The Great Western Tour: Part 6

 Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is known for being a mile deep. What many visitors are surprised to discover is that first you have to climb 8,000 feet up in order to look a mile down. It is also 18 miles across at its widest point. Today these stats are taken as features. For early travelers, though, they were bugs. How were you supposed to get through there? 

   On today's highways it is 215 from from one rim to the other. You could do that in about 5 hours. Or, if you were really strong and ambitious, you might consider the 24-mile hike on the North Kaibab to Bright Angel Trail. Most sensible people are content to settle for what they can see right from either rim. A few walk a short distance into the canyon. Or, you you might consider riding a sure-footed mule. More about that later.

   Though Grand Canyon is in Arizona, in January it is not like visiting Phoenix. There is a lot of snow at 8,000 feet so the typical visitor goes in summer. When Phoenix is enjoying temperatures above 100 degrees, it is quite comfortable 8,000 feet higher. The South Rim is open all year but the North Rim is closed mid-October to mid-May because it averages another thousand feet higher and all that beautiful snow closes the roads. 

   

South Rim

     These photos represent what you can see from the popular South Rim overlooks. North Rim shots appear after these. I'm betting that you won't be able to tell the difference so which rim you choose is a matter of your general itinerary and the available time. Our first visit was before retirement so we didn't have the luxury of combining Grand Canyon with the marvelous five national parks in Utah as we did on later excursions. We'll go on the the Utah parks in the next post.

Mule deer are common on the South Rim.

There are bison up on the North Rim.

You might consider walking at least a short distance into the canyon.

The trail is steep so pace yourself and take plenty of water.

Mule rides into the canyon are popular. Usually.

If you hike down into the canyon just far enough to have lunch,

be alert for thieving ground squirrels.

The Desert View Watchtower was built in 1932 based on 

Ancestral Puebloan architecture.

The Colorado River is usually hidden by intervening plateaus.

North Rim

Shirley's sure-footed mule Dagwood went stumbling down the trail

and nearly dumped her over the cliff. If not for the courage of the

fearless wrangler, this visitor would have been lost.

When we returned several years later, I asked the wranglers if

Dagwood had been made into dog food yet. "Oh, no. There he is."

The North Rim Lodge sits on the edge of the cliff. Great views

from your room or the deck.

Archeologists insist this is not just a cave opening but a store house

used by the Ancestral Puebloans.

The trail runs beneath an overhanging ledge. Natural springs along

the way explain why the Puebloans chose to live there.

The 900-year-old remains of the pueblo was being excavated

a short distance from the lodge. 

The site was used only during the summer to fall growing season.

Winters up there were too harsh.