The Introduction

In a somewhat valiant effort to keep everyone aware of what Jo and I are up to, we decided to start a joint blog. So, without further ado... Welcome to Kaleidoscopic Wanderings! We'll go back and forth posting separately and together so check often.

For my inaugural entry I thought I might cover our Independence weekend trip to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park( the pictures for the blog are both from the trip as well as those that follow). Now, GCNP is one of the busiest parks in the states; if you go to the South Rim. The North Rim sees only 10% of all visitors to the park; it is a drastically different experience than visiting the commercialized South Rim.

We (Jo, Mike and I) left Vegas Thursday around noon and made the 4 1/2 hour trek to the park. A majority of the drive is on dry, straight, two lane highways (think Othello to Vantage for those of you that have made the drive to Pullman). You have to want to get to the North Rim to get to the North Rim. The canyon is rimmed by the Kaibab National Forest. The forest is made up mostly of huge Ponderosa pine trees; it was odd to see evergreens in the top corner of the desert. Once we arrived we pitched the tents, ate dinner and went to get our first glimpse of the canyon from one of the lookouts on the Transept Trail (the trail that goes between the campground and the Lodge).

Friday was spent doing small hikes along the North Rim's scenic drive. We started off by visiting the visitors' center and the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim. There is a small trail behind the lodge that leads to Bright Angel Point. The point was a bit crowded, but it was a great view. We stopped to get a drink of water and have a seat on the back porch of the lodge and enjoy that view as well. Two of the highlights (f0r me at least) of the drive were the small sink hole lake we stopped to look at and the Angel's Window (The only place on the North Rim you can see the Colorado River). We got back to the campsite just in time to see a Kaibab squirrel, found only on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We also managed to catch the tail end of the Fourth of July parade, which ended with Jo and Mike getting soaked and me running away...to protect my camera?

On Saturday we split up. Mike went to the lodge to pick up chicks...er...read a book and Jo and I went to the Widforss Trail. The Widforss is described by Lonely Planet as "arguably the best hike in Grand Canyon National Park." I would have to say it was one of the best hikes Jo and I have ever done. On our way to the trail parking lot we saw two Merriam Turkeys with four chicks! It was drizzling when we started the hike, but still plenty warm. The first 2 1/2 miles followed the rim of the canyon and were interspersed with informational posts. Each time we got to a numbered post, we stopped and read from the brochure. We learned all about the different plants and rock formations we were looking at. The second 2 1/2 miles took us through a Ponderosa Pine forest and small meadows filled with purple flowers. Once we reached the end of the trail we sat down and had a light lunch overlooking the Canyon. Once lunch was finished it was 5 miles back to the car. The return trip was very eventful. With about a mile and a half left we saw Kaibab deer cross the trial right in front of us. The deer stopped and ate just up the slope from us and even let me get a picture. We all met up, had dinner and spent the rest of the night at the lodge listening to a ranger talk on taking pictures of the sky and watching the sun set.

Sunday we struck camp and went to the lodge for a cup of coffee and one last look at the canyon before heading home. On the way back to Vegas we stopped at the Pipe Springs National Monument and took a tour of the "mansion" located on the spring.

Overall it was an amazing weekend. Here is the link for the entire webshots photo album.

Until next time!

-Cory