Monthly Archives: October 2011

Up in the Air and a Nod to Route 66

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Saturday morning and sleeping late still works for us. Breakfast bar fare and then off for the day. We followed the I40 route to Williams and then turned north towards Tusayan and our helicopter ride. A scenic and uncrowded drive which surprised us a bit as we figured Saturday would bring a few more fellow traveler/tourists out.

Each helicopter can carry up to 7 passengers in addition to the pilot. While you’re checking in (or making the reservation), you stand on a square in the floor which is a subtly disguised scale as each chopper also has a weight limit. They use the weight somewhat to distribute passengers within the chopper. So Betty was given the option of riding upfront while Keith was relegated to the back. The other passengers were two women who were together and two men who were traveling on their (probably) rented Harleys.

As we prepared to board we met our pilot, Brice. He asked the general questions like “Where are you from?” It turns out he has family in Frostburg Maryland. I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of jobs for helicopter pilots in Maryland unless one is actively in the military. Then each group of two got a picture taken with Brice in front of the chopper (which would be printed and waiting for you to buy as we returned from our flight).

Brice then explained to all of us how the seatbelts worked and explained that we needed to attach our inflatable life jackets to our belts since we would be flying over water. We have since decided that IF the helicopter was to go down and IF Brice was able to actually put it in the water and IF we survived, we should definitely consider a reward for him because the water sure was a very small percentage of the available area. But then, he never did tell us how to inflate them. On to our flight…

We loaded up. Four in the back (Betty, Keith and the two guys), the two women plus pilot in front. We wore earphones with a sound-activated mike attached.

The airspace over the Grand Canyon is tightly controlled to enable the helicopters to provide the tours while maintaining empty and quiet airspace at most of the popular viewing areas. So rather than taking the most direct route, we flew over the Kaibab National Forest for quite a few miles to get past the tourists at the Mather Point and flew into the Canyon just west of the Watchtower. The same thrill that welled up when we walked to the Grand Canyon was there again as we heard Brice announce “welcome to the Grand Canyon” and saw it from this perspective.

Words don’t it justice and the pictures can’t accurately convey just how massive and Grand it really is but we’ll turn it over to the pictures to tell the story.

 

We passed over the confluence of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River. The Colorado was a muddy brown from all the runoff of recent rains and snows upriver. The Little Colorado River, which drains the Painted Desert, is a vibrant aquamarine color. It was amazing how there seemed to be no mixing, the Little Colorado was aqua and the Colorado was brown but it was a distinct line where the two came together.

Our flight path included a pass over the North Rim where there was snow on the ground in many places. Brice told us of a controlled burn in the 80s that targeted 2500 acres that got out of control and burned some 14,000 plus acres. You could still see signs of it. Too soon our flight ended and we came back in over the Grand Canyon airport and a return to the terminal where we were given the opportunity to purchase several items including the picture they had taken before takeoff as well as a DVD of the helicopter’s in-flight camera with audio provided courtesy of our digital microphones. Alas, there was a malfunction in our recording but we bought the picture and some very special red plastic helicopter pens to share with family and friends.

We had seen the sign for the Grand Canyon Post Office in Tusayan the day before and decided to stop by there to mail some postcards before departing the area. The Post Office is in the back left corner of the General Store and Trading Post and was closed because it was Saturday, but the General Store was open!

We next headed south on 64 to Williams. Williams is at the intersection of I-40 and 64. It is also the southern terminus of the Grand Canyon railway. Before the interstates came through, it was at the crossroads of the famous Route 66. Today, the train, an interstate exit and the tourist trade seem to be its primary sources of support. Of course, gasoline prices at 50 cents more than we saw anywhere else may help the local economy as well.

After a refill on the coffee cups, we bid our farewell to Williams and headed east on I40 back towards Flagstaff.

As it was still relatively early in the afternoon, we mapped our path to Sedona following recommendations from the ExpeditionPortal and the Garmin. But that’s another entry.

 

Pictures Can’t Do It Justice or An Incredible Hole in the Ground

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Despite the time change, we weren’t up at the crack of dawn on Friday, October 7. We rolled out after a good night’s sleep and took advantage of the included Comfort Inn breakfast bar, looked at the maps and decided we were off to the Grand Canyon today. As we went outside, we saw that the occasional snowflake we had seen on Thursday night had turned into a definite “trace” with white covering the elevated surfaces. (That night’s TV weather report confirmed they had gotten a record amount of snow since the previous record was “none”.)  We got into the Avenger, plugged in the GPS and headed out.

