In particular, the squirrels.  Why not?  Well, because feeding animals makes them dependent on humans and unlikely to survive on their own, which is a prerequisite for being wild…  Not to mention that human food isn’t good for digestive systems that haven’t adapted to it.  And squirrels carry fleas, which carry the plague – not something I want to mess around with, thank you very much.  Additionally, habituating squirrels to people means that you are now encouraging super-aggro squirrels, which leads to approximately 250 reported squirrel bites in the Grand Canyon each year.  And if all that weren’t enough, by the way, it is illegal under federal law.

I think he figures this might be the best place to score some food!

But despite all the reasons not to, we only had to wait about 0.2493 seconds before we saw people feeding the squirrels.  Right next to the sign that said not to.  People are stupid.

This is a tame version of what happens when you feed the squirrels

We stepped into one of the dining establishments, an ice cream shop that also sold sandwiches and brats, to get a quick lunch to enjoy while sitting out in the open air of the village.  I got a brat and some Cheetos; Jon got some Greek yogurt and fruit.  Within seconds of sitting down, a squirrel ran up and stole my bag of Cheetos!  Jon managed to grab them back, and in an instant, the squirrel grabbed one end of the foil bag that my brat came in!  I experienced a brief but terrifying Tug’O’War with this pipsqueak of a beast, before emerging victorious when the end of the bag tore and squirrel was left with just a chunk of foil paper.

Shaking… we moved to another section further away from the aggro squirrel.  We sat down and I repositioned my meal tightly in between me and Jon.  It wasn’t enough…  In another instant Cheeto the Squirrel had hold of my Cheetos bag once again – it wasn’t even open yet!  I had been defeated.  Cheeto the Squirrel tore into that bag and was munching to his heart’s content within a few seconds, complete with bright orange fake powdered cheese coating his paws.  I do feel fortunate that I wasn’t bitten, and didn’t have a plague infected flea jump on me in the melee.  The other tourists were highly entertained at my misfortune, so I adopted an “if you can beat ’em, join ’em” mentality and took a couple of photos of my victor enjoying his spoils.  I was pretty disappointed though, as I hardly ever eat Cheetos and was really looking forward to them.

I present to you, Cheeto the Squirrel.

This is what happens when other people feed the squirrels – you get crazy, aggro squirrel bandits!

 

I should point out that the squirrels had absolutely no interest in Jon’s healthy snacks; they have clearly developed a hankering for junk food.  And to the feds, if you are reading this…  I really, really tried to NOT feed the wildlife.  It was not my intent, but ultimately I felt that if I didn’t release the Cheetos, I would not be alive to tell the story…

And so dear readers, have you ever been a victim of National Park wildlife gone rogue?

SW National Parks Trip: More Grand Canyon Village!

In my last post, I showed you partway around the Grand Canyon Village.  We continued our journey to see more of the sights, so here’s a taste:

Lookout Studio – The Fred Harvey Company retained one of America’s first female architects, Mary Colter, to design a studio a short distance away from the Kolb Studio.  Colter subscribed to the ideas held by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, which held that designs should blend in with their natural surroundings, and not detract from the stunning natural beauty that exists.  Colter designed Lookout Studio using local wood and stone, and was very successful in creating a structure that is very unobstrusive.

Lookout Studio from afar – it blends in well with its surroundings. Can you see it on the left, just below the horizon line?

The studio was completed in 1914 and offered tourists a social space to enjoy a warm drink on a cold day, the opportunity to sit and converse or read a book, and the chance to view the canyon with telescopes and see what other tourists would experiencing with a mule ride into the canyon.  The studio also contained a gift shop that sold postcards, paintings and other souvenirs; the fact that it competed with the Kolb Studio just down the path was a sore point with the Kolb brothers for years.

A closer view of Lookout Studio – Built 1914

Hopi House – Another of the Fred Harvey Company’s businesses, Hopi House housed and employed several Hopi artisans to make and sell Native American crafts to the tourists visiting the Grand Canyon.  Mary Colter designed the building to blend with nature, and to also follow the style of the traditional Hopi dwellings.  It was completed in 1905, right before El Tovar Hotel was finished.  Hopi tribal workers built the building, which served both as a store and display area where tourists could watch craft items being made, but also as a residential structure, with several Hopi artisan families living in the upper floors of the building.

