We experienced the Grand Canyon in style. Check out the bright pink jeep! We traveled with a group of nine on an unforgettable journey to the magnificent Grand Canyon.
We took a leisurely ride with our tour guide Gerard Maguire through Oak Creek Canyon and past the majestic San Francisco peaks of Flagstaff on route to
The Grand Canyon.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and coupled with a witty sense of humor we had a great adventure.
Our trip started in Sedona at the Pink Jeep Tours shop.
We made our way to Flagstaff on scenic Highway 89A.
The landscape is continually changing as we make our way to
the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
This is a shot of The Little Colorado Canyon.
We are entering the Grand Canyon National Park.
It made me very nervous. I do not like heights, and to me Doug was getting
very close to the edge!
The Desert View Watchtower
Perched on the edge of the south rim, what appears to be an ancient Native American ruin is actually the Desert View Watchtower, which was designed in 1932 by Mary Colter for the Fred Harvey Company to overlook the eastern end of Grand Canyon National Park.
Stats on the Grand Canyon...
The Grand Canyon stretches 277 miles from Lees Ferry to Grand Wash Cliffs.
The canyon is 1 mile deep and 10 miles across.
The Grand Canyon is slightly larger than the state of Delaware.
The plaque above says...
"Numbers give grandeur to the canyon; your experiences provide it meaning."
Inside the Watchtower.
The first floor displays a Hopi snake altar. The walls and ceiling are covered in Native American symbols and pictographs. This includes a mural of the Hopi Snake Legend by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie that describes their cultural connection to the Grand Canyon. This painting tells the story of a Hopi man who floated down the Colorado River through the canyon in a hollow log
The walls of the tower feature murals by Hopi artist Frank Kabotie.
The walls and ceiling are covered in Native American symbols and pictographs.
Modeled after ancient ancestral Puebloan watchtowers found in the Four Corners region, the Watchtower is a unique example of Mary Colter’s design style.
What is the Four Corners region?
FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT
The Navajo Nation cordially welcomes you to one of our most unique landmarks - The Four Corners. This is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. This location is very remote as you will experience when visiting.
What is the Four Corners region?
FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT
The Navajo Nation cordially welcomes you to one of our most unique landmarks - The Four Corners. This is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. This location is very remote as you will experience when visiting.
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/fourcorners.htm
This seventy-foot tower offers stunning 360-degree views of the Painted Desert, the San Francisco Peaks, the Vermilion Cliffs, and beyond.
You can climb the stairs all the way to enjoy these spectacular views.
A Room with a View!
Each story of the Watchtower has several windows
Each story of the Watchtower has several windows
that allow visitors to gain different views of the Canyon and the surrounding area.
We are back on the road enjoying the sights of the canyon.
Duck-On-A-Rock formation.
The Yavapai Point Museum showcases one of the world's greatest wonders.
Good question,
"How's the View?"
Spectacular! Grand!
Artist Thomas Moran
helped inspire Western tourism and pushed Congress toward
the establishment of Western National Parks.
He was a premier painter of American landscapes.
We stopped for lunch at the El Tovar.
Layer between 2 slices of grilled 12-grain bread:
Roasted Green Chili Hummus
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Avocado
Grilled Red Onion
Tomato
Cucumber
Roasted Red Peppers
The Hopi House was designed by renowned architect Mary E.J. Colter and opened in 1905, at the same time El Tovar opened. Mary Colter was one of the first American architects to appreciate the natural beauty of Native American design. Therefore she designed Hopi House to reflect that of a typical adobe pueblo used by the Hopi Indians of Old Oraibi. The Hopi House, a National Historic Landmark, has been offering authentic Native American arts and crafts to visitors for purchase since the Fred Harvey Company opened its doors in 1905, over 100 years ago.
A visit to Hopi House combines retail shopping with museum quality artifact viewing. Here you will find a large selection of native arts and crafts available for purchase, such as hand-crafted kachinas, Native American jewelry, hand-woven Navajo rugs and authentic Native American pottery. The second-floor gallery, which reopened to the public in 1995, offers a variety of museum-quality items. Hopi House is located next to the EL Tovar on the Canyon rim. It is open year-round. Hours vary seasonally.
http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_rimviewpoints_desertviewwatchtower.html
When visiting with him, we discovered he is a voice artist and tv actor.
Gerard Maguire
It was a great day seeing the grandeur of The Grand Canyon,
One of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.
Are you wanting to visit the other 6 Wonders of the Natural World?
ReplyDeleteI would certainly consider it. I will have to research the locations!
ReplyDelete