The Tusayan Ruin and The Watchtower and final Verkamp's Visitors Center

It is 25 miles to the Tusayan Ruins and many stops along the way.  This is at Grandview Point.

The colors just don't come out as bright as they are.

We arrived just in time to take a Ranger Walk at the Tusayan Ruin.  People have lived on the Colorado Plateau for thousands of years. This ruin is one of more than 4000 archaeological sites recorded within Grand Canyon National Park.

A kiva, a cermonial chamber, is one of the cultural signatures of the ancestral Puebloan people.

This is a Mormon Tea bush.  It makes a good tea with no caffine.  If you use too much it can cause heart problems.

Navajo Point on the way to the Watchtower.

Desert View Visitors Center

We had lunch here.  I had a taco made with Indian Fry Bread.  It was yummy!

The Watchtower at Desert View was built in 1932 by the Fred Harvey Company and Santa Fe Railroad.  The architect was Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. Primarily an observation station and convenient rest stop for Grand Canyon visitors,

 it was also intended to bring about a better understanding of the American Indian and his life to past and present.

Inside the Watchtower.

Awesome views from the top of the Watchtower.

Rock formations galore!

Love, love, love the views here.  

Shadows over the canyon changes the view.

So many views, so little time.  We leave tomorrow for Sedona.

Our last stop the Verkamp's Visitors Center.  

The pen used to make the park an official National Park.  Boots and hat of a ranger in the 1930's

As we left on the shuttle bus, our friend the elk came by to say farewell.

CCC Walking Tour and an Awesome Sunset

All my life I have heard of The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  I am not sure if it because my father thought Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was a god and preach to me about him, or if it because we have been traveling in the National Parks, but yesterday we took a tour around the Grand Canyon to see some of the work the Corp did here.

In 1933 severe economic depression challenged the confidence of the people of the United States.  One in four people was unemployed.  Many were homeless.  Serious drought gripped large areas of the West and Midwest.  The nation's leaders felt that the economic and social problems demanded immediate action. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn into the presidency on March 4.  He called Congress into emergency session on March 9, introduced legislation for the Civilian Conservation Corps on March 27, and had the bill on his desk on March 31.  On April 7 the first enrollee took the CCC oath!  By the end of 1935 the CCC employed more that 500,00 men at over 2,650 camps in every state.  The creation of the CCC was a model of speediness.  It became the most popular of Roosevelt's New Deal programs. (I think we could use some of this today.)

The original purpose of the CCC was to put young men to work on worthwhile conservation projects that would benefit the country.  Early in its existence, however, the program added emphasis to teach "the boys" skills and trades.  At the Grand Canyon some men learned typing and truck driving, plumbing, masonry, drafting, welding and blacksmithing skills.  In addition, the CCC educational advisor taught classes in mathematics, reading, history, grammar, photography, and "Laying Out and Planning a Job" after the days work.

Grand Canyon National Park's forst CCC contingent arrived on May 29, 1933, crews worked on the South Rim, North Rim, and in the inner canyon until 1942.

These are stairs that were built by the CCC.  A lot rand Canyon.

Because communication between the North and South Rims was frequently difficult and unreliable, the CCC began construction of a telephone line across the canyon in November 1934.  A group started from each side of the canyon, stringing telephone line on metal poles down steep cliffs and over narrow gullies.  Completed in September 1935, the line was 25 miles long and small portions are still used today.

CCC crews completely rebuilt the rock wall along the rim from Verkamps Curios to Lookout Studio n 1934-1935, replacing a deteriorated, poorly constructed dry-laid wall and a section of wooden fence.  Although the crews built the walls for safety, they present a very pleasing appearance.  Did a CCC boy carve the stone heart and place it in the wal as a symbom to his beloved?  Or is this just an interesting natural rock? No one knows.

These rock pillars and walls were built by the CCC in 1934 as a visual barrier between the public area and the residential area up Navajo Street.

Two bridges were built across this normally dry drainage leading to the railroad tracks.  The remaining bridge dates to 1937.  The CCC exhibited a model of cooperation, with several federal agencies working together for a common goal.

We ended our walk by the train depot.

The train still runs today bringing visitors from William, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We ended our day by heading out to Hopi Point for an awesome sunset.

First Day at the Grand Canyon

 

When we opened our curtains this morning, their were two deer grazing in our neighbors campsite.

This is the side view of the new Visitor Center.

This was in the walkway of near the Visitor Center. It read, "Indians that Called the Grand Canyon Home."  Then around this circle was listed all the Indian tribes.

Our first view of the Grand Canyon.

Amazing!

Safe look outs.  Easy access for all.  Bob and I would still be nervous if we had our grandchildren with us.

We had someone take our picture.  It is not often that we both get in a photo together.

We walked along the Canyon Rim to the Yavapai Geology Museum.

We took the shuttle to El Tovar Hotel for lunch.

This is the front of the hotel.

Our view from our table at lunch.  Food was fantastic!

Built in 1905, this hotel had electric lights from the beginning.

HopiHouse was one of six buildings, in the park, designed by Mary Colter.

I went shopping, while Bob listen to a Ranger.  New earrings:)

Colter planned Hopi House as a sort of living museum, in which Hopi Indians could live while making and selling traditional crafts. The structure was based on Colter's interpretation of the Hopi dwelling at Oraibi, Arizona. A variety of interior spaces provided museum, sales and demonstration space.

This is Lookout Studio is where Bob went for a lecture with a Ranger on Condors.  

On our evening walk with Pralines, we saw this 1500 lbs. Bull Elk.  Can you make him out?  It is mating season so he is down in the campground with his ladies.

Meteor Crater Winslow, Arizona

We planned to be at the Grand Canyon today, but we couldn't get reservations until tomorrow, so we slowed our trip a little and stayed an extra night at the Meteor Crater RV Park.  We had not planned to go to the crater but with the extra day we took the 6 mile drive out to the crater.

50,000 years ago a meteor ended its 500 million year long race through space in a spectacular collision with Earth.  The resulting violent explosion created Meteor Crater, and this was the largest piece of the meteor found.

The meteor's impact left a crater nearly a mile across and more than 500 feet deep.  We took an hour long walk part ways around the crater.  We had a wonderful docent by the name of Kim.  She sure knew her information.  Can you see a flag at the bottom of the crater?  It is 6' tall.

If the Washington Monument was at the bottom of this crater it's top would be at eye level of the rim.  It would accommodate two million fans on the crater walls watching 20 football games being played simultaneously on the crater floor.

The site was formerly known as the Canyon Diablo Crater, and fragments of the meteorite are officially called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite.  Scientists refer to the crater as Barringer Crater in honor of Daniel Barringer who was first to suggest that it was produced by meteorite impact.

This is the ruins of Daniel Barringer's home.  The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family through their Barringer Crater Company, which proclaims it to be "the first proven, best-prserved meteorite crater on earth.  This was later turned into a museum and finally a guest house, after the new museum was built.  It burned to the ground during the stay of one of the guests.

During the 1960's, NASA astronauts trained in the crater to prepare for the Apollo missions to the Moon.

We had lunch at the Meteor Crater, as there was a Subway there.  In the picnic area, there was a brick wall with a window that had his awesome view.

These apartments are for the people who work at the crater.  You get free rent and utilities plus a salary when you work at this site. Plus an incredible view.  Tomorrow we move to the Grand Canyon.