Grand Canyon

The journey from Monument Valley to the Grand Canyon involved some retracing of steps and was one of those journeys that reminds one just how big an area of the US is built on sandstone and how much of that is emptiness.

As we drove, we looked out for small towns to enjoy. We had heard of Tuba City so thought we’d look: we found the Young Offenders Institute, the school, a dollar shop – and not even an easily accessible cup of coffee!

Along the way we found a couple of places where Native Americans were selling handmade jewelry. Of course the beads came from other parts of the US ( though from tribal areas) and the silver work was not always local. I checked because I had nearly bought a couple of gifts at the Gouldings’ shop, only to realise, just in time, that they were not local, but made in India. Anything I have bought is local. At one roadside stall where I bought a couple of things I spoke with the grandparents of a young woman who was ‘manning’ one of the other stalls. They were working while attracting custom and were happy to be photographed at work.

The wife was busy stringing beads while the husband was making a dreamcatcher

That’s how they spend their days. A lady we had spoken to at an earlier stop said they had had no rain for twelve months and found the heat almost impossible in their stalls every day. Stallholders turn up sporadically and business is patchy. This second couple and their granddaughter were chatty and attracted business other than ours while we were there. There being more than one stall open was clearly a more attractive option for passersby.

We were still a good way from the Grand Canyon! When we realised that we were at the entrance we assumed Grand Canyon Village where we were staying would be ‘just round the corner’ – Oh No!! The Ranger on duty at the entrance said calmly: ‘the first viewpoint is just a few yards ahead and then you will drive another 32 miles to Grand Canyon Village which is the hub of things on the South Rim… so the sight-seeing began!

But first an ice-cream, a cold drink and some fuel at a newly built station called Desert View. From the nearby car park – oops ‘Parking Lot’ – it was a fairly short walk to our first view of the rim.

Both the expanse and the depth amazed me. The very solid stone built watchtower on the edge seemed small enough, people were just like ants!

I’m not sure even this prepared me for some of the vantage points we would see in the next twenty four hours or for the wealth of colour. I can’t help thinking about what is going on under the surface wherever we are on any part of this planet we live on.

Although we were up early, we didn’t aim for sunrise at the rim, but we did catch some good morning light as well as some lovely evening light near the Kolb Studio. What a fascinating story theirs was: two brothers who came across the town of Williams and started exploring and photographing the canyon and its visitors – including the mule riders. Around that they built a business and also made known many of the now iconic views of the canyon.

Note the photographer here surveying the trail and deciding to stay on the rim!!

Following the advice of a young woman we had spoken to in Monument Valley, we took the shuttle bus out to the farthest point – Hermit’s Rest – where visitors had initially been taken by stagecoach and continued to be amazed by the canyon’s expanse and colours.

Still staggered by the depth of the canyon, we moved along to the next viewpoint where glimpsing the Colorado River at the bottom is easier – but it is just a glimpse!!

When I see something like this, contours make sense!! Why didn’t my teachers ever use such images to help us understand? Here I can see the different levels and the differences in height of each.

We had been out early and by midday were ready to relax a while, so enjoyed a leisurely afternoon before visiting the Kolb studio later in the day.

Evening light shows yet more of the depth and variety of this place.

But it was time to move on and we found ourselves early next morning on the road to Death Valley via part of Route 66 amid warnings of extreme heat: as high as 54F was being predicted. We were reassured by the fact that while we were in the Grand Canyon we had experienced rain for the first time since we arrived. We knew it would be hot, but we were prepared….