The Grand Canyon is an jaw-dropping sight. After I've enjoyed the beauty and colors of the different rock formations, the way cloud shadows change the scenery, and the size of the canyon, I start wondering just how long it took the Colorado River to carve the chasm. To find answers to my questions, I follow the 1.2 mile easy paved walk, Trail of Time..
Along this timeline trail, I watch for round markers. The first one is at a view point where I can see the Colorado River deep in the canyon. I learn that the canyon is only 6 million years old. That's just the blink of an eye in geologic time. The river cut down through some very old rock to form this amazing gorge.
The second marker identifies the Upper Flat Layers that were laid down in 270-315 million years ago. I'm standing on the light colored Kaibab Formation. This is the youngest layer and is composed of limestone. It contains fossils of coral, shells and sponges.
Marker number 3 provides a view down on the 525 million year old Tapeats Sandstone. Pronounced "ta-PEETS," this is the oldest horizontal layer and is 525 million years old, but isn't the oldest rock in the canyon.
The Grand Canyon Supergroup is featured at the next stop. I can pick out the bright orange Hakatai (HACK-a-tie) Shale 642-1244 million years old.
The last stop showcases the oldest rocks in the canyon, the Basement Rock. These are among the oldest rocks in the Southwest at 1.66 to 1.84 BILLION years old.
All this age, beauty and spectacular scenery is why they call it the GRAND Canyon.
Janet
ISRAEL
The Old City of Akko
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Grand Canyon, North Rim Camping
A few years back, my husband and I made the mistake of arriving at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon without a reservation for lodging. There was no room in the campgrounds or cabins. My 4WD truck was equiped for sleeping. We always carry water and I had everything necessary to survive a few nights without a bed, in my truck. It was dark by the time we found a service road and parked behind a pile of gravel, crawled in the back of the truck and went to sleep.
But not for long. At the count of 3, the Park Rangers jarred us awake with flood lights surrounding us. Why we didn't wake up when they circled our truck is still a mystery. In my shaken condition, I thought they were going to drag us outside, line us up against the truck and shoot us. It was a nightmare.
So this time I started two weeks ahead of our arrival date and worked on getting camping reservations. There was nothing open. Now here is how it works. If you have a 21 foot trailer or smaller, they have more sites avaialable than for a 27 foot trailer. As the size goes up in traveling units, the numbers of available spaces goes down. We have a 22 foot trailer and were able to get a site for one night, due to a cancellation. We planned on four nights.
Kaibab National Forest boarders Grand Canyon National Park on the north. You can camp anywhere in the National Forest as long as you are off the main highway #67, by a mile. Being self contained helps make your camping experience enjoyable. Finging water is a problem anywhere in that part of the state. Water has to be trucked in at Jacob's Lake. We found a site at the National Forest De Motte Campgrounds. This is a first come, first serve campgrounds with drinking water for camping needs only. You can't fill your trailers water tank. The towlets are very clean. The morning sunrise was a spiritual experience. We took our chairs and sat at the edge of tree line, taking in the meadow that exposes all the wildlife of the area. Buffalo herds stopped traffic at the gate entrance. Deer hopped in and out of the trees while turkey families focused on their quest for food. This delightful campgrounds is only 25 miles from the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. Our Golden Age Passport got us settled in and smiling, for half the price.
But not for long. At the count of 3, the Park Rangers jarred us awake with flood lights surrounding us. Why we didn't wake up when they circled our truck is still a mystery. In my shaken condition, I thought they were going to drag us outside, line us up against the truck and shoot us. It was a nightmare.
So this time I started two weeks ahead of our arrival date and worked on getting camping reservations. There was nothing open. Now here is how it works. If you have a 21 foot trailer or smaller, they have more sites avaialable than for a 27 foot trailer. As the size goes up in traveling units, the numbers of available spaces goes down. We have a 22 foot trailer and were able to get a site for one night, due to a cancellation. We planned on four nights.
Kaibab National Forest boarders Grand Canyon National Park on the north. You can camp anywhere in the National Forest as long as you are off the main highway #67, by a mile. Being self contained helps make your camping experience enjoyable. Finging water is a problem anywhere in that part of the state. Water has to be trucked in at Jacob's Lake. We found a site at the National Forest De Motte Campgrounds. This is a first come, first serve campgrounds with drinking water for camping needs only. You can't fill your trailers water tank. The towlets are very clean. The morning sunrise was a spiritual experience. We took our chairs and sat at the edge of tree line, taking in the meadow that exposes all the wildlife of the area. Buffalo herds stopped traffic at the gate entrance. Deer hopped in and out of the trees while turkey families focused on their quest for food. This delightful campgrounds is only 25 miles from the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. Our Golden Age Passport got us settled in and smiling, for half the price.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Discover Arizona History in Prescott
Prescott, AZ has evolved from a gold mining camp to honors like "One of the 100 Best Art Towns" in America. Not THAT hot in the summer or THAT cold in the winter, and with plenty of forests, lakes and hiking trails, it has been named "One of the Best Places to Retire."
