GC Day 3

On our last day at GC we decided that we would use the Shuttle Bus to complete the rest of the south rim.  The buses run every 10-15 minutes and stop at each of the outlooks along the rim.  You can get off at one of the outlooks and when done taking in the views simply get on the next bus and move on to the next location.  Its a very efficient system and would prove to be an easier way to cover the remaining 8 miles of the rim that we hadn't seen.   Charli would have to stay in the trailer as dogs weren't allowed on the buses.

Our first stop would be Yaki Point which is on the eastern end of the rims trail and a stop we hadn't made it to on Day 1.  It was a quick trip with only one stop and then we headed back to the Visitors Centre.   The rest of the day would be spent on the western route with 10 stops and the eventual destination of Hermits Rest.  While all of the scenery has been breathtaking the western route seems to be more dramatic, if that is possible, than what we had seen on the first 2 days.  Pima Point probably had the most majestic views.

I have taken a few hundred pictures while we were here and I did try to restrict the number of pictures I posted but I am afraid I wasn't too successful.  

Mule Recipe: Take One Donkey, male.  Take one Horse, female.  Light some candles, put Barry White on the iPod, dim the lights and unless Donkey is extremely well endowed provide the Donkey with a stool.  Wait 11 months and you have a Mule.
These guys look very much like horses, a bit shorter, stockier and bigger ears.  Saw lots of people riding them up and down the trails below the rim.  

 Here is one of the trails zigzagging down towards the river.  Perhaps next time we are here we will go down at least part way.  Its an overnight hike if you go all the way to the river.

 The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 meters). The south rim is at an elevation of about 7000 feet with the north rim being 1000 feet higher.  The rocks are billions of years old and it is thought that the erosion that made the GC happened relatively recently, about 17 million years ago. 

You can barely see the San Francisco peaks on the horizon.  They are about 100 miles away and rise to an elevation of 12000 ft.

 On the 3 days we hiked the canyon rim we packed lunches and never had a problem finding a seat with a great view.

 The trees along the canyon don't get very big and some make for interesting foreground in the pictures.  Most of the trees were Utah Junipers and Pinyon Pines.

 This was our last stop.  It had a souvenir shop and a spot to get some nourishment.

We found him.  Remember back about 40 years ago this guy was in all sorts of TV Commercials reminding us that "Only you can prevent forest fires".  Well he is enjoying life in retirement as a guard at the entrance to the GC National Park.

Here is our site at Grand Canyon Camper Village as we pack up to leave for Page, Az.  The campground was mostly gravel and sand and the winds were blowing up to 30mph for 2 of the days we were here.  We tried to keep the windows closed but we have sand everywhere.  Will be doing some major cleaning when we get home.

That should be it for the GC as we are heading north and east to Page on Sunday.  We are staying there for 3 nights and hope to have some good pics of the Antelope Canyons.  Then we are hightailing it for home.

Later

Grand Canyon - Day 2

On Tuesday we decided to leave a little earlier so we could beat the rush.  Got to the main gates at 8:35 and there were only a few cars in front of us and even better the massive parking lots were only half full.  We headed west from the visitors centre for another 5 mile round trip to the Village and back.   

The village consists of a number of souvenir shops, lodges and hotels as well as a train depot and a fairly large stable of mules.  The number of languages that we heard was quite impressive from French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Japanese.  But by far the largest group were from Germany.  In fact I'd say that english was definitely in the minority.  

We soon discovered that our rubber legs and my bum knee had not fully recovered from the previous days hike.  None the less we persevered as the views were equally impressive.  

Our first glimpse of the Colorado river in the GC.  The GC is so deep and the walls so sheer that the river is obscured for the most part.   Here you can make out a trail on the left and a bridge crossing the river that is used by hikers and mule trains.

The GC is not just one canyon but in fact many canyons converging together.  The largest being the one containing the Colorado River.  Here is one such canyon merging with the GC.  Many of these, at least as far as we could see, have dry river beds at the bottom.

We dragged ourselves back to the truck, although not before stopping for a well deserved Iced Chai Latte.  Wednesday we are going to finish the South Rim and take in the east and western extremities.  Yaki point to the east and Hermits Rest to the west.  We are however going to avail ourselves of the excellent Shuttle Bus system.  

Later

Grand Canyon - Day 1

It took us about 3 hours to get from Verde to the Grand Canyon.  It was Interstate the whole way so no problem with the road but the first 18 miles from our campground is a steady climb.  In fact the elevation change from Verde to just west of Flagstaff is about 4000 feet. The truck handled it pretty well and since it was all 4 lane, vehicles could pass by without us causing a traffic jamb.  We ended up getting almost 11 miles per US gallon which I was quite happy with.

We are staying at Grand Canyon Camper Village in Tusayan which is a small resort community just south of the National Park.  The sites are gravel mixed with fine sand and as we have had a few windy days we have to be careful keeping the windows closed on the windward side.   Lots of dust/sand storms.  After getting settled in we visited the tourist info office to pick up some maps and purchased a 7 day pass for the park.  Since it was still early we decided to check it out to make sure the Grand Canyon was still there and was as awesome as billed.  It was and it is.

Later Sunday evening we watched a 40+ foot 5th wheel pulled by a custom F450 pull in and drive up and down the rows looking for a spot.  It was dark with no street lights and he took one corner too tight and sideswiped a motorhome.  I haven't made that bonehead move, at least not yet.

On Monday we headed for the GC and decided to walk as much of the South Rim trail as we could during our stay here.  We really haven't been doing too much hiking in the past 6 weeks (too hot) so we are a bit out of shape.  We decided to start at the Visitors Centre and head east towards the South Kaibab Trailhead.  The trail was level and paved but the round trip was 5 miles and we were pretty tired when we got back to the truck.  At various points along the south rim there are trails that take you below the rim.  Some take a few hours, some are overnight treks and some offer transportation by way of mules.  For this trip we decided to stay on the rim but perhaps next time we will venture below the rim.  Though I don't see Lori getting on a mule anytime soon.

We couldn't believe how busy this place is.  Must still be spring break as there were lots of families with most of the cars from California and Nevada.  The park entrance has 5 gates and when we arrived at 10:30 it took us about 10 minutes to get through the line.   I would not want to be here in the summer.

Everybody was taking selfies so we decided to join in.  I can't get cell service here so might as well use the phone for something.  Others can get service but the plan I have with Roam Mobility has lots of gaps in its service area.

The view is everything I had hoped for.  The scope of the GC is simply overwhelming.

 

The official lookout spots have railings but for the most part you can just walk out to the edge and look down a 3000 foot sheer drop off.  Many people were much more daring than us.  Hanging off the edge or climbing down to get to a point just a little farther out.  I was about 4 feet from the edge which was lots close enough, thank you very much. (If you look closely you can see my knees shaking)

 

We decided to head back to the trailer for lunch and a bit of a rest and then headed back to take in the sunset.  The park is open 24 hours and they have shuttle buses running all along the south rim from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset.

These shots were taken at sunset.  The colours are more muted but the shadows make for an erie effect.

Tuesday we are taking the hike from the Visitors Centre to the GC Village.  Another 5 mile trek.

Later.