Hopi House – Built 1905 – Modified Hopi Pueblo Architectural Style

Hopi House was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and renovated in 1995, taking care to maintain the historic elements of the building.

Buckey O’Neill Cabin – Buckey O’Neill was a young man who arrived out west from Missouri in 1879.  He tried his hand at numerous enterprises, including running a newspaper, serving as a lawyer, district court recorder, tax assessor, probate judge and superintendent of schools.  He also spent some time living at the Grand Canyon and prospecting for copper, but soon realized that the venture would not be lucrative.  He did realize the potential of the canyon as a tourist draw, and worked tirelessly to improve access to the Canyon.  He was an integral part of getting the railroad there in 1901.  Sadly he didn’t live long enough to see the fruits of his labor – he died in 1898 while serving in the Spanish American War.

Buckey O’Neill Cabin – Built early 1890s – Log Cabin style

The cabin that he built in the early 1890s is still standing – in the 1930s it was integrated into the Bright Angel Lodge complex of a lodge and cabins, designed by none other than – Mary Colter!  Tourists can still stay in the Buckey O’Neill Cabin, which is the oldest of the historic structures in the Grand Canyon Village.

And as for Mary Colter?  She enjoyed a long and successful career in design and architecture, working for several years for the Fred Harvey Company and designing many of the other buildings in the Grand Canyon.  In addition to Lookout Studio, the Bright Angel Lodge and Hopi House, she also designed Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Hermit’s Rest, and the Desert View Watchtower (I’ll be posting about this soon) and was responsible for decorating (but not designing) the El Tovar Hotel.  And her work isn’t only visible at the Grand Canyon; she has buildings throughout the southwest, including Winslow, Arizona, Gallup, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California.

So what do you think?  Which of the Grand Canyon Village’s historic structures is your favorite?

 

SW National Parks Trip: Grand Canyon Village

In my last post, I told you about our hike along the Grand Canyon’s Rim Trail, which ended up in the Grand Canyon Village.  The Village is a village that sprung up at the northern terminus of the Grand Canyon Railroad, which goes from Williams, AZ, to the south rim.  It was completed by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1901.  Technically the village is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 2,004 people.  A CDP is a community where people live that resembles a city or town, but lacks an incorporated government.

Grand Canyon Village is also a National Historic Landmark District, so designated because of the historical significance of many of the buildings that are in the core village area.  To be designated as a National Historic Landmark District, it must have historical significance on a national level.  Here are a few of the historic buildings that we visited on our trip:

El Tovar Hotel – The El Tovar Hotel was a Harvey House hotel (remember a few posts back when I told you about Harvey girls at the Painted Desert?)  Yep, the Fred Harvey Company owned this place too; it opened in January 1905.  It was built in an architectural style that became known as National Park Service Rustic, similar to the Swiss Chalet style – it was made from local limestone and Oregon pine trees.  The hotel originally had 103 rooms and 21 bathrooms, which have now been remodeled into 78 guestrooms, all with a private bath.  The hotel also has a dining room that serves lunch and dinner, and a breakfast room.  The views from the rooms must be stunning, as it sits only 20 feet from the rim.

El Tovar Hotel – Built 1903-1903 – National Park Service Rustic style.

You can stay there, but you have to book well in advance.  And it isn’t cheap, with a standard queen room setting you back $228.  But you just might rub elbows with the rich and famous – Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Zane Grey, Bill Clinton and Sir Paul McCartney have all stayed there.  I was a bit put off by the decor though, the log walls are stained a very dark brown, black really, and adorned with all variety of animal heads.  YUCK.

Dead Heads Inside the El Tovar Hotel

Kolb Studio – If 20 feet from the edge of the canyon isn’t close enough for you, you can visit the Kolb Studio, which is built hanging over the edge at the head of the Bright Angel Trail.  The Kolb Brothers, Emery and Ellsworth, built a modest cabin to serve as a home and photographic studio.  In an agreement with the owner of a mining claim who owned the property, they set up a tollbooth and charged $1 per head for livestock traveling down into the canyon.  And they made a living photographing the tourists who were riding those mules.

