Multiple views of Grand Canyon, Wotan’s Throne from South Rim and North Rim
When I was a Park Ranger visitors frequently asked which side is better, there’s no bad views of Grand Canyon, so visit both sides. And that’s what I did.
On this summer journey, I planned to enjoy views of Grand Canyon from both sides, starting with the South Rim. So after my wonderful loop drive from Sunset Crater to Wupatki national monuments I continued north on SR89 to Cameron and entered the park from the east side, so much less crowded than the main Village area.
I stopped at Navajo Point and under cloudy skies enjoyed the views of Grand Canyon including a distant look at the Desert View Watch Tower.
Then I continued to my forest camp only one mile of rough and rutted dirt road to boondock for the night with a gentle rain. Not overcrowded, this Kaibab National Forest location is along the way to the Grandview Fire Tower, where I camped last summer.
The next day I met a Ranger friend at Moran Point and we spent the day catching up, reminiscing, and enjoying views of Grand Canyon. I am always amazed that the average park visitor doesn’t spend more than two minutes at an overlook.
Pine pollen on puddle
Pollen on truck
It rained intermittently over the next several days so I was glad to have a great signal and worked on the next video about Arivaca Creek and the Cruz Ranch and a blog post about my visit to Bisbee during early June. Yes, I’m that far behind. The rain helped clear the air of Pine pollen.
After five nights in this forest location it was time to hit the road for some new views of Grand Canyon. First stop at Desert View Watch Tower, the furthest east overlook with some of my favorite South Rim views of Grand Canyon.
Larkspur Globe Mallow
I parked in the oversized vehicle lot and walked due west to the rim following a social trail towards the tower with lots of flowers along the way.
The only reason I went inside the tower was to add another sticker and hat pin to my collections.
Once back to SR89 I headed north across the amazing Navajo Reservation desert landscape.
Stopped for lunch at Cliff Dwellers then climbed up onto the Kaibab Plateau and much cooler temperatures at 7,000 feet.
Of course I had to get desert at Jacob Lake Inn.
Then opted to camp nearby.
In the morning I drove south across the Kaibab National Forest surprised at how full the lakes were in the meadows. Guess I should have expected that because of the record breaking snow fall.
Stopped at the entrance station and said hello to a known Ranger then continued to the end of the road.
Parking wasn’t a problem because the Lodge wasn’t open yet for food service or overnight accommodations. All that snow followed by melt took out a huge section of both the water pipe and North Kaibab trail so they were under water restrictions.
No Rangers in the visitor center as it’s now all sales space for the history association.
Enough of that, I wanted more views of Grand Canyon. So I drove the scenic road with the first stop at Point Imperial. I actually had the overlook entirely to myself for a measurable amount of time.
Made another stop at Greenland Lake, the fullest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen it bone dry. “Lakes” on the Kaibab are actually sinkholes in the limestone, not huge but good water sources for wildlife.
Then on to the end of the road to Cape Royal for my favorite views of Grand Canyon.
Especially sunset.
Deer Lake
View east Vermilion & Echo Cliffs with Navajo Mt beyond
I could have stayed for days stopping at every overlook for many hours enjoying a variety of views of Grand Canyon. However, I had other places to go and people to see. So I headed back north with just a couple stops along the way. Including Jacob Lake Inn once again for a dozen cookies to take as treats for the friends I’d visit in Kanab, Utah.
Sunday I opened the visitor center at 8am to a line of people who mostly wanted to use the bathroom. Within the next hour a long line also formed to ask us Rangers the typical question, “I just got here what should I do?” I sure wish people knew how to read a map or do a little pre-planning. Thank goodness I was only there a couple hours that went by lightning fast. Then off to Yovimpa Point for the afternoon, if I could find a place to park. I parked out of the way yet illegally hoping to move but before I could finish eating lunch while sitting in the truck was hemmed in front and back. Spent from noon to 4:30 at Yovimpa and the new supervisor Mike came out to watch and stayed for several hours. I lost track of how many times I did short talks about geology and fire ecology. I just pulled them in when folks came to the point. One couple asked at the desk if I was going to Yovimpa because their son had visited last week and told them to see me specifically. That sure felt good. My ego loves those kinds of strokes. I’ll miss that. Had to ask two kids from separate families not to throw rocks over the fence and down on a possible trail while parents stood and said nothing. Them, I won’t miss. But out of at least 93 contacts today most were amazing. I almost ran out of water and finally got back to the visitor center about 30 minutes after my day should have been over.
