[syptopsygieds]

... which is Hopi for 'Grand Canyon'. My stepfather and I continued our trip to northern arizona
to the western entrance of the Grand Canyon. We stayed overnight at the Red Feather Inn just
south of the entrance which was a Native American establishment which was very nice. Fortunately
for us, it was the off-season as the usual one-night stay would have been around $180! Another
surprise and reminder at just how little water there is in this area, was the sticker on the bathroom
mirror pointing out that all water used in this area was trucked in. I delayed in editing/uploading
these pictures because I had so many, and I felt that I would be unable to even slightly reproduce
the colors and feel of standing on the south rim of the grand canyon. I would highly suggest that
anyone wanting to see the grand canyon visit during the off-season, as some of the roads only
open to tour/shuttle buses during the busy season, are completely open to traffic. There are
maybe a dozen or more stops along the south rim, and unbeknownst to me, the whole canyon
park area is over 200 miles long! If you look at a map of arizona, the whole top left half/area
is inside the grand canyon park region. From the south rim visitor's center, it is well over a
100 mile trip to the north rim visitor's area, unless you have a helicopter

I'll likely have two or three threads of canyon pictures, with lots of merged views


the viewing areas start at the west at Hermit's Rest; we traveled east
along the rim to the central visitor's center and a geology museum, and
then continued on our way to the easternmost viewing point and then southeast towards flagstaff


a short view to the southwest; the grand canyon is actually at fairly high
elevation, and is carved or stretched between two fairly flat highlands.
volcanos at one time on either side used to pour lava into the opening,
cutting off the flow of water


view to the far western canyon area and the colorado river


if you look closely in the middle of the image, you'll see a helicopter
that was flying very slowly, wayyyy down inside the canyon. the
pilot must be very careful as there are variable winds all through the area


whole vista from hermit's rest point



description of how an entering side-stream creates rapids
(image below is where the stream and river come together
and you can see the rapids)






mountain bluebird (I think, clarify if you know differently) in center
of image, at rest area/viewing point. these birds were all along the rim,
and were not reclusive unless you pointed a camera lens at them


another merged view further east along the rim. the darker, deeper
cuts are through what is said to be the original molten material from
when the earth was formed. it is a little blurry, but there is also a
helicopter about three frames from the right. unfortunately it's in
the middle of a merge zone (where two frames came together)


stepfather garnet


another view west along the colorado river


yours truly; if you think it looks cold outside, imagine standing on
the rim of a large canyon in winter with a good 10-15 mph breeze
blowing in places!

[zueqhbyhp]

Great stuff! Thanks!

[searkibia]

Great photo shoot. What is the meaning of the Hopi name for the Grand Canyon.

[syptopsygieds]

I didn't find a definitive answer to the meaning of Ongtupqa, though a few sites listed 'grand canyon', 'salt canyon' (salt mines near the floor of canyon in places) and 'holy site'. The Puebloans did travel to the canyon for holy rituals and observances, but I don't know if ongtupqa means holy site or it is a holy site with the name grand canyon. Many internet sites just repeat that the word means 'grand canyon'

[searkibia]

Oh well! I was hoping for sometehing more poetic. Thanks!

[pKgGpUlF]

Beautiful! I have another friend who was there last week.
Need to get there myself now that I'm out west again!

[zueqhbyhp]

Quote:

[BuyCheapest]

Thanks for sharing with us! Wonderful photos!

[LSDDSL]

Awesome place, Charles!

[houkbsdov]

Cool stuff. Maybe one day... Thanks for sharing.

[Arrocousa]

It's cool to see pics of the Canyon

When I was in high school my brother, Stepdad and myself hiked the Bright Angel trail from the rim to the river and back in one (LLLLOOOOONNNNGGGG) day.

The elevation changes are startling. As you start and end in jackets, but can go to shorts and T-shirts at the bottom.

[Obsententicab]

Very cool pics!!!! Definitely an extremely photogenic environment!!!! Jean

[ZanazaKar]

Great shots!!!
#3,4,7,8, for me, and #10 has wow w/ exponent.

Dude, that last trip of yours, is my kind of road trip!
Maybe P. Lik was in heli. hehe

[ServiceColas]

The shear size is impressive. You can see how small the river is in the one picture. Some day.....

[daguy]

Nice pictures and thanks for sharing!