It's All Grand...

The Grand Canyon…the name alone conjures up visions of magnificent views, long, seemingly-bottomless vertical drops, stunning rock formations and magnificent, ever-changing colors. In the 1991 movie “Grand Canyon” (with Danny Glover and Kevin Kline), one of the underlying messages is that everyone should see the Grand Canyon to experience the drama and beauty. I would echo that message. You see pictures in magazines, aerial video clips of the scope and drama, but nothing can prepare you for the first moment when you step up to it and see the canyon up close. It moves you. You just stand there transfixed for a minute or two, and then your mind begins to wander, imagining all the natural events that must have occurred to create this incredible sculpture. Even Disney couldn’t make something this amazing! Brief snow flurries added to the surreal quality of the moment (it was COLD when we arrived!). The views seem to change every minute during the day with the lighting and visibility, sometimes moody, sometimes soft, sometimes right in-your-face, popping out at you. And the next time you’re at that same spot again, it looks different, but just as dramatic and beautiful.

We decided to see both the Grand Canyon South Rim and North Rim while we were here, which is no easy task. The two rims are separated by about 4-10 miles of canyon, but to get from one side to the other, you can either hike down into the canyon and back up (about 22 miles each way) or drive about 210 miles around the 277 mile long canyon. We opted for the driving route, camping five nights on the South Rim and three nights on the North Rim, with about a five hour drive in between. While the canyon scenery is similar from both sides, the mood is very different in each location. The South Rim is much more commercialized and geared to tourism, with tour buses, multiple large hotels, a daily train arrival, three shuttle bus routes, miles of paved hiking trails along the rim and two large campgrounds. The North Rim has one (lovely) campground with minimal conveniences, a luxury lodge with nice, well-equipped cabins, a few short, paved hiking trails, some longer dirt trails, and more importantly, smaller crowds. A much more relaxing alternative to the South Rim.

Our days on the South Rim were mostly spent hiking along the thirteen miles of paved trail that hug the edge of the canyon rim. At every turn or lookout point, there is a different view, another beautiful formation or occasionally, a distant view of the mighty Colorado River below (which shaped this canyon over many millions of years). You never tire of the views and actually look forward to the next one to see how it might differ. The Grand Canyon Village complex is the center of all the activity and is where all the gift shop, transportation, lodging, restaurant and activity options are. I can only imagine what a madhouse it would be on a hot, summer weekend day, as it was pretty chaotic during our early-season, mid-week visit. Over half the visitors to the Grand Canyon each year are international tourists, so we need more Americans to make an effort to visit this gem and tip the balance.

 At the eastern end of the South Rim Park there is an observation tower with views of the canyon and also a Native American museum with interesting artifacts and archeological sites. We drove to this site, as we discovered the shuttle bus system was not always reliable and prone to overcrowding, with rude drivers. Not unlike the NY transit system. We attended several Ranger programs, informing us about efforts to preserve the California Condor, Fire Management, Canyon Geology, Plant and Wildlife. All were interesting and informative and made the overall experience even richer, having more knowledge and appreciation of all that we saw. We got up early for sunrise one morning and also watched several sunsets from along the canyon edge. The vibrant colors and shadows added even more drama to an already-incredible sight.

 Feeling ambitious one day, we decided to hike down into the canyon to get an in-canyon perspective looking out. We chose the Bright Angel Trail, which is where many of the famous burro trips take visitors down into the canyon for short day trips or overnight stays. The trail is not terribly steep and is well-switch-backed to ease the grade, but is dusty and long (and booby-trapped with burro poop…). There are restrooms and water stations every couple of miles, so it really isn’t a terribly difficult trip to take, and we enjoyed a trailside lunch mid-day to break up the journey. With further advance planning, it would have been fun to hike down to the bottom of the canyon for an overnight, either camping or staying at the Phantom Ranch Cabins there. And with more time, a rafting trip along the length of the canyon would also be an exciting adventure. Maybe we’ll have to come back another time to realize these experiences.

After a long drive around the eastern end of the canyon and through Navajo Indian land, we arrived at the North Rim, still covered by 2-3 feet of snow in places. At an additional thousand feet of elevation, the temperatures were still somewhat cold in mid-May and the park had only opened the day before we arrived. It was still full every night we were there though, which is why reservations must be made many months in advance. We drove around to several of the different vantage points, looking across to where we had been in the previous days on the South Rim. It looked just as magnificent from the North as it did from the South, just less crowded. Our days were more relaxed on the North Rim and we followed a similar program of moderate hikes, Ranger programs and soaking in the beauty. While each of the National Parks we’ve visited has been different, each has been wonderful and dramatic. It’s no wonder they were chosen as National Parks as they are well worth preserving and experiencing.

Not all of the Grand Canyon is part of the U.S. National Park system. There are Indian tribal lands covering several parts of the canyon and much of it is inaccessible without permits. The newly-opened and controversial Skywalk attraction is located on Indian land about 250 miles by road from the South Rim National Park, and it allows you to walk out over the canyon on a 70 –foot, semi-circular bridge suspended 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. We opted not to make the ten hour round trip drive for this privilege, but settled for viewing it on the internet, also a less nerve-wracking experience.

Leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed into Utah for Zion National Park, a canyon area viewed from below (inside the canyon) rather than above. Zion was “discovered” (even through the Indians were already there…) by Mormon settlers in the 1800’s and many of the formations were given religious or spiritual names like West Temple, Altar of Sacrifice, Guardian Angel, Great White Throne or Tabernacle Dome. Not crazy about the religious names, but liked the formations. Water runoff from the Colorado Plateau formed the canyon, not unlike the Grand Canyon, part of the same system. It’s amazing what millions of gallons of water can do artistically over hundreds of millions of years.

Zion is a lush, desert terrain, a contradiction in terms, but as you go around each turn of the canyon, water sources change the climate suddenly from arid desert to lush green and you see hanging vines, blooming flowers and running rivers. The variety and the beauty, all in the shadow of the magnificently carved rock formations is every bit as magnificent as the Grand Canyon (although much smaller in scale and ever-so-slightly less dramatic). The roads in the canyon are closed to traffic, so shuttle buses are the only option (although much better than the Grand Canyon shuttle system) and we took several of the easier hikes fanning out into the canyon. Our formula of hikes, Ranger Talks and relaxing seems to be working out well in the parks we’ve been to and we’re gonna continue using it until we discover a better one. Next on the list is nearby Bryce Canyon.

Bye for now…   Bob