Grand Canyon- South Rim

We arrived at the South Rim of Grand Canyon via Rt 64, the East entrance. Our first stop was at the Watchtower overlook. The Watchtower is a 70 foot stone tower built in 1932. Its purpose was to provide an unobstructed view of the canyon. An Indian artist painted murals on the interior walls depicting Hopi legends- some were really beautiful. The view from the top was great, and the stairs tested our bodies' adjustment to high elevations (still puffing!).

Leaving the Watchtower, we continued on the Desert View drive, as the east end is known, and stopped at several other overviews, each with its own breathtaking angle on the canyon. We did our usual stop at the Visitor Center once we reached the South entrance, which is the most used entrance in the park. We did not find this person very helpful, a first in our travels. He did advise us to view the west end of the canyon, which can only be reached by shuttle, for the best views of the Colorado River.

The next day, we did as advised and took the Hermits Rest shuttle to view the west end. The shuttle was pretty easy to use, but time consuming. We made several stops, starting with Maricopa Point, where the park service is replanting native vegetation that has been destroyed by foot traffic in the past. After looking at the view and trying to pick out the Lodge at the North Rim, we walked to the next shuttle point for some exercise. The Colorado River was becoming more and more dominant in the view as we moved west.

Our next (and last) stop was Pima Point, where the murky green river wound its way between the rock formations. We had a nice conversation with two rangers about the Condor program. The California Condor was native to the area up until the climate became hotter and drier. By the time the European settlers arrived in the area, they were found only on the California coast. They are the largest and rarest bird in North America- 7 foot wingspan! Only 22 Condors remained by the early 1980's. There is a program to breed condors in captivity, than release them back in the wild. The 2 locations chosen were central California and Northern Arizona in the Grand Canyon. The program has been pretty successful, in that they are now breeding in the wild. They pointed out where the Condors are nesting in the canyon wall and described how to recognize them in flight. Unfortunately, we were not able to spot any.

After a beautiful day at the "Big Ditch" (as Dale describes it), we headed back to our hotel in Williams. Williams is a cute little town. The historic Route 66 runs through the downtown area. We decided to take the next day off to play a local golf course (which was very nice and in great condition), use the pool, and generally take it easy. Our next stop is the Flagstaff/Sedona area.