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Published: June 11th 2014
It was a short journey for us from Williams to Tusayan which is nestled into the Kaibab Forest just outside the national park's entrance. The town of Tusayan is the gateway from the South into the
Grand Canyon but there are also entrances from the West and North. Tusayan is home to the Grand Canyon Airport, from which helicopter and airplane tours depart and we were hoping to book one of these later. The Visitor Centre is also situated here so we stopped on the way to our campsite and we were really glad that we did.
We chatted to one of the guides called Jerry who told us that the fire was still raging in Sedona and had still not been contained by all the fire crews that had been drafted in to help - we really hoped that they would get it under control soon. Jerry gave us some good advice about what to do whilst we were at the
Grand Canyon and suggested that we start our visit with a viewing of the Imax Movie - Grand Canyon, The Hidden Secrets, which dramatised the adventure and discovery of the National Park.
The film took just over 30 minutes and it was breathtaking with thundering sounds and stunning footage (filmed by National Geographic). The movie opened with the beginning of man’s fragile kinship with the twisting 277 mile long Canyon, then moved the audience through time with brief glimpses at various stages of human history with the area introducing the mysterious Anasazi (now called Ancient Pueblo peoples or Ancestral Pueblo peoples) who lived in the area - more on these people in later blogs.
The photography was simply great - you actual felt like you were flying through the Grand Canyon itself on the helicopter that took the footage - in fact at some point we both became quite giddy. When they were showing shots of the Colorado River, you felt like you were white water rafting through the Grand Canyon - quite daunting and I do not think we will be giving this a go……. The story itself was really captivating and gave us a good grounding of what to expect and a great introduction for our visit to the Grand Canyon
We picked up several
leaflets and an informative guide of the area and continued to our campsite which was through the park gates. We were soon booked into
Trailer Village which was so close to the Canyon we could just use the local shuttle buses to navigate us to the all the various viewpoints in the park and leave our home in the campsite.
We were soon settled in (not much to set up really as our home is the van itself) and encountered our first large mammal in the USA - which was an
Elk. We thought it was a
Mule Deer having never encountered either in the wild before. Apparently most people cannot tell the difference between them, so we are not alone. Elk and Mule Deer are two distinct species within the family Cervidae, which also includes the smaller White-tailed Deer. These three antlered ruminants can look similar from a distance but the Elk is the larger of the species and in fact larger than all other deer species, apart from the Moose that is. Mule Deer have large rotating, mule-like ears giving these stocky animal their name but they are notably much smaller than the
Elk, hopefully we would soon be able to tell them apart……… We watched several Elk saunter through the campsite, walking up and down the rows of large 5th wheelers and our very small van searching for any low tree leaves around each camping space. It was quite a shady campsite with lots of trees for the birds and of course the Elk as well……
The shuttle bus only took a few minutes from our campsite ‘bus stop’ and we soon arrived at one of the main viewpoint. So here we are at last at the
Grand Canyon National Park which was founded in 1919 and is one of the oldest national parks in the USA. It is home to the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon, a
mile deep gorge and up to 18 miles wide carved out by the Colorado River. The road we had travelled on from the South crossed a gently rising plateau with lots of conifer trees that gave no indication to us of what was about to unfold before ours eyes everywhere was so flat and then all at once the immense gorge opened up in front
of us… … The scale is so vast that even from the best vantage points only a fraction of the canyon's 277 miles can be seen. Words cannot describe how absolutely majestic the grand canyon is on your first sighting. In some ways it is almost too big to take it in, with its dramatic views into the deep inner gorge of the Colorado River and across to the rim on the other side - just breathtaking………..
The
Mather Point viewpoint was really close to the visitor centre but was quite crowded (oh these tourist just get everywhere!) so we got back on the bus and set off on another linking shuttle to reach more secluded view points. There were many hiking opportunities at the GC and it was quite easy to avoid the crowds by hiking the park's trails further away from the visitor centre. My ankles had started to improve at last so we did some hiking between the various view points and were able to hop back
on the shuttle when they became too painful. I was really pleased that I was able to walk at all without limping which was great. Whilst walking we saw a number of birds including an
Acorn Woodpecker - a first for us.
