Page to Grand CanyonJun 6, 2009
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mesa South of Page, AZ - called Marble Canyon
the Little Colorado River Gorge!
one of my first views of Grand Canyon
I went to leave Page this morning, but my car wouldn't start! I had to ask my neighbor for a jump, then went looking for a shop that could replace the battery for me and check to make sure the alternator is ok. It is but having to keep the car on while being towed and having the battery get run down back in Cuba didn't help this 3 year old battery. All is well and off I went after 10 AM.
There were a couple of great views to check out on the way to the East Entrance of the Grand Canyon and you can see only some of the great big mesa or meadow or field south of Page. It had a hole in it to boot! Then, when traveling West, I stopped to see the Little Colorado Gorge which was a bigger craggy hole in a great big field. I thought this was a tease for the Grand Canyon. NOT EVEN CLOSE! Wish I could have stopped when I caught my first glimpse of it, but whatever pictures I can get of the Canyon won't be able to show you the wonder of it. Every person should visit the Grand Canyon personally and spend at least a day!
I took a short walk along the rim this afternoon after washing sandy bedding, and saw California Condors soaring in the section of the canyon under Lookout Point. I got a shot with 3 of them, but I like the one where I caught most of the bird while it was in flight the best. I will keep trying to get a clear picture of the whole bird in flight. Notice that they are banded - they are an endangered species and the Park is trying to bring them back into this area, so they keep track of the birds. I will learn more about this later this week from a ranger talk.
People were seeing bighorn sheep on a ledge across from Lookout Point, but the only way I could see them was by putting a quarter in a scope. I just couldn't locate them with my camera lens. Oh well, maybe another opportunity will present itself.
This evening, I went on a ranger walk by the full moon (tomorrow, technically) and learned that there are coyotes and mountain lions and ring-tailed cats up here, but the most vicious animal is the rocky squirrel because they bite people who try to pet them! On the bottom of the canyon, it is always at least 30 degrees hotter than up here, so the animals to watch out for are rattlesnakes and scorpions. I won't be going down there too soon!
It was really cool to see the Canyon by moonlight. I will do it again the next few nights because I am lucky enough to be here at the time of the full moon. Again, you need to see it for yourself. I don't even know if a picture will come out, but I do know that it won't do the scene justice!
