Holiday to the Grand Canyon .. New update 7/25 Day 4

[sameerrao]

I was fortunate enough to take my family (parents and brother) to the Grand Canyon. My folks took me to a lot of nice places around the world on a holiday over the years. So this was a small bit of payback for all the care they given me.

Map of the Journey
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/8330/mapyk5.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mapyk5.jpg)
We flew into Phoenix, rented a car and drove to Flagstaff which was the command center so to speak as it is centrally located with good access to scenic spots.

We spent about 5 days total and visited a number of sites. The colored lines on the map indicate the route I took on each day.

Day 1: Houston to Flagstaff via Phoenix and Sedona ...
Distance covered: ~200 miles
Route color: Red
Flew into Phoenix into a 100F furnace (at least it was dry unlike humid Houston). We rented a Dodge Magnum V6 and set off for Flagstaff. On route we decided to see the charms and beauty of Sedona and the Red Rock Country.
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/4704/dsc4680ew2.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4680ew2.jpg)
The redness in the rock is due to the high levels of iron oxide. We drove through the scenic backroads. Its wonderful to see the color of the rocks and the contrast to the rest of the landscape.
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/275/dsc4669gz3.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4669gz3.jpg)

Besides this, what I love about Arizona is that the scenary changes every 10 miles - its desert like in some spots, then you see cactii, then lush forests, then something else. Its far more interesting than Texas for sure.
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/1289/dsc4646yl5.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4646yl5.jpg)

There were a couple of forest fires because of the intense heat and drought conditions there - this meant that some of the parks we wanted to visit were shut. But this didnt matter much as there is always something to see in this area. Here is a fire in the distance:
]http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/7879/dsc4629kt9.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4629kt9.jpg)

Cathedral Rock
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/1912/dsc4697lf5.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4697lf5.jpg)http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/4586/dsc4699qk1.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4699qk1.jpg)

We visited Jerome which is supposed to be a ghost town now. It had a lot of gold mining history in the late 1800s but now looks like any town. I was really hoping to see an old run-down town and not a modern tourist trap ... blech

Imagine driving around and seeing sights like these ...
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/5590/dsc4715lk1.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4715lk1.jpg)http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/2663/dsc4735qn4.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4735qn4.jpg)http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/4120/dsc4729me3.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4729me3.jpg)

The state parks have taken care to blend the buildings with the background ... red bricks :)
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/9181/dsc4710re6.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4710re6.jpg)

Our rental car ...
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/5627/dsc4692yb1.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4692yb1.jpg)

So much for Day 1 ... I will post pics from the subsequent days shortly ... some amazing stuff guaranteed ....

[sentra_dude]

Whoa, I did a trip pretty similar to that a few years ago (lol so far reeally similar, as we also flew into Phoenix, rented a car and drove to Flagstaff at the begining of the trip) it was really awesome! Sedona is really beautiful...I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more pictures from your trip. 8) This makes me want to go out west again.

I remeber the roads as being impressively well maintained...and without really noticing you would go over 100 hahaha. :twisted:

[TT]

Such a scenic place :love: can't wait for the rest!

[sameerrao]

Thanks for the nice words TT and Sentra_dude. I was worried for a moment that no one really cares about the Grand Canyon :)

On with the story...

Day 2: Grand Canyon
Distance covered: ~200 miles
Route color: Blue
Day 1 was meant to be an appetizer for us. The real sightseeing began today. We left Flagstaff on Route 89 - headed for the town of Cameron with a lot of curio shops selling Indian art. Then enter the Grand Canyon (GC) from the East side thru the desert section and head west to the prime viewing spots in the central section of the GC.

We would be hitting the South Rim only. The distance from the South rim to the North rim is only 20 miles across as the crow flies but it is a 200 mile roadtrip one-way. We didnt have the luxury of time to do both but there is plenty enough to see on the South Rim anyway as the following pics will undoubtedly show.

First stop - Cameron
This is an Indian trading post ... lots of cool western stuff on display. My house is full of it.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/4738/dsc4810kq7.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4810kq7.jpg)
My dad - Big Chief ...
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8308/dsc4813xb6.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4813xb6.jpg)
Here's me and my friend auditioning for the role of Lee Van Cleef in The Good,the Bad and Ugly Part Deux
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3531/dsc4825gm5.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4825gm5.jpg)

Shopping down we started off to Grand Canyon via the Desert Drive ... the road is extremely scenic ...
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2995/dsc4833fv0.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4833fv0.jpg)

Desert View:
The desert drive showns the canyons that were carved by the Colorado eons ago before the river shifted its course - the water no longer flows thru here any more.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9400/dsc4851az2.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4851az2.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/5428/dsc4902iv4.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4902iv4.jpg)

The Mighty Colorado ... about 3000 feet below us and 15 miles distant.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8093/dsc4908df2.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4908df2.jpg)

