20 SEP 2010

After a the hike from yesterday I insisted that we not do the Bright Angel trail which would have been as difficult or more difficult than yesterday. Instead (and Wes was agreement) today we wanted to explore the view points along the rim.

We drove out to Desert View which is close to the park gate. The most impressive structure built here is the Watchtower. This stoned sheathed turret provides an expansive view of the canyon, San Francisco Peaks, and the Navajo Indian Reservation. From the rim edge we could see into the canyon to follow the Colorado River upstream, note where the Little Colorado River merged and again just enjoy a splendid view of the Grand Canyon. By now I am sure you wonder if I was getting sick of taking pictures and it is true, I was close to wondering what more I could possibly see or want to see. We climbed the stairs in the turret and saw the same views, only from a different vantage point and it was worth the climb.

On the way back we stopped at the Tusayan Ruin and Museum. Here we again were able to walk around the remains of a pueblo ruin, take a nature walk and learn about the culture and agriculture crops and finally wonder through the museum.

Other view points we stopped at on the way back to the Grand Canyon Village were Moran Point, Grand View Point, and a few others I have forgot to mention. The last stop we had planned was at the Visitor’s Center but after driving around the parking lot we found no places to park so we headed back to the tent for lunch.

In the afternoon we planned to take the shuttle bus out the other direction and explore Hermit’s Rest which is the end of the Rim Walk. Unfortunately there was road work being done so the shuttle bus could only go as far as the hotels. We decided to walk back from that point along the rim walk which included the “Trail of Time” which is a geological display of rocks based on their age placed along the rim walk in a scaled timeline. Not really our interest so not much to report except there was lots of rocks on display.

Also along this walk we were now looking for specific things in the Canyon. We wanted to see the trailhead for the Bright Angel trail and even went on the trail a few hundred feet to the arch cut through the rock for trail. Wes used his binoculars and we located the north rim lodge, several views of the Colorado river, more rafts on the river, the bridge over the river and lots of trails. Thus ended our day of exploring the rim trail.

After dinner we decided to go check out the sunset again, but this time we were later than usual so decided to drive to a point we had not been. Unfortunately this turned out to be a very busy point so we had to settle for a spot along the road. I was not too disappointed since the sunset was basically the same as the other days so nothing new to record in picture.

We finished the evening by going to the Park Ranger’s talk again and this time he was talking about Fire in the parks as part of the natural order of things. He discussed the impact on the forests of suppression and the need for the natural order of fire to maintain a healthy forest. The Grand Canyon is well on the way to having “managed fires” which is different than setting fires. If at all possible they let the natural fires (and will be lots with about 11000 lightening strikes average per year) and manage them rather than suppress them. This was a very interesting talk and we enjoyed it.

As we left we talked for quite awhile to a couple with 2 kids from Melbourne Australia here on holidays. We enjoyed chatting about their experiences and suggestions about our trip later this year.

This is our last night at the Grand Canyon and I had thought it would be my last blog on the topic, but we learned that it was not to be.