This greeting from the North Rim comes to you before it is open to the public. The National Park Service and Forever Resort employees are getting ready for your arrival.
The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park opens May 15, 2014. Unless a lot more snow falls.
Spring arrived in southern and central Arizona very early this year but winter lingers in the northern part of the state and although I drove through warm desert to get here, the North Rim greets me with snow my first night back.
I’ve driven, and posted about, the spring drive through diverse landscapes before: Painted Desert, Navajo Bridge, Vermilion Cliffs, Jacob Lake, and the Kaibab National Forest.
As I left Jacob Lake heading south through the Kaibab I hoped to see snow along the way. The patches hidden under the edge of the forest almost nonexistent. The meadows look brown.
Note the dates on these photos
Over the last seven years I’ve made this drive the amount of spring snow continues to diminish. On cleared roads with 2-5 foot snow banks I’ve driven past white meadows. Sometimes large patches of snow on northern exposures frame well watered green meadows running with small flows of water between flooded dips we call lakes. This year, barely any standing water except for small year-round lakes.
Seeing the forest and meadows dry emphasizes the lack of snowpack for yet another year in the Southwest’s at least 17 year drought. Campfire and smoking restrictions are now in place on the Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto National Forests in Arizona, but not the North Kaibab district adjacent to the North Rim of the park. Couldn’t even have a BBQ at the Flagstaff KOA. Will spend a lot of time this spring talking to visitors about fire safety.
2006 Warm Fire
Due to human intervention and the “put it out” suppression policy of fire on public land for over 100 years fuel accumulation can ramp up catastrophic fires whether human caused or natural.
Climate change can not be denied. Humans are only part to blame. Earth is a cyclic planet in motion and changing all the time. In fact those colorful rock layers in the canyon were deposited in much different environments than we know today. The Grand Canyon is a 1.8 billion year old record of climate change.
Having just come from summer in South Africa followed by spring in Yarnell and not being a big fan of cold and snow, I pretty much stayed inside and unpacked the RV. But when the sun came out so did I.
So even though I returned to snow fall for a day and half it’s mostly melted already and the ground is barely moist. We could get more as sometimes it snows into June. And hopefully there will be a very wet monsoon season this summer.
Hope you’ll come for a visit and find out. But please be careful with fire.
Indubitably climate change has been happening since the beginning of our planet, the frightening thing is that we seem to be in a period of rapid change. Just like weather, stable periods last longer than immediate change. The main trouble is that most people don’t realise that dramatic change is on our doorstep. We have been attuned to the slow, gradual changes of the lat few hundred years. It is evident that in the region where I live, summers are longer and more intense and spring and autumn have become almost non-existent. Growing thing is more challenging and the higher temperatures in summer, harder to live with.
To survive, we all have to adapt to the changing conditions rather than wage war on each other.
Wonderful pictures of the Canyon in snow.
You are spot on about climate change. We now need to learn to adapt. I think agricultural areas will be moving, to who knows where.
Glad to see you are safely returned. Not do glad to hear the drought continues. Arija’s last two sentences are both do true.
Great to be back. Yes, Arija said it well.
BTW, I read cell phone. 😉
So not do. Hate this phone!!
You are right, global warming cannot be denied, driven by humans. Some point to the natural variation and try to pin 100% of the change on that.
Humans need to learn to adapt to the changes to survive.
Wow! The photos say it all. Yes, I worry about the coming summer.
Do you talk about this in school?
We were on the Wilhoit property a couple of weeks ago cleaning up and is it ever dry. The brush is so thick everywhere I can’t help but think it is another Yarnell waiting to happen. Hoping for a great monsoon season also!
Create defensible space, and spread the word to your neighbors.
Hi Gaelyn,
The first drive through the meadow each year is memorable. We will miss it and you, but have lots planned.
I see from your trailer photo that you got your desired site over by the apartments, etc. Great. Keep the news coming. I will relive some of your experiences.
We wish you the best for the summer.
Nancy and George
Paper work today. Already missing you both. Yes, finally got my view space for the RV. Have a great summer. Look forward to seeing where you travel.
We noticed all the lakes in Nevada are very, very low. It certainly is scary. Love your photos as usual.
Nina
Could be a bad fire year. Enjoy the moist PNW.
I wish the climate change deniers could all read your words (and the comments) — they are reasoned and succinct and clear. I will hold hope for a wet monsoon season.
I just can’t believe anyone could deny climate change.
I will most likely be defined as a ‘climate change denier’ because I don’t believe in the creed preached by the Climate Change Priests. I deny the solutions proposed by those same Climate Change Priest.
I will accept that the climate is changing but do not believe that it is because there are humans on the planet or how they live their lives. The 7+ Billion humans could go back to living in caves and the climate would continue to change. The Big Die Off could happen tomorrow and with not a living human remaining the climate would continue to change. Humans are not the primary cause of the climate changing nor will what they do stop it from changing.
So you don’t deny ‘climate change’ just the fact that humans are causing it. We’re just another variable on the planet.
You’ve certainly been doing the seasons backwards! It would be nice if some of your precipitation fell in the form of rain instead of snow. We are rapidly going into spring weather, with the ice already going out for the Nenana Ice Classic, one of the earlier breakups, after last year being the latest.
I rather like summer the best and would enjoy it endlessly. I’m hoping for a rainy season as well. This is crazy to have to ice breakup already.
Hi Gaelyn, I wondered if you got snow. I have friends on the S Rim and they’re E-mailing me photos of snow. Here where Mary lives near Fountain Hills, we got some rain over the weekend. The saguaros are blooming.
Rain is good. I’ve never seen the saguaros bloom. How delightful.
Welcome home! *big smile* <—- You know why. LOL! Its sad to hear that its so dry and that snow was at a minimum. I'm hoping with you that the monsoon season brings you lots of rain.
It’s good to be back at the canyon but definitely need some moisture.
I don’t want to see that white stuff when I come! 🙂 Beautiful in photos, though!
There shouldn’t be any snow when you come in June but I make no promises. Bring clothes for cool to cold weather just in case.
Always like seeing photos of the North Rim. Nice memories. Probably said this before but I was there on opening day in May of 1992. Scary about the lack of rain. Hopefully will be a good Monsoon season. Stay warm:))
Thank goodness the snow has mostly melted and we got a little moisture out of it. I’m beginning to thaw out.
I get cold just looking at the pictures!!
How do you think I feel?
Beautiful, but too cold for me 🙂 Take care and don’t get blown away. Diane
Made it through but it’s still blowing and cold. Somebody send summer, please.