Grand Canyon

From the Hoover Dam we traveled a portion of Route 66 toward the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We had hoped to see the North Rim since we had heard less people visit and the view is just as spectacular, but the road leading there was closed till mid May due to snow conditions. So we were left with no choice than to go to the heavily visited South Rim. In our quest to save money on camping, we opted not to camp within the park and instead camped just south of the park entrance on the Kaibab National Forest. We found incredible camping spots with ample firewood and surprisingly very few people.

Route 66 Sign

Biking Near our Camp on the Kaibab Forest

dave had never been to the canyon before and the only time I was there a blizzard blocked the view so we were quite surprised when we got our first view over the canyon rim. For those of you who have never seen it in person these photos won’t do any justice to the scale and multitude of colors that comprise the canyon but they will give you a small taste of the incredible views. We left the dogs in the van and hiked a large portion of the Rim Trail along the canyon’s edge. In places the trail got very close to the edge and we had to fight back a feeling of vertigo. In the end, I’m glad the weather was cool enough to do some hiking as we got some spectacular views not afforded to those who drove and only got out at the lookouts. We didn’t want to leave the dogs in the van for too long so we didn’t descend into the canyon on the steep trails

Views of Grand Canyon

Notice the guy sitting on the right side of this photo. He will help put into scale the immensity.

Trail Switchback Leading into the Canyon

In May 1869 a one armed civil war veteran, John Wesley Powell, and nine other men descended with four boats into the canyon on what they believed would be a ten-month excursion through the last unmapped territory of the US. Three months and one thousand miles later, six emaciated men in two boats emerged from the canyon. They had endured unbelievable hardships but had somehow survived what many, including local Indians, said was not possible. Their story has gone down as one of the most incredible real life adventure stories of our nation. I was able to pick up a book containing many of Powell’s journal entries at one of the bookstores. I am excited to read more details about their trip.

dave and Replica of Powell’s Boats

It is hard to tell the story of the Grand Canyon without talking about the geology. Here is a bit of information from the park’s newsletter.

How Old?
The oldest rocks within the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon date to 1.84 billion years ago. For comparison, geologists currently set the age of the Earth at 4.5 billion years.

How New?
Geologists generally agree that canyon carving occurred over the last 5-6 million years.

How Long and Wide?
Over its 277 river miles, the canyon varies in width. Along the South Rim, it ranges between 8 and 16 miles depending upon where you chose to measure.

Twelve distinct rock layers are visible from many of the overlooks. Some of these layers used to be old lake beds, tidal flats and swamps. Some layers form sheer vertical walls while others form slopes. Shale and siltstone erode easily and crumble into slopes. Sandstone and limestone resist erosion in this arid climate but sheer off vertically as they are undermined by the more easily eroded shale below.

View of Different Rock Layers (Notice the vertical walls near the top and bottom and the sloped layers in the middle)