Another shot of it with rapids visible here ...
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/6190/dsc4969uv0.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4969uv0.jpg)

Moving further west on the rim trail
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1879/dsc4909nl5.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4909nl5.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3224/dsc4934xl6.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4934xl6.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8016/dsc5011ro1.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5011ro1.jpg)
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1029/dsc4979hx2.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc4979hx2.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1442/dsc5119ob0.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5119ob0.jpg)

There were a lot of clouds - it was nice in the way that some of the canyons were in the shadow and others highlighted
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1605/dsc5018nq1.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5018nq1.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/7382/dsc5023tw1.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5023tw1.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/5379/dsc5113sj4.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5113sj4.jpg)http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9176/dsc5116dg0.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5116dg0.jpg)

Sunset shot
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/7919/dsc5200wz1.th.jpg (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5200wz1.jpg)

Lots more pics of GC but this should do for now ...

[sentra_dude]

Not to take anything away from sameerrao's great pictures, but as amazing as they are they just don't compare one bit to the utter vastness & beauty of the Grand Canyon in person. Everyone should see it one time in their life, there is nothing else like it, no picture or video can capture its tremendous impact...

Great pictures, keep them coming! 8)

[ARMAN]

wooha missed that topic :) Awsome scenery! Must be breathtaking to see GC with your own eyes :P Thanx Sameer for pix :wink:

[stmoritzer]

I did almost the same trip several years ago, thanks for these very nice pictures, the landscape is awesome, Enjoy the rest of the trip!

[Johns]

great write up and pics!

[P_Zero_Rosso]

It is such a pretty sight. Can't wait for September when I'm passing there in my 3 weeks voyage to the west US.

[TopGearNL]

Really nice pics Sameerao, I went last year over there (went in a helicopter in Sedona :twisted: ), will post some pics of mine too in this topic :wink:

[sameerrao]

isnt there a platform where the bottom is made of glass and you can look down and its a straight drop??

I read about this last year but didnt see any sign of it. Perhaps its still in the design phase .. hmmm

[twboy1999]

yes
they are still designing it,
i just saw it on discovery channel couple of days ago
stll a coupel of more year before it is complete


grand canyoy is probaly the most amazing place i ever seen.. and yes, u have to see it in real life.. it is just a amazing sight

but, the weather there is a killer.. is so freaking hot there

but i heard, at the bottom of the canyon, at nite, is pretty cold

[Schwalbe]

Thanks Sameer for your nice trip report and especially for your awesome pictures. :D :good:

[sameerrao]

Day 3: Visit to Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest National Park
Distance covered: ~200 miles
Route color: Yellow

The Grand Canyon visit on Day 2 was a hectic day with a lot of walking involved. Therefore, we had scheduled a more relaxed trip on Day 3. The first point on call was the Meteor Crater located about 40 miles east of Flagstaff.

Meteor Crater:
This is perhaps one the best preserved meteor sites in the world. Large though it is (550 feet deep, 4000 feet diameter) it is not the biggest in the world.

It is supposed to have been created when a 150 feet wide meteorite slammed into the earth 50,000 years back. The original crater depth was about 700 feet but over time some the land has filled in part of the crater at the bottom.
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/4191/dsc5241uh7.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5241uh7.jpg)

Because the crater face resembles that on the moon, NASA astronauts came here in the mid 60s to practice for the assault to the moon. There is a small space museum as well.
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/3241/dsc5254fa0.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5254fa0.jpg)
Here is the wall detailing all the NASA missions
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/5171/dsc5238vn2.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5238vn2.jpg)
A view from the top of the crater to the adjoining landscape ... gives a nice feeling of stretching to infinity :)
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/7931/dsc5246iz4.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5246iz4.jpg)
Another view from the visitor center looking out
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/7379/dsc5251zz2.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5251zz2.jpg)

Overall the Meteor Crater was nice but not an unforgettable experience by any means.

Petrified Forest National Park
Next stop was the Petrified Forest. Looking at a few pictures on the web, we kept our expectations low as we thought it would be nothing special.

Boy were we wrong. It was an awesome landscape to witness.

The term petrification refers to fossilization of trees - the trees were overrun by rivers and cut down. The logs were not allowed to decay but instead were fused with volcanic ash and silicates to give a jewel like finish. Here is an example ....
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/5909/dsc5275vz0.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5275vz0.jpg)
Apart from the petrified logs there was the "Painted Desert" which has awesome color combos out there due to the presence of a lot of different minerals and existence of rock formations of different ages
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/8462/dsc5281hz0.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5281hz0.jpg)http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/3289/dsc5286gl5.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5286gl5.jpg)
Isn't this awesome?:
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6269/dsc5300nn8.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5300nn8.jpg)
And how about these shots:
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/7055/dsc5423ai3.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5423ai3.jpg)http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/9240/dsc5428ns7.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5428ns7.jpg)

There were some nice paintings on some of the rocks from prehistoric tribes
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/9501/dsc5343os2.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5343os2.jpg)

Here is a petrified log aside a 225 million year old rock formation called chinle
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/1015/dsc5393pg1.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5393pg1.jpg)
A few more petrified logs - look like jewels to me:
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/5230/dsc5480sb6.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5480sb6.jpg)http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6785/dsc5490vw9.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5490vw9.jpg)

Day 4 involves a trip to the Monument Valley bordering Arizona and utah. You guys are going to love the pictures. For those of you who like Westerns (Stagecoach, etc.) you will absolutely love it...