We plugged in a route to Tusayan, AZ, the location of the airport where the helicopter tours were based with thoughts of taking the flight today for an overview and then exploring on the ground based on what we saw. The GPS route was a bit different than the one we had drawn on the map. The GPS sent us west on I40 towards Williams where we would head north on State Rt. 64. First surprise came on the Interstate where we discovered the speed limit was 75 mph. While the DC Beltway traffic sometimes eggs you on to those speeds to avoid being run over, in the wide open spaces this seemed to be a comfortable speed. I was pleased by how well the Avenger held those speeds using the cruise control without a lot of shifting. Knowing the car was available with both a 4 cylinder and a 6 cylinder, I made a mental note to check which ours had later.

The I40 route was sparsely traveled at that time. While we saw other vehicles, they were well spaced and traffic was not an issue. An occasional glance at the rearview mirrors, we saw the San Francisco mountain peaks with their white dusting of snow and realized the view of the moment might actually be behind us.

Along Rt. 64

When we got to Williams (for the tiny town, there were several interstate exits), we turned to head north on 64. Rt. 64 is a relatively straight two lane highway passing through a couple of small settlements on its way to the gates into the Grand Canyon National Park. It rises and falls a bit and slows as it passes the intersections.

We arrived in Tusayan at the Grand Canyon airport. Internet research led us to Maverick Helicopters to arrange for their Canyon Spirit Tour. We had investigated booking in advance but hadn’t really been comfortable with the cancellation policy, i.e., it wasn’t clear what would happen if they decided to cancel for weather or other reasons. When we arrived, we found they had only single seats available on Friday’s flight but we made reservations for Saturday to both be on the same chopper at 12:30. Flexible plans are great so we decided to head into the Canyon at ground level after a quick stop at Tusayan McDonald’s for coffee.

Line at the gate

As we pulled up to the gate, there were several lanes open, including one marked for those with passes which had no line. We weren’t sure at the time that we qualified for the pass lane with our Senior National Access pass but we did. The going rate into the park is $25.00 per car load. Our Senior pass was obtained a couple of years ago for $10 at Olympia National Park and has proven to be a real bargain, allowing up to 4 people in on the pass where individual admission is charged, a car load where admission is charged per car and even offers discounted campground fees at National Monument, National Forest and National Park campgrounds. If you qualify, buy one. If you don’t yet qualify, go for the annual pass at $80. See http://www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm

After we passed through the gate, we drove around to the parking area at Mather Point (Elev. 7120 ft.) As we walked from the car to the viewing point, I was literally speechless!

Breathtaking!

I had seen pictures, I had heard from others but nothing captured the scale and beauty. As I posted on Facebook that evening, “Wow. Just wow.”  With that in mind, I’m going to let the pictures say it. You can get a larger picture by clicking on the smaller version here.

Rock Squirrel identified by white spots on his back. This little guy was checking to see who would ignore the "Do not feed the wildlife" sign.

Storm over on the North Rim

Next was lunch at Market Plaza. The deli had a selection of soups and sandwiches. While all looked tempting, the marble rye bread drug us both towards some type of sandwich and they were yummy. The store also had basic supplies for campers and hikers as well as souvenirs and such. There was pretty stuff but nothing more than a postcard or two really captured our fancy.

After lunch, it was back to the car for a short ride over to the Hotels on the Rim. Although we drove, there was a free shuttle within the park which would certainly come in handy during times of higher volume.  The views were again breathtaking and are shown (as well as can be) in the photos. Verkamp’s Visitor Center had some displays of the history of the park as a National Park and the obligatory souvenir shop.

Hopi House

Several historical businesses and structures are in this area of the Park. One of the more distinctive-appearing is the Hopi House, originally constructed to provide living quarters and a stage/backdrop  for the Hopi people who provided entertainment and educational demonstrations for the tourists at the 1930’s era El Tovar Lodge. Mary Colter was the architect responsible for the Hopi House, Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge and The Watchtower (which we see later in the day). There are several lodges located here including El Tovar Lodge, Cokachina Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge  and Bright Angel Lodge which function as lodging for guests of the Park but have long waiting lists for reservations.