The next day we did some longer walks along the edge of the canyon and even managed to get below the ‘rim’ on one of only two fully maintained hiking routes into the Grand Canyon on the
Bright Angel Trail which takes hikers from rim to river.
The trailhead starts at Hermit's Rest, and follows the course of Garden Creek, reaching the Colorado after 9.5 miles and a descent of
over 4,500 feet. Although the trail goes to the canyon bottom, day hikers are warned of the dangers of trying to hike all the way to the river and back in a day but we thought we would just tackle it for a short while with no intention of doing the whole trek… …[/justify;
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It seemed very easy at first as we started the descent, although there were some sharp drop offs but we quickly realised that going back up was going to be tough and that is the only way to return to your starting point or anywhere in fact!! So we just walked to the first tunnel and didn’t feel tired at that point, but we were soon ‘tired’ on our return as each step was up hill and we were glad that we did not venture any further down - particularly with my recovering ankles.
On our way back to ground level
we met a couple of very young upward bound hikers who said that they had been as far as Indian Garden (4.5 miles) and they looked completely exhausted - there was no way we could have completed it as it was so long and arduous…..… We were really satisfied by just going a little way below the rim where we were able to get a better perspective on the magnitude of the canyon than from the various views at the very top. Back on the rim top we saw a chap who just loved this little squirrel and although it was rather sweet warning signs had told us not to feed or touch them as they carried many diseases.
Rather than hiking the trails many people do the same journey by mule but this requires reservations many months in advance and after my experience of a mule travelling up a steep canyon in Petra we did not even consider
this! We saw some of the mules whilst we were here and were surprised that they were muzzled but apparently this was to stop them wandering off and eating the vegetation rather than carry their passengers safely to the valley below!!!
On another shorter hike we stopped at
The Abyss which was on a dirt trail and this viewpoint provided an almost vertical view down into the canyon, looking into the Monument Creek drainage area. Many backpackers often camp here next to the creek or on a small beach along the Colorado River at Granite Rapids which we could just make out with our binoculars.
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18px; line-height: normal; font-family: Chalkboard; color: #323333]Back on the trail we met a chap with a tracking device who was listening for one of the rarest birds in the world, the
California Condor which is also the largest land bird in North America with a wingspan up to 9 1/2 feet.
Adults are primarily black except for triangle shaped patches of bright white underneath their wings. These patches are visible when condors are flying overhead and offer a key identification characteristic. Using thermal updrafts, condors can soar and glide at up to 50 miles per hour and travel 100 miles or more per day searching for food while expending little energy. The chap pointed out an old nest on a cliff edge - nest sites are often found in caves and rock crevices but actually Condors do not take the trouble of building a nest but just deposit an egg about five inches in length and weighing around ten ounces on
bare ground……… Condors typically lay a single egg every other year, the egg hatches after 56 days of incubation and both parents share responsibility for incubation the hatchling until it is 5 to 6 months old.
There are currently 73 condors flying free in northern Arizona and southern Utah, including several that were raised in wild nest caves within or near to the Grand Canyon. The rest come from a captive breeding program. Even the wild-raised birds are mostly now wearing numbered tags and transmitters so that records can be kept on how they are progressing.
We were lucky to spot a couple of Condors near the canyon floor, quite a long way off so could not see there numbered tags - these
magnificent birds soaring over the Grand Canyon was an awesome sight to see. We had last seen Condors in Peru a few years ago now and it was great to see them again - all be it at such a distance below us.
We were amazed at the
risks that many people took at the canyon - we watched as they wandered right to the edge of the gorge to try and get the ‘best photo ever’, one young girl was posing on a rock that looked as though it could come loose at any minute - we had been warned by many of the rangers here to keep back from the cliff edges - he told us that many young people lose their lives here every year just by wandering too near to the edge… Over 600 deaths have occurred since the 1870s, most of these as the result of overly zealous photographic endeavours or youngsters trying to get the perfect
shot, although some deaths were the result of airplane collisions within the canyon, and some visitors drowned in the Colorado River.
