The grandeur and scale of the Grand Canyon is unmatched by anything we’ve seen, which made it a fitting end to our “Red Rock Canyon National Parks Tour”. Two nights camping with temps in the upper 30s at night and low 60 during the day made the quest to take in every stunning view we could very comfortable. The skies at night were filled with a million stars, making getting out of the tent to go to the restroom in the middle of the night a worthy adventure.
The Grand Canyon National Park gets between 5 and 6 million visitors per year, the vast majority of whom drive to the park. The Park Service helps visitors get to the most popular destinations by running a shuttle service from dawn until an hour after sunset. With few exceptions, everyone has to ride the shuttles, which means you get a variety of people on the bus next to you. The passengers were old, young and every age in between, speaking French, German, Japanese, maybe some Norwegian and several different distinct renderings of the “Queen’s (okay, King’s) English”. Even though the shuttle does get crowded from time to time I still love it as it means less cars, you only park once at the Visitor’s Center, and you get the bonus of being dropped off or picked up anywhere along the route ~ for FREE.
We attended a ranger talk our first evening that highlighted various constellations in the very dark night sky. The ranger was entertaining and educational even as a chilly wind blowing up and over canyon wall left us shivering. We lay in the parking lot looking up and up and up. The coolest thing was his laser pointer ~ I gotta get me one of those ~ no more “over there, can you see just to the right of the Big Dipper” business, he just pointed his green laser and we all could see instantly what he was talking about. I thought of Erin’s Uncle Jonathan and his many years teaching in Virginia at the Arlington Public Schools Planetarium, he would be a natural at this ranger talk thing!
The first white explorers to encounter the canyon saw it only as an obstacle or colossal waste of space. The water of the Colorado River was too far away from the rim of the canyon to be of much use, there was virtually no land suitable for growing crops, and livestock had to exist on little very little edible plants while simultaneously being able to walk long distances for water. Later developers wanted to dam the Colorado River at several sites before settling on the site of the current Glen Canyon Dam. Today, air pollution, upstream water management of the Colorado River and light pollution from places as far away as Las Vegas threaten the vast mind-expanding vistas, stargazing, and wildlife in this seemingly timeless and untouchable landscape.
11 tribes of First Nations people called some portion of the Grand Canyon home and as recently as 1928 were being forcibly removed to make way for the Park. Throughout the National Park system we have seen signage and acknowledgement of the relationship of the First Nations peoples and their treatment by the US Government. Organizations like the Grand Canyon Trust work with all levels of government to achieve their mission; “To safeguard the wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau, while supporting the rights of its Native peoples”. I hope the current stewards of our national parks continue to listen to, and incorporate the needs and viewpoints of the First Nations descendants and the organizations
There are several lodges within the Grand Canyon National Park, and the oldest is the El Tovar Lodge. El Tovar was originally a Harvey hotel built to service tourists who took the train from Williams, AZ to get a look at what all the fuss was about. Today rooms go for over $350/night, but the place has a dining room, a general store, a cocktail bar and a view to die for. Built on the rim of the canyon, there’s lots of good people watching to be had.
The hike along the rim of the canyon from the Visitor’s Center to El Tovar was neat ~ lots of examples of the various stone found in the canyon and great signage about the flora and fauna of the canyon and surrounding country. The signs along the Trail of Time dated the age of various formations from 2,000 million to around 4,500 million. Erin couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just say 2 billion and 4.5 billion. It would have made more sense to her, but it’s a government sign, so it’s hard to say. After this 5 mile hike we decided to stop at the El Tovar for lunch and a beer. A couple of folks looked a little leery as our hot sweaty faces settled in at the table next to them, but they went back to their wine and entertainment just outside the big picture windows facing the canyon soon enough.
Would we live anywhere in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon National Park? Maybe in Flagstaff, but as always, water is a big concern. Would we visit GCNP again? Absolutely ~ next time we plan to be in shape to hike to the bottom and back up again!
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