The Grand Canyon

We overnighted in a Walmart parking lot in Kingman, AZ as we mentioned in the last posting.  Then we made our way east to Williams and then up to the Park.

The drive up was geographically interesting because as we got further east and higher in elevation the vegetation changed.  We were seeing taller trees and even some grazing land for cattle.  And corral after corral in the fields near the highway.  At the same time we started seeing cattle, Marty spotted two herds of four-legged critters.  Now, we are saying critters because we're not exactly sure what they were.  They might have been pronghorns as we were driving through their environment and they had white on the sides (unlike deer with white bellies), however, we'll never know for sure unless we see them again.

The entrance into the park is amazing.  There were three gates (entry kiosks) for non pass holders and one for pass holders (senior pass or annual pass type folks).  We zipped right through being senior pass holders and headed to the campground.  We're staying in Mather campground and will have left by the time this is posted.  What follows are some of our observations not necessarily in chronological order.

Shuttle buses:  the park has extensive shuttle bus routes.   There are three different routes serving three different but overlapping parts of the park.  There is the Red Line which runs to the west along the rim with stops at key places to overlook this part of the canyon.  One can connect with the Red Line bus via the Blue Line buses that serve the central portion of the park, Visitor's Centers, shopping areas, lodges, and campgrounds.  The final line is the Orange line which runs between the Visitor's  Center and the eastern portion of the rim roads.  And you connect with the Orange line at the Visitor's Center off the Blue Line buses.  The shuttle buses are free and start running at 4:30 am at 30 minute intervals.  During the peak hours they are 15 or fewer minutes apart.  This reduces car traffic in the key areas of the park and makes it very easy for visitors to get around and see things without having to drive.  

I've had such a hard day!

Walking and biking trails:  there is good access to scenic spots along the way using the trials that run for miles along the rim.  Most of these are paved and handicapped accessible.  There are many paved trails for bike riding folks as well and for the most part the areas with heavy foot traffic are limited to foot traffic only.

Ranger programs:  the park certainly takes high honors for their ranger presentations which are for everyone and some special ones just for children.  After attending a program on the geology and formation of the park we were walking along and were passed by a ranger and with a group of school-aged kids (about 4-6th graders).  After asking them to stop by a set of rocks he suggested that instead of looking at him that they might want to look at the canyon.  One "smart" young fellow spoke and said, "well, you're pretty weathered".  Hum.....

Visitors:  there are crowds of people here.  We were taken aback at Yosemite with the crowds, but it seems even more so here (not that is it unexpected, we see crowds in Acadia and Bar Harbor).  But we have been told that 5.5 million visitors come to the Grand Canyon every year.  This makes it nearly impossible for one to have any sense of solitude in this vast landscape.  It might be the price one pays for such a wonder as the canyon as the visitors are from every country in the world and one hears many different languages on the buses and the trails.

Hiking:  there are several trails that go over the rim.  We did just one of them and only part way.  The South Kaibab trail has three versions.  The first takes you down about .9 miles to a lookout point where you can get a good view up and down the canyon.  The next turn around point is Cedar Point at about  1.5 miles with an elevation change of over 1200 feet (one way).  This is the one we did.  The third version goes all the way to the river and is recommended only as a overnight hike as one would be dealing with a 5000 ft elevation change each way.

Critters:  there are lots of Elk and Mule deer here.  We finally saw them today!  We had begun to think that we would leave the park without ever seeing them, and then there they were.  

Female Elk, just a little shaggy around the edges at the end of winter.

Sunday we departed from the canyon and began our way east and north.  Last beautiful campfire was Saturday evening...who knows when the next one will be, probably someplace in Maine!