Grand Canyon

It was a beautiful day at the Grand Canyon.  I started at the south rim/Mather Point and the Visitor's Center.

This next picture depicts all the Native American tribes that call the Grand Canyon home.

After checking out Mather Point, I decided to forego the shuttles and opted to take the road route from Mather Point to the Desert View area.  It was a very scenic drive with lots of nooks to pull over and take photos along the way.  It was interesting to see how the canyon changed as I drove along.

Along the route were the Tusayan ruins, which was a tribe that settled in the area and consisted of approximately 30 members. 

Museum.

From this vantage, a view of the San Francisco peaks near Flagstaff!

The above two pictures show a ceremonial pit and the remains of a home.

Yikes!  Thankfully, I saw no snakes during my visit. 

These next photos were taken at Navajo Point.  Loved the big black bird who was very vocal with a little girl.  The river that appears in the following pictures is the Colorado River.  In some places you can see the rapids.  The last picture is of the Watchtower at Desert View Point.

The final stop was Desert View Point.  I climbed the Watchtower and took pictures of the inside that had tons of gorgeous pictures drawn on the walls and ceiling. 

I actually worked up a sweat climbing the 4 flights of stairs to get to the top.  What a view!

I headed back to Flagstaff and it was interesting to see Native American stands at the edge of cliffs all along the highway. 

I decided to make one more stop:  the Sunset Crater Volcano, located just outside of Flagstaff.  The volcanic rock reminds me of the volcanic rock on the Hawaiian islands.  I was fascinated that in middle of the volcanic rock a pine tree was growing.  How does it do that?

I didn't travel the whole area, but my last stop was the Painted Desert Vista.

I'm adjusting my travel plans for the remainder of the week due to the wildfires in eastern Arizona.  Tomorrow I head back to ABQ as the fire is 0% contained and the winds are moving the fires quickly north and east.  Also, the local news reports say that the winds are making the skies in ABQ hazy, and the visibility in Gallup, NM, low; the skies as far as Iowa are also affected.  Unbelievable. Stay tuned.  :0)