Kolb Studio – Built 1904 – Perched above the Bright Angel Trail

Over the years they grew the business, pioneered new photography techniques and became known for their stunning landscapes of the canyon.  They even made a movie of their trip down the Colorado River in the winter of 1911-1912.  This movie holds the record for the longest continually running movie in history, because after its tour around the United States, Emery Kolb showed the movie at the studio every day from 1915 to 1972.

The National Park Service acquired Kolb Studio after Emery’s death in 1976; it now operates the five story, 23 room studio as a bookstore and gallery.

Verkamp’s Curios – John George Verkamp came out from Ohio in 1898, and went to work for the Babbitt brothers, owners of a cattle ranch and mercantile store, selling curios and Native America crafts to tourists visiting the canyon.  However, he found that at the time, there weren’t enough tourists to make a living, so he closed up his tent within a couple of weeks.  He realized however, that after the railroad to the south rim and the hotel were built, there would be plenty of tourists itching to part with some cash.  And he was right.  The building that exists today was built in 1906, and Verkamp sold not only high priced Native American crafts, but also postcards and trinkets for the common man.  The building is a modified Mission architectural style.

Verkamps Curio Shop – Built 1906 – Modified Mission Style

John Verkamp died in 1944, and the concession contract was almost not renewed; the Fred Harvey Company was eying the plot of land for a hotel and casino.  John’s wife and children did manage to get a renewal of the contract, although sadly, talk of demolishing the structure continued into the 1970s.  In 2006, the curio shop celebrated its 100th anniversary.  Although the family had hired managers to run the business, they still oversaw it through a Board, making it the oldest family owned concessionaire in the park.  In 2008, they finally decided to close the business, and the Park Service, thankfully no longer wanting to demolish the building, turned it into a museum and gift shop.

I’ll tell you about a few more historic structures in the Grand Canyon Village in my next post – I enjoyed seeing them and imagining what it would have been like to be a tourist there 100 years ago!

 

SW National Parks Trip: Starting at the Grand Canyon’s Rim Trail

Jon and I got up relatively early and got breakfast at our hotel before we headed up to the park. We made good time and got to the park in around an hour. The drive from Williams, AZ is beautiful, a long, straight road though desert views and the pine trees of the Kaibab National Forest. Our Annual National Parks Pass got us in for free; the admission fee is $25.  We have gotten so much value out of our annual pass, but really $25 for a carload is really a great price for everything you can see and do at the Grand Canyon.

We started out with a brief stop at the main visitor center. There were several long lines, and it seemed to be mostly geared towards people who were going to be doing guided tours; either the river rafting, the ranger led tours, etc. We weren’t really interested in that on this trip (but we would like to return and do some of the tours!), so we checked out a few of the exhibits on its history (there wasn’t much there), and headed on our way.

One day, we would like to hike down to the bottom of the canyon and stay at the hostel at Phantom Ranch; there wasn’t enough time on this trip and you have to book the hostel and meals way in advance, but one day…  It is almost a nine mile hike each way, with about a mile of elevation change, so the National Park Service recommends that you hike down one day and hike back up the next.  It is possible to do in one day, but a very strenuous hike, and it is recommended that you avoid hiking during the hottest part of the day.  Rangers do over 200 heat related rescues each year, and they do have the occasional heat related death, so it is nothing to take lightly.

We stopped next at the bookstore near the main visitor center so I could get my National Parks Passport stamp and check out the postcards. That’s when I learned that the Grand Canyon is a Parks Passport holder’s dream come true – the park has a total of seven cancellation stations (I think) throughout the park, each with a different picture stamp! You can collect them all! I was like a kid who has just been told there are seven different Happy Meal toys I can get in the series!

After the bookstore and the first stamp, our first order of business was to begin hiking the Rim Trail. True to its name, the Rim Trail is a flat, paved trail that takes you along the rim of the Canyon. We started right behind the visitor center at Mather Point and it was swarming with tourists. Too many people! There were people young and old, and lots of school groups with harried teachers and chaperones… But it was really interesting to hear all of the different languages being spoken by people from all over the world!

The crowd of visitors to the Grand Canyon, at Mather Point

And the view… Everybody says that pictures don’t do it justice. The Grand Canyon is phenomenal! You stand on the rim and look down into the canyon and are absolutely awestruck by the depth and width of it. It is beautiful!

