1993/07 Rockies trip - Grand Canyon |
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Monday July 12th
I was concerned about the truck's overheating on the mountains around the Grand Canyon, so we made an early start the next day. We were close to the canyon's north rim, but Sandie and I had been there back in '79 and the helicopter rides were on the south rim, so that's where we were headed. It's over 200 miles from north to south by road. It's a lot less if you hike it, but it still takes about three days and requires careful planning if you're actually to survive the experience!
This geological summary of the Grand Staircase comes from the journal of our 1979 trip. It shows the relationship between the sedimentary layers that make up the Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon parks.
It is apparent that the north rim of the Grand Canyon is nearly as high as Bryce. It's at about 8500 feet, and we'd 
encountered snowdrifts there in June of '79. The south rim is only at about 7000 feet but still with air too thin for many flatlander visitors.
We had breakfast near Page, overlooking Lake Powell, which is behind the Glen Canyon dam, just upstream from the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. The dam has had a taming effect on the Colorado, and reduces the power of its rapids, 
but it's certainly created a magnificent lake in the middle of the desert. It's best visited in the spring when it's at high water. For the rest of the year the view is marred by a bathtub ring.
We were then into Navajo country, with lots of roadside stalls selling jewelry, tee shirts, and paintings. We 
camped at a place called Tuba City, Arizona, at the Navajo Cultural Center. It looked like the government had spent a million dollars to give a handful of Navajo some jobs. The place was run by people who didn't really care whether you stayed or not. You had to get a key to turn on your water supply, and another key for the toilets and showers. Only they'd lost that one! Presumably, this was all to stop the locals from using the facilities, but it didn't make for happy campers! It served our purpose, though, as a convenient jumping off point for the Canyon, and for starting our trip home.
We stopped off at the Little Colorado canyon en route. The canyon was spectacular, 
but some sections were absolutely dry at this time of the year. The top was full of Navajo stores whose garbage was steadily filling up the adjacent canyons. Rather an eyesore at the moment, but good material for the next century's archeologists.
The Grand Canyon park was packed with people, with the parking lots jammed, and the roads busy. The view from the overlooks was impressive as
always, but there isn't much to do there unless you're prepared to hike, ride a mule, take a raft, or fly into the canyon itself. 
The cute stone building is not an ancient Anasazi original; it's actually one of the more appealing national park
structures.
John and Edna wanted to take the helicopter ride and they booked up for the last ride of the day. However, when they were due to fly they found that one 'of them had to take a centre seat. They refused to spend $80 for a middle seat, so got a refund, but by
that time it was too late to reschedule with another company, so they didn't get to fly. 
John and I set off to see the sun set into the canyon, but we missed it and only got to see the tail end. 
One day, I'll come back here and hike across, but not in mid-summer!