It had rained all the day before so I figured it would be a clear day up north. I pulled over to take a shot of the peaks to the south.
It was still fairly cloudy as I passed the East entrance to the park and pulled into Desert View. Desert View has great vistas to an open expanse of the Colorado River as well as the Painted Desert to the East.
There is even a nifty tower built right into the side of the cliff. This brought back memories of when I was here last...10 years ago.
After Desert View I proceeded on to the various tourist trap points:
Navajo Point
Lipan Point
Moran Point
I ended up at Grandview Point and decided to take the Grandview trail down a ways. The first part of the trail is very steep and rocky. recent trail maintenance was apparent in the new cedar logs laid down for support. I ended up meeting an Arkansan and we hiked down to Coconino Saddle and back up.
Coconino Sandstone and crossbeds...geologist Mark Sitton for scale ;)
Dead trees make such great photos(clouds and shadows help!)
Cairns also make fine photos, well...anything is good when the Grand Canyon is your backdrop!
Last Chance Mine
John, my hiker friend from Arkansas, going up the switchbacks. I kept telling him how much elevation we gained every time he had to take a rest. Good spirited ol fellow, I bet he was glad to make it to the top.
I had my geology of the grand canyon book in hand...didn't want to miss anything! John said, "You're never too old to learn. All those old people that think they know everything aren't foolin' nobody." Ok, so it wasn't exactly like that but close enough.
I almost decided to go to Grand Canyon Village but made the wise decision to head back because at this time of day 1-ish, the crowds are horrindous! Took the scenic route back through the San Francisco Peaks to end a very clever day.
The End (for now)
1 comment:
MARK, YOU ARE SO FORTUNATE TO BE LIVING IN FLAGSTAFF. ARIZONA IS THE MOST FASCINATING STATE. YOU CAN DRIVE ALL DAY AND THE WHOLE SCENERY CHANGES SEVERAL TIMES. MY FAVORITE PLACE ARE THE WILD UNTAMED TERRITORIES LIKE THE CANYONLANDS, AND THE MOUNTAINS. ESPECIALLY THE MOUNTAINS WITHOUT TREES! YOUR GREAT UNCLE ZEKE AND PATRICK, MY BROTHER TOOK A 4 DAY RAFT TRIP DOWN THE COLORADO AND HIKED OUT OF THE CANYON AT BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL. UNCLE ZEKE, MY DAD, ALMOST DID NOT MAKE IT OUT. HE WAS IN HIS 50'S. THIS WAS BACK IN THE LATE 60'S AS IT WAS PAT'S GRADUATION PRESENT. PAT LEFT HIS DAD AT THE END OF THE TRAIL WHILE HE WENT TO FIND HIS COUSIN ED WHO WAS PICKING HIM UP. HE FINALLY LOCATED ED AND WHEN HE WENT BACK FOR DEAR OLD DAD, HE WAS GONE. AFTER A LONG SEARCH, AND BEING DEAD TIRED HIMSELF, HE FOUND MY DAD SITTING IN THE CAR WITH ED'S DAD, DRINKING COLD BEER. HE WISHED HE WERE ALLOWED TO CURSE THE OLD MAN, BUT YOU KNOW IN THOSE DAYS YOU COULD LOSE A SET OF TEETH LIKE THAT!! THEY DID HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME EVEN THOUGH HE THOUGHT DAD WOULD DIE BEFORE HE REACHED THE TOP. I HAVE BEEN TO THE GRAND CANYON 3 TIMES AS AN ADULT, AND I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS REAL WHEN I LOOK AT IT. IT IS TRULY GRAND. I AM GLAD THAT YOU ARE DOCUMENTING THE THINGS YOU DO THERE. KEEP A JOURNAL WITH PICS TO SHOW YOUR CHILDREN AND GRAND CHILDREN. (MOM'S THINKING SHE WILL NEVER HAVE ANY HERSELF.) THE PICS ARE FABULOUS. GREAT JOB. HAVE FUN BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE. AFTER SCHOOL COMES WORK AND PAYING YOUR OWN WAY. NOT COOL, BUT WAY IT GOES. I AM GLAD YOUR MOM SHARED THIS WITH ME. IT IS GREAT.
Anabel
Post a Comment