The Grand Canyon!

Grand Canyon

On Sunday, we drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon through some spectacular scenery...or, I'm sure it was spectacular, but I was totally asleep the entire time. In any case, Ken enjoyed it. Once we arrived at The Canyon, we headed straight for the rim overlook closest to the car and took in the view. What a sight. Even with the morning haze, the canyon's colors are pronounced and beautiful. Ken proceeded to walk along the Rim Trail with me tagging behind taking pictures every third or fourth step.

California Condors

At one overlook on the eastern portion of the Rim Trail we saw California condors, a giant bird that was almost extinct only 20 or so years ago. In the time since, scientists have re-introduced these great birds to the Grand Canyon after they were bred in captivity. We saw at least 5 of them soaring around the canyon looking for snacks. Good thing we didn't bring The Ed....or Sumo.

We found our way to the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum where exhibits described the lower layers having been upended by tectonic activity millions and millions of years ago, and then the upper layers of rock accumulating on top of them from subsequent river and shallow sea deposits. It was great and the small building offered a plate glass lookout into the canyon below. From there we could see small portions of the mighty Colorado River, the suspension bridge over the river, Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon, as well as the Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, 10 miles away, which we had visited almost 8 years earlier.

Grand Canyon

We continued along the trail, which included a description of the rock layers found beneath our feet...layers that have accumulated over a billion and a half years, give or take. We also learned that it takes the Colorado River an entire year to carve away a layer of rock from the bottom of the canyon the thickness of a sheet of paper. So, it was awesome to see the 5,000 feet of carving it had already done in anticipation of our visit this weekend.

We stopped at the Bright Angel Lodge, where we found the Bright Angel Restaurant for lunch. We dined on tasty sandwiches and onion rings before making our way to the Bright Angel History Room, a space dedicated to the legacy of Fred Harvey and the 'Harvey Girls'. Thousands of Harvey Girls were hired by Fred Harvey to serve as waitresses. College-educated women were also hired to conduct tours of the southwest. Harvey also hired Mary Colter in 1901 to decorate the interior of the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque. By 1905, she began her first architectural project at the Grand Canyon. She used the landscape around a structure as the focus of the decor for the interior. Her work revolutionized construction in the southwest and influenced the early architecture of national parks. The fireplace in the Bright Angel History Room was designed by Mary Colter to mirror a cross-section of the Grand Canyon's geology, with the newer Kaibab Limestone layers at the top (270M years old) followed by the Paleozoic Layers (270-525M years old), Grand Canyon Supergroup (740M-1.25B years old), and the Vishnu Schist (1.7B years old) at the bottom. It's also a really pretty fireplace. Too bad I didn't get a picture of it.

Hopi House gift shop

From there, we noticed the Hopi House nearby. This building, designed by Mary Colter, was built in 1905 and served as a gift shop, which it still does today. She designed the structure after the traditional adobe homes of Old Oraibi on the nearby Hopi Indian Reservation. The ceilings are low and the doorways are even lower. The building has thatched ceilings and wood beams, timbers still have bark, and branches still have dried leaves. All of the other buildings designed by Mary Colter in the Grand Canyon Village illustrate her impeccable attention to detail as in the Bright Angel Lodge and the Hopi House.

On our way down

We continued on to the Bright Angel Trailhead, where we began our descent with enthusiasm. After watching several hikers returning from their descents huffing and puffing, our enthusiasm dimmed a bit. Our knees started to whisper their complaints. A half an hour down, they were at a full shout. Eventually, we turned back around and began our ascent. Yikes. The calves started their complaints almost immediately, but not nearly as loudly as our lungs screamed with the altitude and the steep incline. We stopped about every 4 or 5 minutes to catch our breath and let our heart rates drop back to normal. At the end of the climb back, we estimated we had covered about two and a half miles. Whatever the mileage, it was fun and dusty and we totally loved it.

Break time on the way back up

Back at the top, we hobbled to a bench to rest. After a while, we made our way to the free shuttle to take our sorry feet back to the car on the other side of the Grand Canyon Village, about 2 1/2 miles away. By the time we got there, I managed to convince Ken that we should see the free movie playing in the visitor center, though, honestly, both of us only woke up once his glasses dropped to the floor. We walked back to the rim overlooks again and took some more pictures of the canyon walls, now with a more afternoon glow to them. The condors were out again, too, all gathered on a ledge sitting in the sun.

Kendrick Peak, part of the San Francisco Peaks

We hobbled back to the car, and in fairness after the morning trip, Ken slept most of the way back to Flagstaff. Thankfully I was driving. I got to see some of the beautiful scenery I missed in the morning...the Ponderosa pine trees and the San Francisco Peaks, with Kendrick Peak covered in snow at its top.

What a beautiful area of Arizona!