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Published: October 24th 2006
Grand Canyon + Colorado River
You can see the Colorado River in this one!Grand Canyon
From Tuba it was on to the Grand Canyon! As we drove into the canyon there were heaps of scenic points to stop and look. It was 28oC (at 11am) but got much much hotter as the day wore on. One of the first gift shops we came across had a brick tower next to it. You could walk up the narrow winding staircase (about 4-5 stories) and get a great view out over the canyon. The whole interior was covered in Native American artwork walls and ceiling.
We found our campsite and hid away from the sun for a while, later we ventured out to see the visitors centre and a couple more gift shops (that sold every type of souviner you can imagine!). We had planned to go to a Star Watch course that evening run by one of the Rangers but the sky wasn’t clear enough to see anything thanks to the fires burning on the North rim (we were at the South rim). We even woke to find ash all over the roof of our car the next morning!
The following day we were all geared up and ready to go for
a hike around the rim. Armed with maps and lots of water we were off. We chose a relatively easy hike which had a lot of shade cover (VERY important in that environment). The hike took us to 3 different viewing platforms around the rim and once we had completed that we took the shuttle bus to the other viewing places. Along the way we saw a very sociable squirrel who when I crouched to take its photo lept up onto my lap and started licking my fingers which were covered in salt! We had to not only drink LOTS of water (about 4L / day minimum) but also eat salty snacks as we walked (one of the few times you will be encouraged to eat chips!).
The high temperatures in summer can cause lots of problems with dehydration which has led to many deaths. The stats are phenomenal - the temperature got to at least 40oC at its hottest and that was on the rim, in the canyon it was much hotter. They recommend people don’t hike between 10am and 4pm because of this and those spending most of the day hiking should drink about 9L / day!!!
Native American Art
This is an example of the native american art on the walls (and the ceiling!) inside the tower Once again we retreated to our trailer over the hottest part of the day and re-emerged at 7pm to go to a worship service on the canyon rim. Very cool and very American they had a little alter made of a pile of rocks with a cross on it. We met people from all over the US and they asked us to keep talking just so they could hear our accents! Later on we went out to the Star Watch course, we still couldn’t see much but the ranger could point out Jupiter with her seriously cool laser pointer! We got star charts and some tips for studying the skies later.
From the Grand Canyon we went to Flagstaff and the famous Route 66. With hope of cycling around the cities bike tracks and Route 66 alas it was not to be. As we drove into Flagstaff the heavens opened and the rain POURED down, hail (probably the largest I have seen), lightening, thunder the works! This was the first dose of rain we had had that wasn’t a light passing shower. We ventured no further than the supermarket that afternoon! That evening I was craving Pizza Hut and
A friendly squirrel
Nick trys to get the squirrel on video while the squirrel is more interested in licking the salt off Nicks fingers than being the focus of a home video! at $7 each for the all you can eat pizza, pasta and salad buffet it wasn’t much of an outlay! We enjoyed a yummy meal and then went to pay the bill, for some reason the lady at the counter couldn’t find the bill. When she couldn’t find it rather than searching further she simply said - ‘oh well we can’t have given you very good service if we don’t even know who you are, it’s on the house’ - we were stoked, and out of there before she had a chance to change her mind! (And who ever said there was no such thing as a free lunch!)
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Aunty RJ
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More National Parks!!
Wow...you have seen so many Nat Parks now and the vast expanse of them just amazes me! Love the sqirrel..they fascinated me in England. We now have a 16 year old in the house! Andrew had his first Cambridge exam this morning and will complete the exams by Nov 15...he'll have a long Xmas holiday..hopefully filled with some p/t work at Rebel sport Albany where his cousin is Asst Manager. Richard is a very good drummer these days and hopes to be in the Music Instiute at WBHS next year..rock band is his aim!!! David is at that busy time of the primary year but still going great! Looking forward to seeing you this Christmas. Enjoy the Europe venture. God bless and lots o love, Aunty RJ