.jpg "Ranger Gaelyn at Walhalla overlook NR GRCA NP AZ")
Note the greenish color of the Colorado River below
I worked out on the Walhalla Plateau two days in a row. There is a daily 1:30pm Ranger talk at the Walhalla overlook, one of three places on the North Rim where you can see the Colorado River.
.jpg "Colorado R from Walhalla overlook NR GRCA NP AZ")
Note the muddy color of the river
This is how the river looked the next day after rain the day before. I love to see the reddish color the river was named after, in Spanish Rio de Colorado means River of Red. Since the Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963 the river typically only runs red when tributaries below the dam flash from a rain. From this lookout that could only be the Paria or the Little Colorado Rivers.
.jpg "Ancestral Puebloan ruin Walhalla Glades NR GRCA NP AZ")
Walhalla Glades Puebloan ruin
Ancestral Puebloans (previously known as Anasazi) built this structure around 1050 AD for summer occupancy when they dry farmed corn, beans and squash on the Plateau. During winter they returned to the canyon, many to Unkar Delta seen in the bend of the Colorado River in the first two photos. Without sediments in the river to rebuild sandbars and deltas many archeological sites along the river are in danger of being eroded away.
.jpg "Ancestral Puebloan granary along Cliff Spring Trail NR GRCA NP AZ")
Puebloan granary
Food was stored in granaries built into shallow caves below the rim, or like this one found along the Cliff Spring trail.
I worked out on the Walhalla Plateau two days in a row. There is a daily 1:30pm Ranger talk at the Walhalla overlook, one of three places on the North Rim where you can see the Colorado River.
Note the muddy color of the riverThis is how the river looked the next day after rain the day before. I love to see the reddish color the river was named after, in Spanish Rio de Colorado means River of Red. Since the Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963 the river typically only runs red when tributaries below the dam flash from a rain. From this lookout that could only be the Paria or the Little Colorado Rivers.
Walhalla Glades Puebloan ruinAncestral Puebloans (previously known as Anasazi) built this structure around 1050 AD for summer occupancy when they dry farmed corn, beans and squash on the Plateau. During winter they returned to the canyon, many to Unkar Delta seen in the bend of the Colorado River in the first two photos. Without sediments in the river to rebuild sandbars and deltas many archeological sites along the river are in danger of being eroded away.
Puebloan granaryFood was stored in granaries built into shallow caves below the rim, or like this one found along the Cliff Spring trail.
Every day offers a new experience.