Grand Canyon Bear-Sighting!

This rare, grey bear was seen very near our campsite at the Grand Canyon! It was the first and only bear we've seen on this trip. We DID have elk stroll right through our campsite just a few feet from where we were having dinner. Apparently the elk in Grand Canyon National Park have gotten so tame that they present a hazard to visitors, especially ones trying to take photos alongside them.  

This is the view from the South Rim of the top section of Bright Angel Trail, which descends all the way to the Canyon floor and the Colorado River. You can hike down or ride down by mule, but you need to leave before sunrise due both to the distance and the heat (20 degrees hotter at the base than at the rim) and you must reserve a spot for the night at Phantom Ranch over a year in advance. A ranger told us that some people just keep walking, thinking the river is not so far, then get to the bottom and are sent packing with some food, water and a flashlight because there is clearly no where for them to stay. The ranger said that if you look over the rim through the night you can sometimes see a little path of very slow-moving flashlights up the trail... 

The Rangers here are very knowledgeable and take their jobs seriously. Here a Ranger is swearing in a couple of Junior Rangers who have completed their program.  We went on a couple of hikes with Rangers, and to one night program to learn about the stars, which are soooooooo bright and visible by the gajillions above the Park. 

On our geology hike the Ranger pointed out lots of fossil evidence that the Rim of the Canyon (at 7,000' above sea level now) was once home to sea creatures. 

This little guy was the son of a Native American dancer who performed one day with others in a plaza. 

He wanted to dance with his mom and got all tangled up in the fringes of her shawl.  His grandfather had to haul him away so she could dance. He was pretty unhappy about that! Screamed bloody murder. 

The view down the many, many switchbacks of the trails leading to the bottom of the Canyon make you a bit dizzy when you look straight down.

Unfortunately we didn't have a single day of crystal-clear views across and into the Canyon, probably due to smoke from fires in California. Smoke or mist or clouds can settle in the Canyon and then stay for a while. But nonetheless it was spectacular.

 

We did a 4-hour hike one day partway down the South Kaibab Trail to this spot called Cedar Ridge. Some of the well-known places you stop, like Ooh-Ahh Point, are missing their signs because visitors have stolen them as souvenirs. Our Ranger guide told us that only 5% of the Grand Canyon's visitors take even a few steps down a trail beyond the Rim. Only 1% ever reach the bottom. And the average time spent at the Grand Canyon is only 3 and a half hours. Seems crazy to me! I'd come back in a heartbeat. We spent 3 days. We got in free because we're old. We paid only $9 a night for the camp site (because we're old - yay for being old, man!!!) and there are free shuttle buses, a laundry, a huge store and hot showers you can walk to from the campsite, and excellent, friendly Rangers. Elk walking in for dinner. How can you beat that????

Another view of Cedar Ridge with little tourists out there on the very end...

Another view of the Canyon. We took sooooooo many photos!!

Jim at Cedar Ridge

Me on the last switchback up from Cedar Ridge back to the South Kaibab Trailhead. We were the oldest people to do this hike, which was not so very long but awfully steep is spots - and it felt good to still be able to do stuff like this!

 More on the Grand Canyon later....