Grand Canyon...... Sweet

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During the planning stage for the trip Noah postulated the idea of taking a gander at the Grand Canyon. The 16th of February found Noah steering us North out of Phoenix on I-17. The day was warm enough to run the Camry’s A/C. We entered a long area of hilly desert populated with thousands of Seguaro cactus. Just south of Sedona we hit a section of road that would either tax your driving skills or the thickness of your brake pads. Steep winding grades plunging into beautiful sun filled valleys. We were surprised at the amount of snow on the ground. I thought that it must be the remains of the blizzard that had rolled through the area some three weeks ago. By the time we reached Flagstaff the temperatures were in the low 40’s. We grabbed our jackets out of the trunk when we stopped for gas.

From Flagstaff there are two routes available to the Grand Canyon. To reach the park’s East entrance you will need to take Route 89 to Route 64. The more direct route is Route 180 to the south entrance. We took the Easterly choice so we could visit the Little Colorado River Gorge along the that route. North of Flagstaff you will pass some large peaks. Humphrey’s Peak is the largest of the group at over 12,600 feet. It is Arizona’s highest. The mountains in this area are volcanic in origin. The last time Humphrey’s blew its top was about 1,000 years ago. Past the peaks we hit a long flat section of desert with a few rolling hills. From their tops we could see tantalizing cliff edges and the hint of a chasm.

We swung west on 64 to the Little Colorado Gorge passing desert rat subdivisions pieced together out of ancient Airstream trailers, corrugated metal shacks and pens housing a few scrawny hens. Later we determined that these were the homes of the Navajo Indians who manned the souvenir stands along the road to the park. The Little Colorado Gorge is a quick dusty turn north off the road. A small parking area is fenced in a manner forces you to use a gauntlet-like lane of vendors to access the Gorge. Pasted together out of plywood and two by fours, all of the stands offer the same twinkling collection of turquoise necklaces, earrings and bracelets. The Indians manning the stands are half-hearted sales people who paid more attention to their text messages than they did the lone pair of potential buyers scooting by their wares.

The first thing Noah and I picked up on was the lack of visitors to the area. There was very little traffic on the road going in and no one beside ourselves visiting the Gorge. A flimsy metal railing is all that stands between you and an 800-foot plunge to the rocky bottom. Be advised that the Gorge is not handicap friendly. The path is little more than a stairway of rough cut stone blocks dropping at a steep grade down to the viewing point. On the way back up you will find yourself gaspingly reminded of the fact that you are at an altitude of some 7,000 feet. We stayed a bit, listening to the wind whistle through the chasm and tossing pebbles into its innards like a couple of ten-year olds. It’s a great sight to see and serves as an excellent warm-up for the featured attraction.

At the park entrance you will be hit for $25 as the price of admission. The charge is levied by vehicle and not by passenger so pack as many people in as you can. The first Ranger we met was a young diminutive lass named Jerusha. She looked to be about five-foot tall and sported Ranger hat 3 sizes too large giving her the appearance of a Weeble Ranger. I tossed her the cash and she threw us a map of the park. We were on the South Ridge of the canyon. Going to the North Ridge would have entailed another hundred miles on the road. It weren’t gonna happen.

The park road is a windy two-laned affair and a slow moving one at that. You are constantly slowing down as the guy in front of you stops traffic to take a photo of one of the many Mule Deer wandering the side of the road or a view through the trees. There are areas along the way where one may pull over to take in the vistas but many cannot be bothered to leave the comfort of their vehicles. Be patient. It’s the way it is. There is a visitor center near the east entrance but besides a history of the Canyon and an IMAX film it offers little with regard to the park’s services. That info will have to be gleaned by going into one of the lodges and speaking with the staff.

Lodging is plentiful in the park. Room rates run between $70 to nearly $500 a night. There are rooms available outside the park in a town called Valle (Bedrock City) to the south but given that room costs there are little better and the time you will need to invest driving back and forth, a room in the park is the better choice. Rooms on the Canyon ridge with a view are the priciest. All of the hotels are within short walking distance to the Canyon. Noah and I pulled into the Maswik Lodge with sits south of the rim. At the quiet lobby desk we encountered Nora the Navaho. The Navahos make up most of the employees in the park. An outfit called Xanterra, which appears to be a private company that the park service has subcontracted its guest operations to, run the hotels. I asked Nora if there were any rooms available. This question elicited a smirk from her, as today there was MUCH room at the inn. Duh! My question as to any discounts was met with a dead eyed NO and a pregnant deadpan pause. I asked if the food in the hotel was any good and I received another smirk. And they seamed so pleasant in that movie ‘Windtalkers’. We settled on a comfortable room for $82 a night, which I thought reasonable. Stowing our gear Noah and I set off for the rim and our first real glimpse of the Canyon.

