Utah & Arizona Part 2 - THE GRAND CANYON
So much has already been said and written about the Grand Canyon that there really is nothing more or new that I could add to. The very purpose of our entire 11-day trip was to visit THE GRAND CANYON(even though I would very much love to refer to The Canyon in block letters every time, I am going to resist the temptation - with great effort - in the rest of the write up). The plan was to end the trip with a visit to The Grand Canyon - a perfectly befitting grand finale(although it was not planned so on purpose). After some research we had concluded that we wanted to visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon since it had all the world famous and most spectacular views points and also North Rim was closed towards the end of Fall & through Winter(:p).
Most people that visit The Grand Canyon National Park stay at Williams, Flagstaff or at the resort with in the National Park. We stayed at Flagstaff - a 90 mile drive from the park. To our amazement, on the way to the Canyon was the Bedrock city - the home of the Flintstones. There was Fred, Wilma, Dino and the rest of the Flintstones ensemble. This was the real home of the Flintstones - I loved to watch the Flintstones as a child. Being in their home was exciting. When we passed by a Flintstones themed campground, we stopped by to take pictures but only on our way back. It was a long drive up to The Grand Canyon National Park and we wanted to cover most of it before it was too late. After all it was November when days are shorter. Soon we reached Tusayan, at the entrance of the National Park.
After entering the first over-look is the breath-taking Mather Point. Ever since I read an article about the Grand Canyon in The Hindu many many years ago(when newspapers were still the main source of news and mobile phones & tablets PCs were only found in science fiction books), I have always held a fascination for the natural wonder. Now to actually be there standing at the edge of it with the unfathomable vast open space of the canyon spreading in front of me was an inexplicably unique experience. Beautiful shades of red rocks & sand layered atop one another forming colorful tall shapes inter-spaced with deep dark trenches as far as the eye can see. And somewhere in the middle of it all deep down in the dark alleys of the canyon runs the Colorado river quietly almost unnoticed by any one. Its incomprehensible how a river now so tiny in the mammoth back drop of the canyon, can be the primary reason for its formation. The relentless high-velocity angry gushing of a mightier, much larger, more fierce and intimidating Colorado river through eons have carved out the Grand Canyon as we see it today. I wonder how wide could the river have been to leave behind a path so fearfully humongous as the Grand Canyon.
The power of its unfathomable massive size overwhelms you to a point where one looses all sense of scale and proportion! Ultimately I gave up wondering at how a thing as soft as water can wreck such damage at huge slabs and blocks of rock even if it was through thousands of years and just began to marvel at the beauty before me.
The amphitheater at Mather Point was full of people. A tour guide was giving information about the canyon along with a little history, geography & habitats of the region. He had interesting little anecdotes for us along with some humor which kept things lively even in the chill weather. Amazingly there was no dearth of visitors at the Canyon even in this cold weather.
The Indian tribes call the Grand Canyon their home. Tribes like the Southern Paiute, Navajo, Hopi, Apache, Yavapai, Zuni and Havasupai have been living here for thousands of years.
There were a couple of view points that we stopped at before hitting the lunch table. I don't know if Devu realised where she was or that she just saw one of the most compelling natural wonders in the world, but she sure was relieved to be indoors for a while. It was cold outside. The National Park is about 8000 ft above sea level. So even though Arizona is a famous desert, its not always hot at the Grand Canyon. Coming from Washington we were well prepared for the cold there, but wished that the days could have been longer rather than having to hurry to get to Hopi point before sunset at 4.00pm. Quickly bought a gift from the gift shop and headed out to one of the bus-stops. Shuttle service is a great relief at a popular tourist-magnet like the Grand Canyon, for parking would have been a nightmare with tourists thronging this place all year round.
As it neared sunset time, the queue at the bus-stop got longer every second. We boarded the bus that took us to Hopi point which was at a higher elevation and so was cold & windy. I guess watching the most photographed sunset in the world comes with a price. But nothing was going to stop us, all of us got out of the bus in no time only to be rewarded with the live visual experience of the most poignant & ethereally unparalleled sunset in the world. It was truly a photographer's paradise although I strongly believe that no photo can do justice to the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. The setting sun adorned the Canyon's red rock layers with sanguine light and shadows formed behind them to make a stunningly perfect treat for the eyes. If ever I had a doubt in my mind that it was poor judgement to plan this trip at the end of November, this cleared it. This spectacular view fully justified the thousands of miles that we travelled, braving unforgiving harsh weather with a sick 2-yr old child.
We took a couple of pictures too, or rather tried in vain to capture the majestic beauty of Nature. Our 2yr old on the other hand was in no mood - recovering as she was from a small episode of stomach-flu(one of the worst things to happen while on a vacation)- to appreciate Nature's extravagant beauty displayed in all its glory right before her very eyes. She was exhausted enough to call it a day. It was a difficult decision to turn back made easy only by the chill of the gusty winds.