It's hard to look at the canyon and not be curious about the
amazing geology that formed it - rock that dates back 1.8 billion years lies at the bottom of the canyon - exactly how the river formed the canyon is still unclear, but geologists generally agree that most of the cutting occurred within the last five million years. In the new ‘Science On a Sphere Theatre’, we watched via a large 3D globe relief map a video featuring a variety of canyon experiences, which was very well presented and easy to see with seating in a circle all around the central revolving globe, maybe televisions will look like this soon - much prettier than a rectangle box..…
Back at
Trailer Camp we enjoyed
chatting to many people from all around the world - so many difference nationalities come to visit the Grand Canyon. On our last night as we were having supper Paul just said he had not seen any Elk for a while and seconds later two appeared and stayed around to watch him wash the dishes afterwards! I took a photo of him with the Elk posing behind him and it reminded me of a similar one I had taken in Australia only that time it was Kangaroos not Elk watching him - much the same really - we are so lucky to see so much in our twilight years.… …
We were hoping to be able to have a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon as everyone had said this was a good way to feel the ‘majesty’ of it all but the weather was not conducive with flying within our time frame. The winds were really strong and the next day the fire in Sedona covered the canyon with smoke so we decided not to take the flight as the cost was not cheap and with the haze the views would be obscured -
maybe next time though.
Before we left the Grand Canyon area we were advised by a ranger to avoid Flagstaff as thick smoke was still covering the town so we decided to drive out via the scenic route following the rim to the east stopping at various viewpoints along the way. We were particularly impressed with the view from the
Grand View point with an elevation of 7399 feet which had panoramic views from east to west, including several bends of the Colorado River to the east.
We chatted for ages to four friends from San Diego who were interested in our travels and they were also well travelled so it was great to exchange stories. They took our blog details so I hope they read this and get in touch.
We stopped at the
Desert View Watchtower which is one of the most prominent architectural features on the South Rim. The upper floors of the 70 foot tower constructed in 1932 provided a wide perspective of the canyon and it had the best full views of the bottom of the Canyon and the Colorado River. In
most places you could only get a very small glimpse of the river in the canyon below. A National Historic Landmark, the tower was constructed in 1932, designed by well known architect, Mary Colter who designed several buildings in the area including
Hermits Rest which was constructed in 1914 and designed to look like an old miners cabin where we had stopped for coffee on one of our hikes. The lodge was built of logs and stone and had an interesting old stone fireplace inside the small shop and museum where we sat an had our coffee. Later I was to see a photograph of the US president, Obama, his wife and daughters sitting in this very fireplace. If I had known I would have got Paul to pose but he would probably have refused………
A little further on we visited the
Tusayan Ruins which are the remains of a small ancestral Puebloan village, we walked along a self-guiding trail leading through the 800 year old ruins with several footings of the buildings uncovered by archeologist, there were large warnings to watch out for snakes so we did walk rather quickly. The nearby
Tusayan Museum featured original 2000–4000 year old split-twig figurines - many of these have been found in the area and they were often made in the shape of deer or bighorn sheep, sometimes with horns or antlers and were probably used for ritual purposes. We really like the small one room museum which showed not only ancient history but also represented handicrafts from today's local tribes, providing a glimpse into their rich cultures. As we were about to get back to the van to move on the weather changed dramatically and it started snowing and hailing so it really was time to say goodbye to the
Grand Canyon and move on…………
We were lucky as just a little while later the weather improved and we stopped to walk along a small gorge in which was advertised on the side of the road - we chatted to a Navajo Indian lady selling jewellery at a small shack. We bought a pretty blue stone necklace from her - she said that she had four brothers and four sons all who helped make the jewellery on sale - but she said she really needed a girl’s touch - I think
the ‘boys’ were doing OK. She said she would not have any more children so a girl was out of the question and she told her husband (who obviously still wanted a daughter) that he would have to carry it himself as she had ‘ done her bit’……………
WUPATKI MONUMENT We continued on our journey and noticed a sign off our intended route to the
Wupatki Monument - we detoured off the main road and a signpost informed us that there were three separate parks in the area all with their own visitor centres - the road was a 36 mile loop off the main highway but had interesting vistas on the way so as we were not in any hurry we took this route and we were so glad that we did.
