Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

We departed the Flagstaff area Thursday afternoon, and after stocking up on groceries and propane, traveled northwest approx 75 miles to the Grand Canyon area.  We wanted to arrive prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend rush, and we were able to secure a free dispersed campsite outside the park gates in the Kaibab National Forest near Tusayan, AZ, only 2-3 miles from the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park.

The NPS offers free shuttle service around the park to cut down on traffic, and also a shuttle bus from the town of Tusayan.  On Friday morning we got down our motorbike and took the short 1-2 mile ride to town, where we were able to pick up the bus into the park.  

Sueshan wouldn't let me take her picture on the shuttle bus, so to set a good example, I let her take mine.

We arrived at the park visitors center, grabbed a map, and headed westward along the South Rim trail.  The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the much more heavily visited area of the park, with the main visitor center, Grand Canyon Village, and other associated lodges and general stores located there.  The South Rim is located at an elevation of approximately 7000' msl; the North Rim is located between 4 and 18 miles (average about 10) across the gorge at an elevation of approximately 8000' msl.  To drive to the North Rim is over 200 miles and requires 4-5 hours; there is little there besides national forest and a few primitive campgrounds.  Being at higher elevation, the North Rim receives more precipitation annually, is greener, and is a few degrees cooler.

The Colorado River, which carved the canyon, can be seen in the photos below.

From South Rim, looking northeast.

View from the South Rim looking northward.

One of the small specs on the point below is Sueshan; this is one of the points that allow those daring enough to get as far out into the canyon as possible.

After walking a few miles between consecutive viewpoint spots, we picked up the "red line" shuttle bus and hopped off the shuttle at each promontory, traveling as far west in the park one can go without serious hiking, Hermit's Rest.

At Hermit's Rest, we saw a rather tatty but very tame mule dear chomping on flowers and scrubby shrubs.

The entrance to Hermit's Rest, at the western terminus of the NPS shuttle system.  Traveling beyond here requires serious hiking, and typically a permit and overnight camping.

There is a small lodge/gift shop located at Hermit's Rest.

Later that evening, on the shuttle bus back toward Grand Canyon Village, we saw the elk below with a fairly nice, felt-covered rack.

On Saturday, we headed the opposite direction, eastward, into the park, and traveled on the motorbike the nearly 30 miles to the Desert View Watchtower, completed in 1932 and designed by Mary Coulter.

Looking northeast from the Desert View area, where the Canyon is much less rugged toward it's northern end, but still a deep gouge in the Earth's surface.

Toward the middle of the picture below is Chuar Butte and Temple Butte, the site of most of the wreckage of the worst air disaster in American history to that time, the mid-air collision of a Lockheed Super Constellation and a Douglas DC-7 in June 1956.  The collision killed 128 people and led to the creation of the FAA and more modern air traffic control system.  Most of the wreckage has been removed, but I understand if the sun is shining just right you can still see the glint of metal on the canyon side, including nearly all of the tail of the Constellation.  The site was just added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 2014.

View from the top floor observation deck of the Desert View Watchtower.

Looking down-canyon, towards the west.

The ancestral

During our return trip from Desert View, we stopped at the Tusayan ruins; Pueblo natives built Tusayun around 1185 AD.

The Kiva was a round ceremonial room.  The remains of a large Kiva are shown in the photograph below.

The photographs below were taken at various stops along Desert View Road.

Elk, very numerous in the area, seen below just outside the Grand Canyon National Park in the Kaibab National Forest.

On Sunday Sueshan wanted to hike the fairly short (1.5 mile) but rather steep and strenuous South Kaibab Trail.  It descends (and correspondingly re-ascends) over 700 vertical feet in its first 0.75 miles.  It doesn't look too difficult, but given the midday heat, very strong sunshine, and thinner air at 7000 foot elevation, the short hike can be a challenge (with a junk heart, anyway).  I was very nearly left to die.

The Oh-Ah Point, the actual name of the first checkpoint on the trail, affords great views of the Canyon, and it's continuation another 10+ miles to the Colorado River in the bottom of the gorge.

I look OK here, but I'm actually pretty whipped. I was just waiting for the shock from the ICD.

From the trail looking back up towards the canyon rim.

Below is the largest elk we saw on our trip in the Kaibab/Grand Canyon area.  He will make a nice trophy for someone's wall.

Below are some photos of our camp area outside Tusayan, AZ on Forest Service 302E route.  We stayed here for 3 nights, with temps during the day in the 60's to about 80 on the warmest day, dropping to the mid 40's during the night.