Chillin' At Grand Canyon!
Mather Campground is a great location to visit the Grand Canyon. As mentioned there is no hook-ups or site services but is within close proximity to the sites we wanted to visit.
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| Kaibab National Forest South of Grand Canyon |
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| Satellite Maps image Campground at red pin. |
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Grand Canyon Day One: Craig was not able to leave the campsite, his mobility/pain kept him from walking and standing. So, Jan and friends went out for the day exploring and hiking along a trail right next to the Canyon. Jan took some beautiful photos.
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| Canyon Views |
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| Canyon Views |
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| Canyon Views |
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| Beautiful Scenery |
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Among the majestic spires, canyons, buttes and mesas of Canyonlands can be found a truly amazing tree: the Utah juniper (Juniperous osteosperma). Junipers grow in some of the most inhospitable landscapes imaginable, thriving in an environment of baking heat, bone-chilling cold, intense sunlight, little water and fierce winds.
Junipers grow very slowly. A juniper standing only five feet tall may be 50 years old. Junipers typically live from 350 to 700 years, with some even passing the millennium mark. Despite their longevity, junipers rarely exceed 30 feet in height or three feet in diameter. Taken from nps.gov
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| Beautiful Juniper Tree Photo from nps.gov |
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| Looks like this fellow did not make it! |
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| Juniper Tree |
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| This small bird blends into the Juniper Tree Th tuff of elk fur he gathered is no doubt for a nest? |
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| Lichen - Grand Canyon |
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The Common Raven
The Common Raven
These fellows are all predominant around the Mather Campground. We watched them tear apart three of our neighbouring campsites while the occupants had left and interestingly tied bags of food up off the ground? Not sure if they thought bears were going to be coming into camp, but no doubt they did not realize how smart and determined the Raven can be at getting a bite to eat!
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| This fellow was keeping Craig company while everyone else were hiking |
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Mean While Back At Camp!
Craig is not so happy!
Jan set Craig up at camp; drinks, snacks, his book, chair, BBQ, sunscreen and instructions when to put the veggies on for dinner... all set to go! Off everyone went for the day.....
All was good until Craig went to go to the washroom in the LTV. As Craig cannot move (walk/stand) very well when things are bad, a short distance can take him a little time to get to!
When Craig looked out of the motorhome and saw the Raven, who kept company during the morning sitting on the table; the camera was grabbed, pictures taken, Raven yelled at all to no result. It was only after Craig moved closer that the fellow took off, with some dinner in his beak.
The Raven who decided it was time to snack or maybe dinner!
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| Checking out the goodies! |
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| Nope, yell at me if you like! You are too far away to be scary. |
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| So much for sealed veggies on the BBQ! |
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| Not the best picture But it just about sums up his attitude! |
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| And this just about sums up his! Craig Impressed - don't think so! |
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| Our "picnic table" must weigh at least a 1,000lbs Solid concrete with a nice NPS Logo |
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Elk (Cevus elaphus) are the largest member of the deer family (Cervidae) in Grand Canyon National Park. The Rocky mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) in the park come from 303 individuals introduced to the state from 1913-1928 from Yellowstone National Park. While they can appear calm, elk are wild animals that can be dangerous. Please view these animals from at least 100 feet. From nps.gov
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| I think Jan is a little closer than the recommended 100ft from this Elk! |
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| The Elk are abundant and not afraid of people |
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Grand Canyon Day Two: We all piled in to our friend's Serenity and went in to Visitors Centre Tozayan, AZ we missed the IMAX 11:30 showing so had a bite to eat at the visitor centre and took in the 12:30pm show.
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Grand Canyon Topographical Illustration
National Geographic Grand Canyon Visitor Centre |
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Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869
The National Geographic IMAX played a great movie outline the Grand Canyon but the best part for us was the re-enactment of John Wesley Powell's 1869 expedition of the Grand Canyon.
This expedition lasted almost 3 months and was undertaken in four small specially built boats with 10 expedition members.
The following links outline the expedition:
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| Plaque at the Visitor's Cente |
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| Replica Powell Expedition Boat |
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The following photographs are from the National Park Service Website:
The photographs in the album are from John Wesley Powell's second expedition (1871) down the Colorado River through what would later be known as the Grand Canyon. There were no photographs made during the first (1869) trip. from nps.gov
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| The Grand Canyon - South Rim Breath Taking |
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Logo
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| National Park Sticker |
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