One of my first views of the Grand Canyon, from Mather Point

Jon and I walked along to the west, and the other tourists started to melt away shortly after we got away from the visitor center. That is one thing about the National Parks; the majority of people will go to the viewpoint, or drive along the park road, and will never just spent some time walking or hiking further away from the crowds. On the Rim Trail, we were never alone, but the packs of people became a dozen other tourists or so. And just so you know, there are no bikes or motorized vehicles allowed on the Rim Trail, but you can walk your dog along the trail here.

We did a quick visit to the Yavapai Observation Station, which is a historic structure built in 1928 along the Rim Trail, and functions as a museum and interpretive center.  The exhibits provide information on the canyon’s geologic history, and there are expansive views of the canyon from the terrace.  Rangers also give interpretive talks from the Observation Station.  We didn’t spend much time here though, because Jon and I both wanted to get back outside and see more of the canyon!

The view of the Grand Canyon from the Rim Trail – photos do not do it justice.

Back on the Rim Trail, there is an interpretive series of signs and plaques as you hike along, called the Trail of Time, showing you a slice of the history of the Canyon. It condenses two billion years of history into a relatively short stretch of trail. There are polished stones placed along the trail showing what type of stone was present during the different periods of the canyon’s history. It is interesting to see all of the different types of stone that exist, creating the colorful layers of the canyon. All in all, we hiked about two miles along the Rim Trail, from the main Visitor’s Center to the Grand Canyon Village.

And that was just the beginning of our visit!

SW National Parks Trip: Grand Canyon History

I know that everybody knows what the Grand Canyon is. But have you ever thought about the history of the park and how it came to be?

Grand Canyon National Park consists of 1,217,262 acres in Arizona, that protects a gorge that the Colorado River runs through. It was designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979, and is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Estimates vary widely, but a recent study places canyon’s beginnings at about 17 million years ago. Another study concluded that the canyon could be as old as 70 million years. Older studies typically placed the age of the canyon at between 5 and 6 million years old.

What is known is that the oldest layer of the Grand Canyon’s stones is approximately 2 billion years old. The most recent stone is the Kaibab Limestone on the rim of the Canyon, which dates to about 230 million years old. When many of the layers were being deposited, the area was covered by warm shallow seas.

After millions of years of deposits, the Colorado River began cutting through the area and creating a deeper and wider canyon over the years. The Grand Canyon currently averages about a mile deep, and the maximum depth of the canyon varies from 7,000 feet at the South Rim to 8,100 feet on the North Rim. The width varies from its most narrow point of 600 yards at Marble Canyon to 18 miles at its widest point.

Native Americans began living in and near the Grand Canyon beginning about 500 CE. Cultures that are known to have lived there are the Cohonina, the Sinagua and the Puebloan people. The Puebloan people built granaries in the walls of the canyon, and thousands of artifacts have been found in and near the canyon.  When you consider that archaeologists have only studied about 5% of the total area that is encompassed by the park, that is pretty amazing how many artifacts have been found.

Spanish explorers arrived at the Grand Canyon in 1540, along with Hopi guides; they went into the canyon but didn’t go all the way to the canyon floor because they didn’t have enough water. There is speculation that the Hopi guides must not have wanted to led them to the canyon floor and the river, because they must have known routes to the bottom of the canyon. After that, it was another 200 years before the next Europeans saw the canyon in 1776.

In the 1850s, the first formal explorations by Americans began to occur. An 1857 exploration surveyed a wagon road, and another 1857 expedition attempted to determine whether it was feasible to navigate up the Colorado River. The name Grand Canyon was coined during John Wesley Powell’s 10 month expedition from Green River, Wyoming, through the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado River in Moab, Utah, and through the Grand Canyon. Powell first called it the Grand Canyon in 1871 – it had previously been known as Big Canyon.

The weather in the Grand Canyon varies quite a bit from the North Rim to the South Rim. The South Rim averages 16 inches of rain per year and 60 inches of snow. The North Rim, with its higher elevation, receives an average of 27 inches of rain, and 144 inches of snow each year.  Phantom Ranch, in the bottom of the canyon with an elevation of only 2,500 feet, receives only 8 inches of rain annually and snow is very rare.