When we came down back to where we boarded the bus, it was a lot more comfortable in contrast to Hopi point. What a difference a few vertical feet can make! phew!
Our senses fully refreshed and with memories made for a life time, this was one trip that we were never going to forget. Riding back to Flagstaff, I was reflecting on a phrase I read in one of the pamphlets we brought back with us, although true every day, it seems more real here - "Today is just the last page in the history still being written".
Most people that visit The Grand Canyon National Park stay at Williams, Flagstaff or at the resort with in the National Park. We stayed at Flagstaff - a 90 mile drive from the park. To our amazement, on the way to the Canyon was the Bedrock city - the home of the Flintstones. There was Fred, Wilma, Dino and the rest of the Flintstones ensemble. This was the real home of the Flintstones - I loved to watch the Flintstones as a child. Being in their home was exciting. When we passed by a Flintstones themed campground, we stopped by to take pictures but only on our way back. It was a long drive up to The Grand Canyon National Park and we wanted to cover most of it before it was too late. After all it was November when days are shorter. Soon we reached Tusayan, at the entrance of the National Park.
After entering the first over-look is the breath-taking Mather Point. Ever since I read an article about the Grand Canyon in The Hindu many many years ago(when newspapers were still the main source of news and mobile phones & tablets PCs were only found in science fiction books), I have always held a fascination for the natural wonder. Now to actually be there standing at the edge of it with the unfathomable vast open space of the canyon spreading in front of me was an inexplicably unique experience. Beautiful shades of red rocks & sand layered atop one another forming colorful tall shapes inter-spaced with deep dark trenches as far as the eye can see. And somewhere in the middle of it all deep down in the dark alleys of the canyon runs the Colorado river quietly almost unnoticed by any one. Its incomprehensible how a river now so tiny in the mammoth back drop of the canyon, can be the primary reason for its formation. The relentless high-velocity angry gushing of a mightier, much larger, more fierce and intimidating Colorado river through eons have carved out the Grand Canyon as we see it today. I wonder how wide could the river have been to leave behind a path so fearfully humongous as the Grand Canyon.
The power of its unfathomable massive size overwhelms you to a point where one looses all sense of scale and proportion! Ultimately I gave up wondering at how a thing as soft as water can wreck such damage at huge slabs and blocks of rock even if it was through thousands of years and just began to marvel at the beauty before me.
The amphitheater at Mather Point was full of people. A tour guide was giving information about the canyon along with a little history, geography & habitats of the region. He had interesting little anecdotes for us along with some humor which kept things lively even in the chill weather. Amazingly there was no dearth of visitors at the Canyon even in this cold weather.
There were a couple of view points that we stopped at before hitting the lunch table. I don't know if Devu realised where she was or that she just saw one of the most compelling natural wonders in the world, but she sure was relieved to be indoors for a while. It was cold outside. The National Park is about 8000 ft above sea level. So even though Arizona is a famous desert, its not always hot at the Grand Canyon. Coming from Washington we were well prepared for the cold there, but wished that the days could have been longer rather than having to hurry to get to Hopi point before sunset at 4.00pm. Quickly bought a gift from the gift shop and headed out to one of the bus-stops. Shuttle service is a great relief at a popular tourist-magnet like the Grand Canyon, for parking would have been a nightmare with tourists thronging this place all year round.
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| Sunset at Hopi Point |
As it neared sunset time, the queue at the bus-stop got longer every second. We boarded the bus that took us to Hopi point which was at a higher elevation and so was cold & windy. I guess watching the most photographed sunset in the world comes with a price. But nothing was going to stop us, all of us got out of the bus in no time only to be rewarded with the live visual experience of the most poignant & ethereally unparalleled sunset in the world. It was truly a photographer's paradise although I strongly believe that no photo can do justice to the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. The setting sun adorned the Canyon's red rock layers with sanguine light and shadows formed behind them to make a stunningly perfect treat for the eyes. If ever I had a doubt in my mind that it was poor judgement to plan this trip at the end of November, this cleared it. This spectacular view fully justified the thousands of miles that we travelled, braving unforgiving harsh weather with a sick 2-yr old child.
We took a couple of pictures too, or rather tried in vain to capture the majestic beauty of Nature. Our 2yr old on the other hand was in no mood - recovering as she was from a small episode of stomach-flu(one of the worst things to happen while on a vacation)- to appreciate Nature's extravagant beauty displayed in all its glory right before her very eyes. She was exhausted enough to call it a day. It was a difficult decision to turn back made easy only by the chill of the gusty winds.
When we came down back to where we boarded the bus, it was a lot more comfortable in contrast to Hopi point. What a difference a few vertical feet can make! phew!
Our senses fully refreshed and with memories made for a life time, this was one trip that we were never going to forget. Riding back to Flagstaff, I was reflecting on a phrase I read in one of the pamphlets we brought back with us, although true every day, it seems more real here - "Today is just the last page in the history still being written".
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