The Grand Canyon

♫ Music ♫

Arizona is known as The Grand Canyon State.  If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon you will never forget it!  When we planned our visit to Arizona we knew we had to visit the Grand Canyon again.  In 1970 we had a brief visit.  We wanted to go back to experience it with mature eyes.

We left early in the morning for our journey to the South Rim of the canyon.  The trip through the elevations take us through the desert to elevations of well above 7000 feet.  Scottsdale's elevation is 1257 feet.  What a difference the vegetation is as we begin our drive and continue to climb.

Arizona's climate goes from tropical desert to sub alpine!  It's quite amazing to travel in a few short hours to see such variety of trees and plants.  The temperature difference is felt with each mile we travel north.

We immediately smell the wonderful fragrance of juniper and pine!  So refreshing!

As we climb in elevation, so does the vegetation climb the mountains.

I'm so excited to be returning to the Grand Canyon.  We are almost to the entrance.  The park has undergone many changes since our last visit.  They receive 5 million visitors a year.  You can imagine they needed to do something to control the influx of visitors.

The Grand Canyon was given federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve.  It was later named a National Monument.  The Grand Canyon became part of the National Park Service in 1919.

After going through the entrance we see a mule deer alongside the road having his lunch.

There is now a huge visitor center and trails to view the canyon.  When we were here in 1970 the visitor center and surrounds were on a much smaller scale.  Now you can take a bus to view the South Rim area.

Walking up to see the canyon I am immediately struck with emotion as we see the most magnificent sight!!

The sun shining on the geologic color is pure joy to view!  The canyon is 277 river miles long and up to 18 miles wide and up to a mile deep.  I am overwhelmed by its majesty!

The Grand Canyon was named a  UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.   It has been home to Native Americans for thousands of years.  About 10,000 years ago, paleo-hunters were known to have hunted big game throughout the area. More recently, hunter-gathers lived in the area until about 1000 BC.  Archaeological findings, such as pottery found in the canyon, have been carbon dated to 4000 years ago.

 It's so difficult to stop taking photos and just drink in all of the beauty!

The Grand Canyon reveals windows into time with its rock layers. The geology is remarkable as we view the canyons and mountain peaks!  The strata reveals a record of the earth's changes throughout history.  I am in AWE!!!

Because of the extreme changes in elevation of this area, there are several communities of life within the Grand Canyon.  At the floor of the canyon is the riparian area, followed by the desert up to the pinyon-juniper forest, to the ponderosa pine forest, to the mixed conifer forest.  It is an amazing community all within relative closeness to each other.

"The whole canyon and everything in it is sacred to us, all around, up and down."

Rex Tilousi, Havasupai elder

The National Park Service has done an outstanding job of keeping the Grand Canyon a wonderful park to enjoy.  The movie in the visitor center brings the canyon to life.  From the Paleo-Indian era (12,000-9,000 years ago) to the Archaic era (9,000-2,500 years ago) to Basket Maker (2,500-1,200 years ago) to Ancestral Puebloan (800-1,300) to Late Prehistoric era (1,300-1,500) to NOW...

The Grand Canyon speaks about the life of the humans that inhabited this area and to those who continue to live here.  The very earth shows itself to us as we view the majestic Grand Canyon!