Saturday 3 May - Grand Canyon

We are staying here in Flagstaff this evening and with an 0900 departure this morning was pretty relaxed. Breakfast was excellent with a great selection including plates cooked to order - I had a breakfast burrito. We had an interesting chat with Stanislava and Larry, the couple who originally came from the Czech Republic. They explained how it was possible for Czechoslovakia to break up peacefully - people did not want to fight. Quite a contrast to present day Ukraine.

Montana is a good guide who has studied the history and the wildlife of the area. He has a wealth of stories and jokes.  "There is a town in Arizona where it is illegal to walk your turkey along main street on a Sunday."

John Wesley Powell was the first white man to sail the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. His account of the expedition can be downloaded for free from www.gutenberg.org.

The canyon lived up to expectations. The weather was wonderful with a cloudless sky although there was a heat haze. The different colours of the rock strata made some wonderful views. I had a rush of emotion when I first saw the scene I had last witnessed in August 1963.

 

 

Our first stop was at Grand Canyon Village and after a quick lunch we went to the Visitor Center. The contrasting colors of the rocks made for interesting pictures but I started to look for some foreground subjects, dead trees etc. to provide some additional interest.

The third stop, the Desert View Visitor Center was probably the best with wide panoramas and many fewer visitors. The Colorado river could be seen at the bottom of the canyon - it was hidden at the other two locations. For a couple of minutes Mary and I had the Grand Canyon to ourselves.

Colorado River

On the way back we saw the impressive Little Colorado river which runs through a sheer sided canyon. Almost as impressive as the Grand Canyon.

Dinner this evening was at Black Barts Saloon Steak House Musical Revue. The servers not only work the tables but also go on stage and sing numbers from musicals. The general noise level was pretty high but they were enjoying themselves, one girl even sang part of the Queen of the Night's aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute. Our waitress took my order for a margarita then rushed on to the stage to sing. Part way through she rushed back, delivered my drink then returned to the stage singing all the while. The food - steak/ribs was pretty good too.

Click here to see all pictures taken at the Grand Canyon

Click below to see these pictures in slide show format