Saturday, 3 November 2018
Grand Canyon to Tucson

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast at the Grand Canyon Plaza Hotel in Tusayan, we are ready for a full morning of many differing views of the Grand Canyon.

As we head back into the park, instead of stopping directly at Mathers Point again, we drive a few miles west to Grand Canyon Village, site of the Hotel El Tovar and the Bright Angel Lodge, as well as a second, smaller visitor center.  The canyon colors are much brighter this morning and the air is already warming.  An added bonus is that there are very few visitors at this hour of the morning.

 
Grand Canyon Village is the farthest west private cars are allowed to drive; from here you must ride the shuttle buses that regularly ply this route.  We spend about an hour in the Village, enjoying the views of the Canyon and the log-cabin architecture of the El Tovar.

El Tovar Hotel

From here we drive eastward toward the Desert View Watchtower and the eastern entrance to the park, stopping first at the Grandview Overlook to watch some adventurous travelers.

The Colorado River Carving Its Way Through the Canyon 

Rock-Climber on the Way Up . . . 

And Reaching His Goal

Mike Thinking About Heading Down the Trail

Desert View Watchtower is the last stop in the Park.  Visitors can climb the steps of the tower if they choose (which we did not), which offers even more magnificent views of the Canyon.

The Colorado River Flowing Through Particularly Colorful Rocks

The airspace over this part of the Canyon was the scene of a horrific mid-air passenger airliners crash in 1956

After leaving Grand Canyon National Park we have one more stop before the long drive to Tucson--the Little Colorado River Gorge.  About 45 minutes east of the park, the Little Colorado River carves its way through Navajo land toward the other river.  The joining point of the two rivers is a place holy to several Native American tribes and offers a connecting point between the spiritual underworld and the realistic physical world above.  The Gorge itself gives a very different view of the erosive power of wind and water than what we have seen in the magnificent forms in the Grand Canyon.  In the busy tourist season this is a place where local Navajo sell hand-made jewelry and pottery.  Today, however, the stands are mostly empty.

We leave the Little Colorado River Gorge shortly after noon, heading east and then south to Flagstaff, where we catch I 17 back to Phoenix and then I 10 to Tucson.  With a stop for a late lunch along the way we reach home in Tucson around 7:30pm.  The 75-mile-per-hour limit speeds us along most of the way.  Although I don't recommend such a short visit to the wonders of the Grand Canyon, for those with limited time it is quite possible to do a two-day trip from Tucson or Phoenix.