Ethnic Heritage Days | Grand Canyon

 

While I was at the Grand Canyon, I was lucky enough to be able to see some of the ethnic Heritage Days, which included representatives from different tribes in the area, including Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Paiute.

　

 

There was a Navajo Indian doing glass blowing. He set up with the furnace and kiln and went through the entire procedure to make a glass.

 

　

Another man was crafting drums out of hollowed out tree sections, with animal skin tops.

 

　

 

There was a table full of native foods, ground corn and other food related items. I was amazed at the selection of local corn that is still being grown and used. The woman told me that the red corn makes such a pretty pink flour.

 

　

 

There were quite a few Kachina dolls on display, from different tribes. A Kachina is a "spirit being" in the Indian culture.

 

　

 

These were interesting, they are carved from sections of trees. When I asked him what it meant, he told me that it was weather - the arrows are lightning and the other three sections represent clouds. 

 

　

 

There was basket weaving, the first one shows how they are started.

 

　

There was a Hopi man doing silver jewelry, which was very nice. 

 

My favorite at the pottery table was a large bowl with very fine details, all hand painted. It was quite large, probably a foot across.

The inside of the bowl represents clouds in the 9 squares on the bottom, with lines showing rain. Obviously, rain was very important to them. 

 

I was really impressed with this little white bowl with dragonflies on the sides. The little squiggly things inside and outside are fish.

Indians have always been known for their beadwork. This gourd was quite big, probably at least a foot across. This beadwork could be used for decoration, and some women wear them as a collar on a dress.

 

It was a small show, but it certainly packed a good selection showcasing their history and what we think of as crafts, but it was all utilitarian for them.

 

Forest Fires | Grand Canyon | north rim | Arizona

Controlled burns in forests are often necessary to consume the accumulated debris from trees, which sometimes reduces wildfires.

In 2006 thousands of acres of Ponderosa pines burned near the road leading to the Grand Canyon, 2% of the area was hot enough to kill pine stands. 

 Since Aspen trees grow from roots, unlike most trees, they will get more sun after these burns and will produce more trees. There are hundreds of small Aspen growing in the area of this burn. When they get tall enough, they may provide shade for conifers to grow. 

 

There was a recent large burn near the north rim of the Grand Canyon, reported to have been started by lightning, as it had been in monsoon season. Over 14,000 acres were involved and fire crews tended to the fire, but allowed it to burn in controlled areas. I'm hoping that the controlled and managed burns lessen the impact on the animals in the area.

 

　

 

 

Shortly after the area in the Grand Canyon was opened to tourists again, I drove one of the roads that was quite involved. I could actually smell the burned area and noticed that small portions of the road had been scorched.

This is one way of getting rid of accumulated debris in forest.  These will be burned during the dry season.

This last photo shows how they thin out trees that have grown too close together, they leave the taller, healthier trees.  This tree cutting also adds to the piles that will be burned in the future.

 

This photo shows Aspens with pine trees in the background.

I have noticed that Aspens grow sometimes in tight groupings, as shown above and in the photo below.  I imagine the reason is that they grow from their roots, rather than seeds.

Grand Canyon | North Rim | Arizona

Grand Canyon is magnificent. The North Rim is very different from the South Rim, where most people visit. The South Rim has lots of people, shuttles to take them along the main road so they can get off at numerous stops to view the canyon. The North Rim has the main area where the lodge and visitor center is, as well as the campground as well as other facilities. In order to see any more of the canyon, there is a road that branches off in two different directions with multiple parking areas to see more views.
 
A very interesting spot on the way to Imperial Point - from a distance you can see a rock outcropping that has a window in it.

As you get closer, you can see a large hole in the rock wall. Through this vaguely triangular shaped hole, you can see part of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon.

When you get to this rock outcropping, there is a walkway to view into the Canyon. It gives you a bit of a funny feeling knowing that part of this walkway is a bridge over that hole. But, the views are great.

There is not much traffic on either of these roads, and it's a slow trip since there are winding roads and lots of dropoffs.

 This little guy was right in the middle of tourists, probably eating someone's leftovers.

And then there were bigger critters - bison!

 

One short hike promised to take me to a little log cabin that was used as a salt house left over from the early 20th century.

What I found looked like it could have been that little cabin, but it had been encased in protective foil, since there was a recent forest fire. Looks like it might have been interesting.



And then there is more scenery.....

Information (and interesting facts) you need to know before you go to the Grand Canyon National Park

 

 

 

Just for general information, I thought I'd log some of the interesting facts I've learned about the Grand Canyon.  If you want to sightsee the canyon the easy way, you can buy yourself a seat on the red helicopters that can be seen flying over. It only costs $539 per person! Guess who's not doing that?

The Canyon has been a national park for a long time, long enough that they have the transportation efficiently set up. You take your car to a parking lot and then you board a shuttle taking you to the trails and sights you want to see. You are given a map at the entrance which explains the whole thing. They have different routes depending on where you want to go. However, if you want to get a great spot for sunset, there may be a couple busloads filled up while you're waiting to go. But, the light is much better for photos about 5 PM and sunset was amazing.  The late afternoon photos are much better than the daytime ones, since the sun is on the opposite side at that time.

 

They do not sell bottled water, but they have a few water stations along the way where you can refill your own bottle.  It comes from a spring right down at the bottom of the canyon.  If you don't have a bottle, they will sell you a nice souvenir one.  Luckily, I brought my own bottle and the water tastes good. They could use a few more locations though.

 

It's a good idea to bring pretty much everything you need.  They have a little grocery store in the Grand Canyon Village as well as a store in the little village about 2 miles outside the gates.  However, the prices are at least double what you'd find in a normal grocery store.  I felt like I was shopping back in the Virgin Islands because the prices were so high.

They do have a very nice little library with WiFi that you can go in and use.  Wonderful idea for people who spend more than a couple of days there.

One thing I was surprised about was a monument for an airline crash that happened on the east end on the Canyon in 1956. Two airplanes collided, TWA and United, above two buttes in the Canyon. There is a monument in the Pioneer Cemetery in the Grand Canyon Village for 29 passengers from United Airlines who were unidentified. The remains of most of the TWA passengers were buried in a mass grave in Flagstaff. Only 29 passengers were identified and returned home.

 

Back in the late 1800s it seems that everyone in Arizona was mining copper. It surprised me to find out that mining was happening inside the Grand Canyon, 3000' below the the rim. This mine was reached by a 3 mile trail, still in use today by hikers. In order to bring the ore up, they used mules to haul 200 pound loads to the canyon rim. While I was visiting here, the temperatures were in the low 90s and there were signs warning of excessive heat. Inside the canyon, things heat up and temperatures over 110 were predicted during the daytime. The hikes down into the canyon are steep and winding. I went down the mine trail for a ways, but at an elevation of 7000', I didn't want to be on that trail for long.

The Colorado River cuts through the canyon about a mile down.

On the road leading into the park, you're likely to see elk grazing along the road. The first morning I went in, I was able to catch a lazy one who was apparently not hungry.

And this little guy was wandering across the street from my camp site the other day.

And the rest of the photos are just shots of the Canyon.  This Park is so massive there is no way to see the entire thing in one or two days.