It is interesting to think how different the climates are in areas that are so close to one another. Temperatures on the South Rim vary from a record high of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, to a record low of -20 degrees.

Despite its awesomeness, the Grand Canyon didn’t have an easy time making it to National Park status. The first bill to create Grand Canyon National Park was proposed by Benjamin Harrison in 1882, but it didn’t pass. He reintroduced the bill between 1883 and 1886 but it didn’t pass then either. Finally Harrison designated it a Grand Canyon National Forest Preserve in 1893.

A view of one of the Grand Canyon’s Cinder Cones from the Watchtower

Theodore Roosevelt continued the protection of the area by making it the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906 and changing it to Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. But even that didn’t pave the way for National Park status. Bills were introduced in the Senate in 1910 and 1911 and were defeated. It finally passed in 1919 and Grand Canyon National Park was signed into being on February 26, 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson. Even though it had a relatively long road to get to National Park status, once it made it, it really took off from there. In 2011, 4,298,178 people visited the Grand Canyon!

In upcoming posts, I’ll tell you all about what we saw and did on our trip to the Grand Canyon!

Note: I apologize for having only one photo – the internet is not cooperating tonight.  I hope to get some more posted soon!

SW National Parks Trip: On the Road…

After we left Petrified Forest National Park, we got back on the road to our next destination.  We were staying in Williams, Arizona that night but we stopped for dinner in Flagstaff along the way.  We didn’t get much of a glimpse of Flagstaff, but what we did see made us both want to visit again sometime in the future.

Our choice for dinner that evening was the Beaver Street Brewery (in keeping with Jon’s brewery cravings for the trip).  When we got out of the car, we were immediately frozen to the core by the frigid wind!  I was surprised by the huge drop in temperature from earlier in the day, only a few hours away.  We hurried into the restaurant, and were met with a lively atmosphere, but we were seated right away.

We started with an appetizer of Steamed Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce, served with slices of baguette.  It was a fantastic dish!  The mussels were juicy and the curry sauce was delicious, with just the right amount of spice.  It was a very pleasant surprise, because I’m not usually a big fan of curry spice.  Another thing that I liked was that the sauce was thick enough that you felt that you could really get a portion onto the pieces of bread that came along with dish.

Steamed Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce – YUM!

For dinner, I ordered the Enchanted Forest pizza.  It had brie, artichokes, olive pesto, red peppers and pine nuts.  It seemed like an odd combination of ingredients, but I decided to give it a try.  It was fantastic!  It was certainly one of the most creative pizzas I have ever had.  There were so many flavors coming together, but it really worked!  I let Jon have a little bit, but I have to admit, I pretty much stuffed myself on this pizza. I paired it with a raspberry ale, called the Bramble Berry Brew, which was delicious and light bodied.

My Enchanted Forest pizza – so creative!

Jon had the Green Goddess Salmon salad.  It was a big piece of grilled salmon on a bed of mixed greens, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and a chiffonade of fresh basil.  It was drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.  The salad was so huge that it was heaped on the plate, almost falling off the sides.  Jon really liked his meal too, so we were three for three on great dishes!  Jon had two beers; the Lumberyard IPA and the R&R Oatmeal Stout. He liked both, but liked the IPA better.  He said they were some of his favorite beers from the whole trip.

Jon’s Green Goddess Salmon Salad – it was huge!

If we lived in the area, I’m sure this would be a place we would come back to.

After dinner, we got back on the road for the last 30 minutes of driving to Williams, AZ. Williams is located about 50 minutes directly south of the Grand Canyon, with an easy straight drive up to the park. It also has several reasonably priced hotels. We could have stayed somewhere closer, but the prices go up and the availability goes down as you get closer to the park.  Our plan was to stay there for 2 nights, and spend the entire day in between at the Grand Canyon!

We watched carefully for elk, because we were driving at dusk, but we didn’t have any problems (we did see an elk right by the side of the road though!).  We got the car unloaded in record time because it was still so cold and windy, and checked into the Quality Inn.  Luckily, it didn’t take long to get settled into our cozy room and warmed up.

Of course, we made it an early night, because we wanted to get an early start on the Grand Canyon!  I couldn’t believe we were finally going to see it!

Have you been to Flagstaff, Arizona or the Beaver Street Brewery?  What did you think?