The Grand Canyon

For a geologist, the Grand Canyon is a place calling out for a visit.  There you can see rock layers that represent more than a billion years of history.  My wife and I try to make at least two visits a year.  Each time we go we see the canyon differently.  Sometimes its clear.  Sometimes its cloudy.  Sometimes it snows.  The sun rises and sets in different locations depending on the season.  

The South Rim is where most of the visitors end up.  It is about a 70 mile drive north of Flagstaff, AZ.  The South Rim is open for visitation all year long.  There is a nice selection of hotels and inns both within and right outside the park boundary in Tusyan.  

Our first visit together was in 1970.  We stayed in one of the Bright Angel Lodge cabins.  The room tab at that time was $13.00.  Today the same cabin costs over $100.00.  

The North Rim is only 10 miles as the crow flies from the South Rim.  By road it is nearly 225 miles.  The North Rim has only one lodge.  The North Rim, because it is over 1000 feet higher in elevation, gets much more snow and the road to the North Rim is closed from October until May.

South Rim Photos:
Condor in the air.

 Snowfall on the South Rim.

 The view UP from Plateau Point.

 Bright Angel Lodge duplex cabin.

 Rainbow at Mather Point.

 Thunderstorm over South Rim.

 Desert Watchtower at eastern part of the South Rim.

 Brachiopod along the West Rim Trail.

 Partway down the South Kaibab Trail.

 Solitude on the South Rim.