[TopGearNL]

Very impressive :)

Isn't there suppose to be an even bigger crater somewhere in Mexico or so or am I mistaken?

[sameerrao]

Very impressive :)

Isn't there suppose to be an even bigger crater somewhere in Mexico or so or am I mistaken?

Yes. There is a crater that partly straddles the ocean and land in Mexico that is many times bigger than the the Arizona crater.

[dingo]

Amazing scenery, just makes you wanna go on a roadtrip looking at these pics. :D

Thanks!

[pzgren]

very nice pictures and write-up dude!

reminds me when i was there 8 years ago travelling around with my tent.... the secenery is so impressive, sometimes it's inpossible to take a picture with the whole impression you've got there, you gotta see it for real!

looking forward to see more pics!

[sameerrao]

Day 4: Monument Valley
Distance covered: ~380 miles
Route color: Green

I was really looking forward to a visit to the Monument Valley. I am a huge fan of Western movies and loved the rugged landscapes in many of these movies. The landscape is not a mere backdrop like it is in most movies but instead was a real tough, living creature part of the action that echoed the hard, tough life of a cowboy in the Golden Age.

A lot of John Ford's movies were shot in the Monument Valley - Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, the Searchers. He said once "I think you can say that the real star of my Westerns has always been the land."

A lot of you smokers might recognize the scenery too - it was used in many Marlboro print advertisements in the past - Marlboro Country being the byline.

Thus you can imagine why I was so excited to visit this park. I had seen this place in movies and I would be able to finally see it with my own eyes.

The journey to Monument Valley began like any other in the area. Same sceneray. But about 40 miles from the Valley the rock outcroppings started to appear in the landscape. A sort of Appetizer to the Main Course that follows ;)
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7573/dsc5615ug8.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5615ug8.jpg)

A couple miles ahead the famous rocks begin to appear in the distance. Spellbinding!
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/881/dsc5625uw1.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5625uw1.jpg)

Finally, we reached the entrance to the Park and the vista starts to unfold
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6416/dsc5645lb5.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5645lb5.jpg)

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1002/dsc5650je9.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5650je9.jpg)
The rock on the extreme right in the picture above was in the movie Fort Apache --> http://loqueyotediga.net/files/fortapache_5.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9848/dsc5654li8.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5654li8.jpg)

The view from the Visitor Center. Fantastic view of the West and East Mittens (they resemble two gloves) and the Merrick Butte. I think I spent 15 minutes just admiring the beauty and the scale of these structures.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8306/dsc5657ez7.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5657ez7.jpg)
I am glad the photograph came out well. The West Mitten and Merrick Butte are in Stagecoach ... http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/j.m.beck/stagecoach.jpg

Some more shots of the Mittens/Merrick Butte
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/909/dsc5659rz2.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5659rz2.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6056/dsc5683iv9.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5683iv9.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2121/dsc5688vn5.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5688vn5.jpg)

We then drove our rental car down the unpaved, rough trail to get a self-guided closer look at the valley.

My car dwarfed by a boulder on the side of the road.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4310/dsc5748hc5.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5748hc5.jpg)

Other lovely sights ...
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3842/dsc5750ft5.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5750ft5.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5927/dsc5707wh3.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5707wh3.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5805/dsc5742uk1.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5742uk1.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8067/dsc5771np2.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5771np2.jpg)

A lonely butte with rainclouds developing behind it in the distance
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6091/dsc5777tk7.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5777tk7.jpg)

This butte had rockface that almost looked liquidy but wasn't
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9813/img0345sa2.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0345sa2.jpg)

You can take a horseback tour also if you desire ... the guides will take you closer to the sights than you can by car.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4175/dsc5733hg1.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5733hg1.jpg)

The ride further up the road ...
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3927/dsc5800ai0.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5800ai0.jpg)http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3522/dsc5810rz9.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc5810rz9.jpg)

That's it from my side ... I reviewed my pics from Day 5 - it was nothing special anyway - so I will skip it.

In conclusion, if you haven't been to the Grand Canyon area, you must! Its an unfogettable experience.

[PaulGT2164]

i love the scenery out here in az

one reason why i moved here ;)

nice pics! glad you had fun!

[Wutputt]

Amazing scenery! Like Dingo said, makes you want to go on a roadtrip visiting these places. I hope I'll have some spare time when I'll be in the US in Sept/Oct.