Grand Canyon, Arizona
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
On Monday, we decided to drive the four hours north to the Grand Canyon. We headed out and soon drove north on I-17 towards Flagstaff. Since this is my first visit to Arizona, I was surprised to see green landscape when we entered the Verde Valley about 45 minutes north of the hotel. No, it was not a green as a mountain valley in North Carolina, but the cactii was gone and it was replaced with low trees and shrubs. A quick stop along I-17 and we were in Flagstaff. About 2,000 ft higher than the Verde Valley and it felt like driving in the mountains back home. There were trees were on both sides of the road and green grass in the median. You could easily see the Arizona Snow Bowl and the peaks still had snow covering. We eventually made it to the Grand Canyon and the 50 mph wind gusts due to a approaching front. The views were outstanding, but the blowing dust created a haze in the canyon and made it difficult to see. Any time spent outside the car and you ended up covered in dust
. Since we took AZ 64 to the east entrance, we passed by the Little Colorado River Gorge on the Navajo Reserveration. Yes, there is a two dollar entrance fee, but it is worth the $2 dollars for the views of the gorge. Not as big as the Grand Canyon, but still worth it. Also, AZ 64 follows the gorge for a while and has great views. One surprise about the Grand Canyon is that you can only see the canyon from a few vantage points. The drive from point to point is in the heavy forest connected to the Kabib National Forest. The overlooks were crowded, but still worth stopping at. Just watch your step at all times since the wind was actually blowing people over. On the way back, we took US 180 back to Flagstaff, which runs at the base of the Arizona Snow Bowl and reaches an elevation along the road of over 8,000 ft. This is higher than the tallest peak on the East Coast - Mt. Mitchell in NC. On the way back to
Scottsdale, we hear on the radio about the light dusting of snow in Flagstaff and the car jacking earlier in the day at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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little colorado river
A great place to by jewelry and pottery and they even take credit cards. Great views as well and an interesting place to stop and compare with the canyon.
little colorado river
A great place to buy jewelry and pottery and they even take credit cards. Great views as well and an interesting place to stop and compare with the canyon.