I have traveled far and wide in my life and on those journeys I have seen many wondrous landscapes but never before have I seen anything like the panorama that lay before Noah and I on this day. The Grand Canyon has been photographed from every conceivable angle and those pictures are beautiful to behold but none that I have spied have conveyed the true grandeur of their subject. It is in a word, breathtaking. Twelve miles wide, hundreds of miles long and thousands of feet deep its multi-color striated surface is a humbling sight to behold. You cannot truly comprehend its impact until you have stood at its edge and peered at the complexity of its interior. Hundreds of sandstone mesas fill the bottom girdled by skirts of rock and sand. The product of eons of erosion. And if you listen very carefully, the overwhelming silence that you first think you hear, is in reality, a low hum produced by the timeless river of wind as it is channeled between the towering mesas and buttes on the canyon floor. The Grand Canyon speaks with the same voice it has used since before the time of our existence. You have to experience it to believe it. I came to understand how small I really am in the grand scheme of things. It made me feel more alive than I had ever felt before. Having Noah there to share it with me was the icing on the cake.

Now the bad news. The food available in the park’s restaurants can be best termed, ‘pedestrian’. The hotel we stayed in runs a large cafeteria. They have a grill that offers burgers, fries and the like at $8 a pop. The daily specials run from Beef Stroganoff to Salisbury Steak, which tastes as if they’ve been sitting on the steam table for long hours. They also have a pizza pub with of all things: Pizza. By the slice for $2.50. Food service can run from very good to “Why are you in my restaurant bothering me”? Noah and I tried a couple of other eateries with equally bad results. Nothing appears to be made fresh and salads are near impossible to come by. The cafeteria breakfast offerings; which include pre-packaged bakery goods and eggs any way you'd like them as long as you like them scrambled does however, include decent coffee. At least there is that. To be fair, a couple of the restaurants were closed for the season so it is possible that the quality of the available grub gets better when the crowds are larger. Wireless internet access is available in all of the hotel lobbies at no charge.

There was no evening entertainment available anywhere. Once darkness fell you either had to curl up with a book or watch TV to occupy yourself before bed. The evening crowd in the pizza pub consisted primarily of hotel workers just off their shift, sipping brews in a dark corner by themselves.

The park offers an excellent free shuttle bus service to all of the major views. There is a thirteen-mile long trail along the rim. Walk as far as you like and catch a bus back home. There was a substantial amount of snow in the park, which made walking a bit hazardous. Icy patches made us extremely cautious as much of the trail has no protective railing, which could result in any slip quickly turning into one hell of a fall. We were amazed to see people posing for pictures with their heels hanging over the chasm’s edge. Noah and I took delight in the canyon’s ever-changing colors as the sun made its transit. Mornings and evenings were best as the mid-day sun rendered the geological features two-dimensional in appearance. There were few people visiting the park while we were there. The majority being Japanese, European and retired Americans touring with organized groups. We pretty much had the place to the deer and ourselves. There are deer everywhere near the hotels and they are not in the least bit shy. The first night there I ventured outside my hotel door to look at the heavens. When my gaze fell back to the horizontal I discovered 5 deer staring at me from a dozen feet away. I hadn’t a clue as to their presence. They are spooky quiet.

On the last night there we went up to Mojave Point to watch the sunset. We found ourselves standing on a precipice, which plunged 3,000 feet straight down. As the sun settled in for the night its rosy glow transformed the canyon into a blaze of reds and pinks that seared your mind. Noah told me that he was going to come back again some day. It was the first time I had ever heard him say that during any of the trips we had taken together. I looked out over the vista with him and I understood. Completely.
* Just a note to those of us who travel to Alamo to see Jim and Ila. On this trip we drove back from the Grand Canyon via State Road 380 East from I-25. It was without a doubt the prettiest section of road we have traveled on the entire trip. The drive is about 60 miles in length. After a long climb you crest a ridge. Below you is the Tularosa Basin backed by a wall of snow covered mountains. Noah and I agreed that the only thing we have seen that is comparable to it is the drive we once took with Karen into the Garmisch area from Munich. We had no idea how beautiful Tularosa was.

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Photos

Sunset
One of many to be find in this remarkable place.

Little Colorado Gorge
Our first stop before the park itself

Nora
Nora is on the left. The other girls just likes to have her picture taken.

Our first day
Noah checks out the Canyon.

Comments

[Liz]

Ah, Yes!
I couldn't agree more about the incredible, awesome beauty of the Grend Canyon, It's unforgettable, and memories of such beauty makes old age bearable. Thanks for the reminder. Love, Liz

[Cave Dawg]

Cool Story
For more interesting stories about Grand Canyon, try www.bystevecarr.blogspot.com