The imposing courthouse, built in 1918 in neo-classical style from locally quarried granite,still serves as the county courthouse and anchors the historical district. Over 600 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Infamous Whiskey Row is strung along the west side of Courthouse Square. Antique shops and boutiques offer hours of shopping fun.
Prescott's historical gem is the Sharlot Hall Museum on the site of the first Arizona Territorial capital. The Governor's Mansion, original to the site, along with the John C. Fremont Home and other buildings that have been moved to the location are surrounded by lawns and rose gardens. Displays range from prehistoric Native American artifacts, early American memorabilia, an extensive libary and archives, historical theatre and living history programs.
Sharlot Hall arrived in Arizona in 1882 at the age of 12. Mostly self-educated, she became a writer and poet. In 1909, Hall was named Territorial Historian and was the first woman to hold territorial office. Never married and very independent, she was ahead of her time, traveling the state gathering her collections. Because of her efforts, we have the beautiful Sharlot Hall Museum to enjoy.
Sharlot Hall Museum
116 S. McCormick St
Prescott
www.sharlot.org
The imposing courthouse, built in 1918 in neo-classical style from locally quarried granite,still serves as the county courthouse and anchors the historical district. Over 600 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Infamous Whiskey Row is strung along the west side of Courthouse Square. Antique shops and boutiques offer hours of shopping fun.
Prescott's historical gem is the Sharlot Hall Museum on the site of the first Arizona Territorial capital. The Governor's Mansion, original to the site, along with the John C. Fremont Home and other buildings that have been moved to the location are surrounded by lawns and rose gardens. Displays range from prehistoric Native American artifacts, early American memorabilia, an extensive libary and archives, historical theatre and living history programs.
Sharlot Hall arrived in Arizona in 1882 at the age of 12. Mostly self-educated, she became a writer and poet. In 1909, Hall was named Territorial Historian and was the first woman to hold territorial office. Never married and very independent, she was ahead of her time, traveling the state gathering her collections. Because of her efforts, we have the beautiful Sharlot Hall Museum to enjoy.
Sharlot Hall Museum
116 S. McCormick St
Prescott
www.sharlot.org
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Peter French's Round Barn???
While I was in Oregon, a friend said, "If you're going home through southeast Oregon, stop and see Peter French's Round Barn." I had been enjoying the scenery and birds at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, when I spotted a sign to Pete French's Round Barn, so I made a detour and I'm glad I did.
Peter French left northern California in 1872, driving 1200 head of shorthorn cattle with the help of a few vaqueros. French eventually became an important cattle baron owning the "P" Ranch. With several thousand head of horses, French had more than 300 colts born each year. He built three Round Barns as places to train and exercise these colts during Oregon's cold winters. Only one of the barns remain.
Placed on higher ground for better drainage, the round barn resembles a very large Chinese umbrella. The conical roof enclosess a 100-ft diameter stone corral and an indoor track. Made from lava stone and juniper trees. Twelve juniper trees that were unusually tall support the roof with the center pole being 35-feet high. It took 50,000 shingles to cover the roof.
In 1897, Peter French was shot and killed by a local homesteader in a land dispute. Thomas and Richard Jenskins donated the Round Barn to the state of Oregon for preservation.
The Jenkins family has also built the Round Barn Visitor Center that mirrors the architecture of the Round Barn. It houses family antiques as well as paintings by local artists and other items for sale. Through the visitors center, the Jenkins offer tours that focus on ranch heritage and on the Steens Mountains. A gourmet lunch comes with the tour.
The Round Barn is located about 50 miles from Burns, Oregon at
51955 Lava Bed Rd. Diamond, OR 97722; 888-493-2420; www.roundbarn.net
Peter French left northern California in 1872, driving 1200 head of shorthorn cattle with the help of a few vaqueros. French eventually became an important cattle baron owning the "P" Ranch. With several thousand head of horses, French had more than 300 colts born each year. He built three Round Barns as places to train and exercise these colts during Oregon's cold winters. Only one of the barns remain.
Placed on higher ground for better drainage, the round barn resembles a very large Chinese umbrella. The conical roof enclosess a 100-ft diameter stone corral and an indoor track. Made from lava stone and juniper trees. Twelve juniper trees that were unusually tall support the roof with the center pole being 35-feet high. It took 50,000 shingles to cover the roof.
In 1897, Peter French was shot and killed by a local homesteader in a land dispute. Thomas and Richard Jenskins donated the Round Barn to the state of Oregon for preservation.
The Jenkins family has also built the Round Barn Visitor Center that mirrors the architecture of the Round Barn. It houses family antiques as well as paintings by local artists and other items for sale. Through the visitors center, the Jenkins offer tours that focus on ranch heritage and on the Steens Mountains. A gourmet lunch comes with the tour.
The Round Barn is located about 50 miles from Burns, Oregon at
51955 Lava Bed Rd. Diamond, OR 97722; 888-493-2420; www.roundbarn.net
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Arizona Monsoon Season
Summer in Arizona can be brutal. High temperatures of 115 or 117 degress are common. In southern Arizona's Sonoran Desert, wildlife retreats to shade or underground burrows to wait for sunset and relief from the heat. But, when you think, you can't stand the heat anymore, Arizona monsoons start to roll in.
