We left Kayenta on the morning of Thursday 27 March 2008, heading towards the Grand Canyon. One of the guides we were using said not to miss the 'dinosaur tracks that can be seen just a few miles west of Tuba City'. We wasted some time driving around Tuba City in what the SUV's compass said was a westerly direction before giving up in disappointment at the lack of signage. and heading back to the highway. Did allow us to see around the town, which while apparently 'somewhat less impoverished than other Navajo towns' was obviously not that affluent an area. Reading the comments now, the bit Donna didn't read was that the dinosaur tracks were on Route 160 ie the highway which was where we found them! (Had to note this so I'm not the only one who didn't read all the directions!)
The Navajos were at our door as we stopped just west of Tuba City along Route 160 offering to guide us around the dinosaur tracks. When the youngish girl left without us, a conversation ensued with her father of which I overheard 'but they said they didn't want a guide'. He came over and gently pointed out the lack of interpretation etc in the area and that they only asked a tip as a gesture of appreciation for their guide services. So off we went to follow him!
He was right. There's no way we would have found the tracks let alone understand what we were looking at without his guidance. I'm assuming here that what he told us was correct but he seemed very knowledgeable and had good answers to all our questions, if he was rather keen to get us around as quickly as possible so he could get back to his jewellery stand (where we once again acquired more than our share of pieces!) He showed us tracks which he said were from allosaurus, pterodactyl, triceratops, raptor and diplodocus. There were heaps of tracks all over the sandstone and it was pretty interesting. We also saw a small human footprint which may have been a child's but he claimed that the original Indian inhabitants of the area where only about three foot tall. He also showed us what looked like ovoid rocks which he claimed was dinosaur poop.Who knows!
We tipped him $10 which was probably excessive given he was obviously keen to get us around as quickly as possible and back to his jewellery stand. But looking at the relative difference in our income levels, felt better being charitable. The kids talked to one of the little girls who was playing with a naked Bratz doll with no feet. They thought it funny that she would value the doll until we explained later it was probably her only doll. Contrast that with the ridiculous numbers of fluffy toys that our kids have ...
We kept driving and were soon at the east rim of the Grand Canyon. Everyone on the planet must know of the Grand Canyon, so here's just the basic background: 'The canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) and attains a depth of more than a mile (1.6 km). Nearly two billion years of the Earth's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.' We picked up a copy of the NPS's newspaper 'The Guide' on the way into the Park which became our constant companion in exploring over the next couple of days.
We basically spent the afternoon driving along Desert View Drive, stopping at the major scenic overlooks along the way. Fortunately we were early enough in the season that we could drive the full length and not have to rely on the park shuttle bus for parts of the trip. Our first stop was at Desert View where we climbed to the top of the 70 foot Watchtower. This has a number of levels, each painted with murals depicting Hopi legends. Enjoyed getting a bit more of a cultural insight after the geological focus of the past few days.
After enjoying the Canyon views around this area, we had lunch. Kieren dropped a cracker which a raven soon salvaged. We totally failed to get the message across about why you shouldn't feed the animals. Fortunately they heard a ranger giving a talk about this and the problems of squirrels attacking people for food later in the day and both became contrite. We also had Kieren on the lookout for his raven coming back for more food from him for the rest of our trip through the Grand Canyon!
Other stops on the way east were Navajo Point, Lipan Point (reputedly the finest view of the eastern canyon), Tusayan Ruin and Museum (very informative re the Indian cultures and the excavated ancestral Peubloan village from AD1185), Moran Point (view of the Colorado River down in the depths of the Canyon, Grandview Point (one of the finest vistas on the South Rim) and Yaki Point.
Kol had warned us that you need to get down into the Canyon a bit to be able to appreciate / get a sense of the immensity of it. This wasn't possible with the kids and may explain we didn't find it as interesting as what we had just travelled through in Utah. Even though it was early in the tourist season, the crowds were also starting to form so we had trouble getting a car park at most scenic sites and often had to wait for others to move to get up to the viewing areas. Not my idea of a nature experience!
By this stage we were keen to get to the Quality inn in Tusayan which is a small town just south of the Park's south entrance. While we didn't spend much time in the room, it was nice to have a suite with some extra room, even if the cleanliness of the room left a bit to be desired.
We decided to not race out to see the sunrise on Friday 28 March 2008, instead having a more leisurely start to the day before we headed back into the Grand Canyon. Today we started at teh Canyon View Information Plaza at Mather Point with its classic panoramic view into the heart of the Canyon. From here you can see Phantom Ranch in a small area of greenery at the bottom of the Canyon. This is the lodge / campground where hikers and mule trips spend the evening on the two day trips down into the Canyon. Maybe next time! The kids picked up an activity booklet here which they had to complete to become a junior ranger. This proved an excellent resource to keep them actively involved in the day's activities.
Yavapai Point was our last stop before we left the SUV and hopped on the shuttle bus along to Hermits Rest. This 7 mile narrow road seemed way too close to the edge of the Canyon and made me nervous in parts. We hopped off at Powell Point and walked the 0.3 miles to Hopi Point. Hopping back on the next shuttle, we continued through to Hermits Rest at the end of the 7 mile road. This was a good place to stop for a coffee and enjoy the view before doing the return trip.
We had to hurry back to Yavapai for the 2.30 ranger talk on the Colorado River which also covered the geological history of the Canyon. This was the last 'tick' the kids needed on their booklets so from there it was back into the Information Plaza at Mather Point as Olivia was set on the ranger who gave them the booklet also completed the junior ranger process for them. This involved him checking their booklets, stamping them, making them take the junior ranger pledge to protect parks, animals, educate others, etc and then presenting them with their junior ranger badges and certificates. We then had to head over to the bookshop where they were entitled to buy the Raven junior ranger cloth badge! They were quite proud of their badges for the rest of the trip.
Our plans for a cheap takeaway meal that evening in our hotel room were destroyed by the prices charged by the local McDonalds. Claiming transport costs that no one else in the area used to inflate their prices, it seemed more like they didn't offer the $1 menu deals other McDonalds offered and had other prices pushed up. At least our local pizza was good value and tasted good.
Photos here.
Malcolm
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