El Tovar Lodge

Also located along the rim here are two studios Lookout Studio and Kolb Studio, both built on the edge of the rim to blend into the canyon face. The Bright Angel Trailhead is also located here but we were not up for the hike this day although the temperatures were only in the 70s and not the 100+ temps seen by hikers in the summer months.

Looking down to the lower observation platform at Lookout Studio built into the rim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the very center of this picture, down in the canyon are some unidentified buildings. We haven’t been able to discover the story behind them.

This is also the area where the famous mule rides down into and back up out of the canyon originate. We also declined the opportunity to participate in this activity.

  • Mule ride staging area

The Mule Pens

Checking the map, we saw Desert View Drive would take us around the South Rim and to the East Entrance to the park. A quick comparison showed it was approximately the same distance as returning the way we had come and gave us some different perspectives.

As we moved along, we came to realize that this would also take us past another Mary Colter structure, The Watchtower. We got our distances a bit wrong however and we came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t make it to the Watchtower in time to climb it before closing time of 6:00. Oh well, we’re on vacation where schedules are flexible. We’ll drive on and look at it from the outside anyway. As we approached the parking lot, the sign showed a 7:00 pm closing, not 6:00 as the brochure had indicated. We had time to make it but it would be cutting it close so let’s climb the tower first and then look around outside.

The Watchtower is not intended as a reproduction or restoration of a particular structure but was constructed in 1932 for tourists to view and provide a rest stop. The structure does remind of towers found in the southwest which were generally used as storage silos.

Access is via an internal circular, narrow and uneven stairway. It was a bit of a stretch for us to hurry up three flights of stirs to the top before closing time to enjoy the view. This rushing uphill before closing would repeat itself in the days to come.

The Watchtower built on the rim

After our run up and back down the Watchtower, we left the East Entrance of the Park and headed east to Cameron and south on US 89. Dinner was after we got to Flagstaff in the IHOP near our hotel.

Tomorrow, we see the Canyon from the air!

Maryland to Arizona!

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Welcome. This is the first post to this blog of our travels — even though I anticipate there will be posts with earlier dates as we consolidate our other posts and pictures in one spot.

So anyway, this is the beginning of our trip to see the Grand Canyon. All the research was done via internet, friends’ recommendations and especially the good folks over at ExpeditionPortal.com.

Through the assistance of online travel sites, we booked two seats on USAirways from BWI to Flagstaff. We procured six nights’ lodging at the Comfort Inn and rented a car from Alamo (a 2011 Dodge Avenger).

At BWI, an attempt to send a text message lead to the discovery that my cellphone (later diagnosed as a defective SIM card) had died. Our choice of aisle seating was not available so we both got a center seat, one on each side of the plane. On the bright side, we both got separate seatmates who contributed to the recommendations of what to see and do on the trip.

Our one firm goal was to see the Grand Canyon as Keith never had and Betty had not in a number of years.

Keith suffers (literally) from most air travel as the available space continues to contract. Theoretically, I supposed I should be able to bend my legs differently but the knee is the only joint between my ankle and hip. A great destination generally cures the problems soon enough.

Our flight from Baltimore to Phoenix was onboard an Airbus 319, standard 3 seats on each side. How anyone who has flown on one and still marvel at me in a submarine is a wonder. Submarines are MUCH roomier and more comfortable.

The flight from Phoenix to Flagstaff was a Havilland-8. Wings above the fuselage, 2 seats on either side of the aisle, total capacity about 40 and a big prop on each side. We walked across the tarmac (when’s the last time you did that?!) and up the steps which folded up into the plane so you could still see the steps inside. The props spun up and we sat and sat. Then the props spun to a stop and the stairs folded back to the ground. From inside the airport, two men came on board and asked for two passengers who de-planed and they closed the ladder and we were off again. The flight attendant explained that she had never heard of this happening but the two passengers had some discrepancy in the check against the “do not fly” list. It was apparently an issue with their birthdates matching something although they had flown to get to the airport on another USAirways flight. Does this make you feel secure?

Although it was dark, we would later discover that the wings over configuration made for great sight seeing. Relatively comfortable seating, too.

We arrived at our hotel around midnight (eastern). 9:00 local and asked for directions to an open eatery. The deskclerk suggested the local Denny’s and asked us to pick her up an order of fries to go. We walked to Denny’s, had dinner and brought back the fries, then headed for bedtime.

Picture is at Flagstaff Airport of Havilland-8