The famous Quote “The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.” – By Donald C. Peattie. And the journey began right time in fall 2017 on the eve of Labor Day Weekend!! Our first ever National Park journey with family all the way to Grand Canyon, Arizona.
It was rather not scheduled but fitted and worked out as an unforgettable voyage and deep dive into the canyons!! The canyons that were carved by Colorado with billion years of efforts! The power of water over the period of time one can just dream off!!
As a kid I used to always wonder what’s so special about Grand Canyon?? Why folks visit and what’s there to see – just some rocks, some carved mountains and people would take few clicks and send it across! Given the option I would be least interested in visiting. But this very morale cluttered into pieces like when a vase falls down from a table!! I was ashamed that how incorrect I was and to reveal the reason behind that unknown “Why” when I visited this nature’s bounty and a real geographical wonder. I was blessed because this unplanned venture turned out to be a perfect hit in the bull’s eye at a very first attempt!! What a coincidence!! We visited South rim which was a perfect location to understand the billion years of history and the real canyon formation lookout point where we could site the mighty Colorado still making her own way through the carved mountains!!! Wow what an amazing journey!!
We started our way from Flagstaff – the Tahoe of Arizona. 1 ½ hrs drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park via I-40 W and AZ-64 N. It was early fall and the sun was still shining at 90s!! The roads are barren for miles together, sometimes surrounded by the unique desert formations, not always consistent though. When we passed Sedona region the honeymooners place I felt for a while I went back to the Mackena’s Gold Era in 60s’. Well Monument Valley is the real place – on the border of Utah and Arizona where this movie was shot. The good, The Bad and The Ugly or For Few Dollars More music background would have been a perfect blend while driving - I must say.
With bit of a sweat and anxiousness to visit Grand Canyon we reached the National Park Visitor's Center at South Rim. First thing is to get the map of National Park - study about the directions, various entrances and on the top of it Park Rangers are there to help you. We had many options to choose different routes but the best one and scenic, suggested by the Park Ranger was Hermitz Rest Route with Red Line. Route that covers the most geographical formations with the canyon view and that too during the available time slot!! Another 100% assured dart hit!!
The route is covered by the free ecofriendly shuttle service provided by the Grand Canyon National Park. The route begins from Bright Angel Point and goes till the end to Hermitz Rest. At the very starting point - Bright Angel we witnessed the magnificence of Grand Canyon and I got my answer of "The Why" and I smiled at myself!!
There are moderate to strenuous hikes starting from Bright Angel Point. One of them could be sighted here in the above click. I really admired inspired folks who were taking the 5 miles trail in such a hot shot weather. Be mindful of water as there are no water stops here on the trail and at the very entrance the board speaks a loud about this notice!!! Another interesting catch was each milestone at south rim stamps the historical age as if there’s a hidden time capsule beneath.
To name couple of lookout points on Hermitz Rest route and must watch are "Pima Point", "Mohave Point" and "The Abyss". The real grandness of Grand Canyon can be seen from Mohave Point which has a fine view of the near vertical, 3,000 foot high cliffs that encircle The Abyss and continue towards Pima Point, two miles west. Then we caught the breath taking view of mighty Colorado making her way through the canyons for years together from Pima Point.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it - how truely said by Theodore Roosevelt!! One gets stunned to see nature's granduer and the splendid creation. The carving of Canyon is still going on and one can see the magnificent outcome. Just feel like storing everything in your eyesight forever.... and with that we came at the extreme end of the national park "Hermitz Rest". At the very end point of the rim there is a small shop situated on the cliff where once can sit back, enjoy the view of grand valley and also shop for souvenirs.
Here are some facts about Grand Canyon (Source National park booklet and Wickipedia)
The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge in northern Arizona. Scientists estimate the canyon may have formed 5 to 6 million years ago when the Colorado River began to cut a channel through layers of rock. ... The first Europeans to reach the Grand Canyon were Spanish explorers in the 1540s.
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it.
Still today Novajo Tribals ideally rule part of Grand Canyon which is not under National Park. The west rim with Glass Sky walk falls under this Novajo region. Much accessible and close from Las Vegas.
The park has east, south, west and north entrances. Each entrance has it's own beauty just like the park has different beauty in each season!!
For kiddos to make this journey more interesting there are junior ranger badges. One can obtain those right at the beginning of park journey at Visitors center from Park Ranger. To know your park closely, study it and get your badge from the visitor's center once you submit the required covered paper based checkpoints/booklet based tasks. There are Park ranger led programs, tours and trails. If you want to really enjoy the park stay you can book your accommodation right in advance within the park itself.
Or there are other private options like AirBnB or motels and hotels nearby. The convenient shopping is also available within the park area. The ecofriendly free shuttle service on various routes make life much easier for those who want to sit back and relax and enjoy the natures bounty.
With heart filled wish to return at another entrance one day we returned to Flagstaff.
No comments:
Post a Comment