We stopped at several small archaeological sites completely surrounded by wilderness before we arrive at the
Wupatki Monument which was a well-preserved pueblo ruin of prehistoric Native Americans. There are apparently nearly 2500 recorded sites in the area so it was a massive homestead at that time in history but now home to no-one but us visitors.
A self-guided trail started behind the visitor center which was also interesting to browse through giving details of the area and its ancient peoples as well as sad stories of more recent people who were forced to leave their homes. A short walk through lovely spring flowers led us to the main building which was huge and wonderfully restored, the buildings were mainly constructed on Sandstone.
People had gathered in this area during the 1100s, gradually building a 100-room pueblo with a community room and ballcourt. It is believed that by 1182, perhaps 85 - 100 people lived at Wupatki Pueblo, the largest building for at least fifty miles. Within a day's walk, a population of several thousand surrounded Wupatki itself in its heyday - today though the whole area was empty apart from the ruins and beautiful peaceful desert scrub and grasslands. Hopi descendants believed the people who lived and died here remain as spiritual guardians………..Stories of Wupatki are still passed on among today by Hopi, Zuni and Navajo tribes. Members of the Hopi Bear, Sand, Lizard, Rattlesnake, Water, Snow, and Katsina Clans return periodically to enrich their
personal understanding of their clan history here. Wupatki is still very much remembered and cared for and not abandoned as it appears when you travel around the area.
SUNSET CRATER A little further on the scenery changed from sweeping grassland to ruggedly dramatic geological features - large lava fields and the land was completely covered with miles and miles of black lava cinders. We climbed a hill and arrived at
Sunset Crater an inactive cinder cone and the youngest of over four hundred volcanoes in the San Francisco volcanic field. It was believed that the crater erupted in 1064 and continued for 200 years – a very long time for a cinder cone volcano. More recent evidence indicates that the eruption began sometime between 1040 and 1100 and lasted, more typically, only a few months or years.
Eruptions are usually preceded by a period of intense seismic activity and archaeologists have concluded that the resident Sinagua people were able to gather their possessions and flee the area before the eruption took place as few possessions were found in later ‘digs’ - not like those at Pompeii. When a final
spew of red cinders coated the peak of the cone, giving the crater the fiery appearance for which it was later named it had reshaped the surrounding landscape forever, changing the lives of people, plants and animals.
As we walked around the area we could see the defining line where the eruptions came to an abrupt end with black cinders churned up like a newly ploughed field and then the Aspen and Ponderosa Pine trees appeared and took over the landscape turning it green again - it reminded us very much of Lanzarote which we had visited to see our equally ‘mad’ travel friends, Jim and Sue….
METEOR CRATER The detour had been so worth the extra time but we joined the main highway and continued on our journey stopping again at a sign to
‘Meteor Crater’. A different sort of crater to Sunset as this one had been caused by an out of space projectile and not by an erupting volcano. We thought the entrance charge was a little steep at $16 each, but they did let us have senior citizen rates even though they were only applicable
to US citizens - we did tell them we were from the UK honest!!!
Meteor Crater is the result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and hitting Earth approximately 50,000 years ago. The result is a crater reaching nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles wide and more than 550 feet deep. Stairs led us up to a viewing platform where you could just about appreciate the size of this colossal force.
The Visitor Centre was well laid out with exhibits explaining the science and physics behind meteors which was interesting and we found a lot of useful information. Outside there was an Astronaut Memorial Park with an actual Apollo space test capsule and an American Astronaut Wall of Fame.
It had been a really busy day since leaving the Grand Canyon and we had seen so much more since then but we still have a long journey ahead of us as we have to travel on to Holbrook the gateway to the
Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert where we have managed to book a campsite
for the night - see you there.
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Great adventure!
Brilliant to be traveling in your bright van and visiting some of my favorite places in the southwest! I love that you get out and hike--glad your ankles are getting better. I used to do this route a lot between California and Santa Fe, but haven't done it in a long while. I was shocked to see $16 for Meteor Crater, and now am not sure if I'll ever be able to do this route again. I'll have to enjoy it through you.