Rain clouds build up in Mexico and either roll directly up through Tucson to Phoenix or storms form in the White Mountains and along the Mogollon Rim and in the late afternoon slip down into the Valley.
These storms have an awe-inspiring ferocity. Lighting streaks the sky and thunder crashes echoing among the cliffs of the Superstition Mounains. Sometimes the storm is preceeded by a terrible sandstorm called a "haboob" a roiling, rolling wall of dirt that closes freeways and airports and sends residents running for cover.
When the rain does start to fall, the drops are large and fierce, splattering on the sidewalks and quickly forming tiny rivulets that merge to fill washes and arroyos. Because the water falls so quickly, most of it runs off causing flash floods that roar down usually dry waterways.
After the rain stops, waterfalls can be seen pouring off rock ledges. Some of the most spectacular are in Devil's Canyon east of Superior and in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista. I've seen several rainbows at once in Salt River Canyon east of Globe. Witnessess a thunder and lighning show while camped down in the bottom of the Grand Canyon is memorable.
Wet creosote bushes let off a scent that anyone who has smelled it, cannot forget. It is the smell of rain, desert,dust, moisture, new life and cooling air. The Saguaro cactus that grows only in the Sonoran Desert, quickly sucks up as much water as it can hold, its pleated stalk expanding to hold the precisous moisture.
The monsoons are Arizona's summer lifeblood. Cattle tanks fill from running washes, pot holes in rocks hold water for days, a blessing to small desert animals. Roosevelt Lake, Lake Powell and Lake Mead store water to prevent flooding, and for use as irrigation.
If you want to learn more about the Sonoran Desert and its seasons visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.
Janet
Rain clouds build up in Mexico and either roll directly up through Tucson to Phoenix or storms form in the White Mountains and along the Mogollon Rim and in the late afternoon slip down into the Valley.
These storms have an awe-inspiring ferocity. Lighting streaks the sky and thunder crashes echoing among the cliffs of the Superstition Mounains. Sometimes the storm is preceeded by a terrible sandstorm called a "haboob" a roiling, rolling wall of dirt that closes freeways and airports and sends residents running for cover.
When the rain does start to fall, the drops are large and fierce, splattering on the sidewalks and quickly forming tiny rivulets that merge to fill washes and arroyos. Because the water falls so quickly, most of it runs off causing flash floods that roar down usually dry waterways.
After the rain stops, waterfalls can be seen pouring off rock ledges. Some of the most spectacular are in Devil's Canyon east of Superior and in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista. I've seen several rainbows at once in Salt River Canyon east of Globe. Witnessess a thunder and lighning show while camped down in the bottom of the Grand Canyon is memorable.
Wet creosote bushes let off a scent that anyone who has smelled it, cannot forget. It is the smell of rain, desert,dust, moisture, new life and cooling air. The Saguaro cactus that grows only in the Sonoran Desert, quickly sucks up as much water as it can hold, its pleated stalk expanding to hold the precisous moisture.
The monsoons are Arizona's summer lifeblood. Cattle tanks fill from running washes, pot holes in rocks hold water for days, a blessing to small desert animals. Roosevelt Lake, Lake Powell and Lake Mead store water to prevent flooding, and for use as irrigation.
If you want to learn more about the Sonoran Desert and its seasons visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.
Janet
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ
Peolpe from all over the world come to Page, Arizona, just to get an image of Antelope Canyon in their camera. In the past I've entered the slot canyon at high noon in the middle of June and was rewarded with great images. This time I didn't make reservations so we had to take what we could and go with it. The only slot available was at 5:00 P.M. It was the middle of August and cloudy to boot. We went. Our guide, Tammy, gave camera settings before we even entered the canyon. Her presentation included where to get the best shots for light, color and shapes. Her goal was to give all her customers the opportunity to get at least one great shot to take home with them. Most homes were across the ocean.
The Navajo Nation Department of Tourism is doing a wonderful job of selling their natural beauty sites and giving their customers what they came for. A vacation to be remembered, both in their cameras and in their hearts. Bernadette
The Navajo Nation Department of Tourism is doing a wonderful job of selling their natural beauty sites and giving their customers what they came for. A vacation to be remembered, both in their cameras and in their hearts. Bernadette
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Grand Canyon, North Rim, Transept Trail
The Grand Canyon, National Park Service handout given at the entrance gate, has the trail Transept as a dotted line but it's not named, on the map. Walking to the canyon end of the campgrounds will get you on the trail, or leaving the Lodge via the back door and down the steps, heading north, will also get you on this trail with elegant views of "The Transept" canyon. Benches are available so relax and enjoy your cup of juice or coffee. The trail has a few dips and climbs but is classified as "easy" in my book. It is not as crowded as Bright Angle Point and offers similar views. This is one of the North Rims best kept secret.
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