Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim

DSC_8008-Smokey

Today was a tourist day for me as I stopped at many of the viewing spots on the rim. A strong wind was blowing and as the day progressed the temperature dropped to a point just above freezing.

DSC_8009-Canyon-weather DSC_8019-Grand-Canyon

DSC_8020-Rainbow

DSC_8036-RavenOverhead, clouds were moving in and across the canyon. The result was ever-changing lighting patterns on the many Canyon faces as some parts would be lit by sunlight while others were obscured by low flying clouds. At this time of the year, the roadway to Hermit’s Rest is open to public vehicular traffic. During the busier months the only way to get to the Hermit’s Rest is via public shuttle or via a long walk along a path that skirts the rim.

DSC_8050-Pathway

DSC_8040-Hermits-Rest DSC_8044-Hermit-Rest-Fireplace   DSC_8046-Grand-Canyon  DSC_8059-Grand-Canyon

DSC_8057-Grand-Canyon

DSC_8073-tourist DSC_8084-canyon-weather

DSC_8097-jay DSC_8095-jayLater in the afternoon those clouds began to shower remaining tourists with pelleted snow in ever-increasing quantities.

DSC_8126-bright-angel DSC_8125-bright-angel

After some discussion and a review of the weather forecast, I canceled my plans to hike down the Bright Angel Trail to greet and photograph my kayak paddling trio as they passed by on the Colorado River. I figured that even with snow falling the 5 – 6 hour hike down to the river today wouldn’t probably be too bad but hiking back up out of the canyon on dampened trail would probably been about 8 hours and messier than I would have liked so instead, I headed south to the warmer surroundings of Sedona, Arizona.

DSC_8130-graupel DSC_8131-Hydrant

As I left the park offices, pelleted snow (a.k.a. “GRAUPEL”) was falling pretty steadily.  Certainly lessened the fire hazard but unfortunately also increased the chances of traffic accidents. Before reaching the park gate, I found myself waiting in line behind a pink jeep tour vehicle as police and ambulance attended to a two vehicle mishap on the slippery roads. I was not looking forward to two hours of such driving conditions so thankfully the c0onditions somewhat a few miles further south.

DSC_8134-pink-jeep-tours DSC_8140-heading-south DSC_8146-clear-road

I was running a bit low on fuel but not worried since the route from the rim of the Grand Canyon  is mostly downhill (great fuel economy :-)). I arrived at Williams without further incident, filled up the fuel tank and took a whirlwind tour of this Route 66 town where almost every establishment included “Route 66” somewhere in their name or advertising.

DSC_8152-Route-66 DSC_8149-Route-66

Once I had filled with fuel, stretched my legs a bit and down the quick tour, I was back on the road again heading to Flagstaff, Arizona.  It wasn’t long before I encountered adverse driving conditions once again.

DSC_8158-Flagstaff-weatherHappy to report that I stayed out of the ditch and ro9ads and skies cleared a bit before I encountered the 3 miles of 7 degree slope and switchback corners on the scenic route south into Sedona. Definitely scenic in the daytime but not on a night like this! Certainly happy to find a motel in Sedona and settle into bed for a good night’s rest.

Photos will be added later.

About Ron

Ron has long had an interest in photography and traveling and, in recent years, has had more time to devote to both activities. Long a Pentax user, Ron switched to Nikon gear when he went digital. The advent of the digital SLR camera, and the ease of the internet blogging process, has provided a venue for sharing his photography and travel experience at the local, national and international level. More about Ron
This entry was posted in Home and About and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply