Grand Canyon Part 2

We are back in California now after another change in plans. More on that later. Anyway, thought I would do one more post on our enjoyable time at the grand old canyon. One day we went to some of the overlooks you can drive to that are not restricted to shuttle only. It is actually the way we came in but hadn't stopped as we were in the motorhome. So we drove down to the East Entrance and stopped at some viewpoints there and on the way back.

 

At the eastern entrance is a short walk to the Desert View Watchtower.The Desert View Watchtower,was constructed in 1932 as a replica of a prehistoric Indian tower with a great view of the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert to the east and the San Francisco Peaks to the south. This 70 foot tower is the highest point on the South Rim. Mary Colter is the architect and she created a very interesting building from the exterior stonework to the inside walls covered with murals including many by Hopi artist, Fred Kabotie to an observation deck at the top.

The Park has a small village in it, which includes a quite large grocery store. When we came out, we saw this shopper hanging out in the parking lot.

The next day, we took Savannah for a long walk around the campground before we left her in the rv as we had plans to take the shuttle towards the west end of the park. By the time we got parked, and on the shuttle we was lunch time and so we got off at the stop where there are 3 hotels, including the El Tovar, which are all on the Rim with nice views. El Tovar was our choice for lunch. The hotel was first open in 1905 and had some renovations done in 2005.

We had the special which was a seafood pasta with a lobster sauce. So yummy, with a lot of fish and a great sauce. I took a picture after I had already eaten more than half. We could easily have shared.

Joe in picture above sitting on their porch after lunch checking out his messages.

Across the way is the Hopi House. This is another building designed, by Mary Coulter in 1905, after the ancient Hopi Village in Oraibi. There were some Native Americans putting on a show in front of the building which contains a gift shop.

the Kolb Studio, a national historic landmark, was build in 1905 NS served as home, photography, studio, and theater for the Kolb brothers’ public slide shows and films. The Kolb brothers built their home and studio perched dramatically on the edge of the South Rim at the head of the Bright Angel Trail, which is one of the main trails down into the canyon.

The picture above you can see their boat, on the right,which they lugged down the canyon to the Colorado River in search of photo ops. Their photos of the Canyon were a big part in adding to the popular of this Park as they were brought to a national audience.

You can see people walking part of the Bright Angel Trail, which is one of the most popular trails that goes down into the canyon.

We took the shuttle to the end, which is Hermits Rest. This was originally built in 1914 as a rest stop for tourists by the Fred Harvey Company, who built hotels and restaurants as part of a contract with the Railroad.

We then decided to walk back to the next shuttle stop, a nice 1.1 mile walk on the Rim Trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We again jumped on the shuttle where we had to stand all most all the way back to the parking area. It is already busy, especially with international travelers. Can just image what summer will bring. Another nice day. Next blog may have a little more of Grand Canyon for our last day and why we changed our plans again. Stay tune.

 

 

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