May 12, 2002
Today being Sunday, it was moving day for us. We each drove the 137 miles separately this time. Barb went ahead to get us checked it to Trailer Village at the Grand Canyon, and then the plan was for her to meet me at the gate to guide me into our spot. Of course, we took different turns, I got lost wandering around the Grand Canyon Village looking for the RV "campground." She was nowhere to be seen, and when I finally found the campground, the lady at the entrance said that I was about 1/2 hour earlier then expected, and told me where to go. To our site, that is.
After I was nearly finished getting all set up, here comes Barb, and we're both happy that all was well. This having 2 vehicles is not really fun when it's moving day.
Before we left Cottonwood, we'd done some sightseeing. Imagine that. On the left is a "guess what this is" kind of picture. We'd come out to the Jeep, and on the rear window was evidence of a bird strike. Only the Jeep won't go that fast in reverse, at least with either of us driving it. The conclusion was that either the bird had attacked its reflected image (it's that time of year, you know -- protecting territories, vying for mates) or a bug had landed on the window and become this birds dinner. Interesting pattern at any rate. And then it was off to Montezuma's Castle National Monument, about 50 miles south of Flagstaff; this is a five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling. Only Montezuma had never been anywhere near here. But it was yet another interesting site, full of questions for me. Like why'd they (the Sinagua Native American farmers) go up there so far (100 feet above the valley), how'd they use the bathroom, how'd they get water up there, and why'd they leave.
The neighboring "homes" were all much more "normal" in location, not too far from the creek. Verde Valley sure is green and fertile, even today. Easy to see why the original Americans settled and farmed this area for so long before us Europeans found out about it.
After we'd seen his Castle, it was only appropriate to go see his Well. And more evidence of homes that are difficult to get into. In the picture on the right it's difficult to even find the home, and more difficult to figure out how/why it's there.
There's the well. Some 500 feet deep and naturally occurring. Springs keep it about the same level and temperature year-round, and there's a drain through the mountain that you'll shortly see. On the right is another home, but this one easier to access and easier for me to relate to.
Here's the outlet for the well, and then a shot of those earlier homes from this location. The same questions keep coming back to me as I suppose they have to many others before me.
So we hiked over the hill to find the outlet of the drain, and Barb is leaning on the largest sycamore tree we've ever seen. The tree is right at the outlet. The Native Americans had dug a trench about 3 feet deep and over 4 miles in length to water their crops, utilizing this drain from the well. It was about 10 feet higher than the river. Amazing to me as we walked along it, considering the tools they had to use. And of course, there was a cactus in bloom somewhere and Barb had the camera. Such delicate beauty abounds in this otherwise harsh (to us) environment. I think this purple prickly pear was part of the landscaping in Cottonwood where we spend a bit of our time.
After our reunion at the Trailer Village in Grand Canyon, we took off to go to the little town of Tusayan just outside the gate to the park. They had an IMAX theater with "Secrets of the Grand Canyon" showing, and we thought that would be a good way to get an overview of the canyon and a whole lot less expensive then actually flying in a helicopter. There was footage of some small boats shooting the rapids, and outside the theater were a couple of the boats used in the filming. These boats are replicas of the ones used by Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed veteran of the Civil War, on his first trip through the canyon; he is credited with bringing knowledge of the Grand Canyon to the rest of the world. I also discovered that, once again, Barb's desire to fill the fuel tanks before they are below 1/2 should not have been overruled by my pigheadedness about hating to stop for fuel until I'm about out. The only station that had diesel had a price of $1.70 per gallon. And I had to get fuel before we could leave. Fortunately, it only (only??) took a little over 85 gallons. I probably could have made it to some other town on the way to Las Vegas without refueling. But better safe than sorry. Already ran out of fuel once and haven't lived it down yet.
Now, before we start showing pictures of the Grand Canyon and going on and on about it, let me offer this heartfelt caveat. Words and pictures cannot even begin to show or share what we saw and felt as we viewed this magnificent part of God's creation. For the first several days I was so humbled (and I don't wear "humble" very well....as Barb will attest to) that I could hardly talk about what I was seeing. I was so awestruck I couldn't begin to take pictures, knowing that their images would be so inferior to what I was actually seeing. I knew no words could describe the feeling I had. I was tempted to simply write that I wasn't going to say or show anything about the Grand Canyon, other than to encourage each and every one of you to visit it yourself. It truly has changed my life in some ways I can't explain...or even fully understand myself. But having said all that, here are some very inadequate pictures and comments. Barb took most the pictures (about 371) that we sorted through in order to post a few here. The Canyon is 277 miles long, the width from the rims averages 10 miles; depth at the North Rim is 5,700 feet and the South Rim is 1,200 feet lower.
And Barb wrote: Tribute to a Mighty God
Turn away, turn away my eyes for I should not see
The awesome, incredibly awesome sight in front of me.
The hand of God on earth displayed
His artwork in this place arrayed.
My soul receives the gift profound
These strokes of beauty unaltered, abound
Oh God, my God what have you done
But place your signature on earth, under the sun!
These were both taken from Mather Point, one of the first views of the canyon that most people experience when they enter the park.
And that pretty well used up our first day in the Canyon. We spent the rest of the evening reading up on the latest from the literature we picked up at the gate. Shuttle bus times and routes, things to see, history of the place, and things like that.