May 16, 2013 Travel to Grand Canyon North Rim

I woke this morning feeling much better and we headed on down the road – first east to Arizona:

Where the road goes on forever:

We turned south at Fredonia and headed up and up into the mountains and the Kaibab National Forest:

Large fire here in 2006:

Beautiful Alpine Meadows at 8000’ feet in elevation:

Snow, oh my:

And herds of mule deer:

This area was just opened yesterday, 15th, and that includes the road, lodges, campgrounds and national park.  We settled into the DeMotte Campground – Kaibab National Forest and then headed to the Grand Canyon North Rim:

We first went to the lodge.

  When you walk in past registration, you come to the overlook of the lounge.  Notice the view thru the windows:

AWESOME!  There is a porch / balcony on each side of this lounge with incredible views.

The auditorium:

Outside view of the lodge:

In the center, the area jutting out is called Bright Angel Point so we headed out that way:

The views from the point:

One of the cabins:

We saw this guy flying:

This is a California Condor.

“Fossil evidence shows that condors have nested in the Grand Canyon area for approximately 50,000 years.  During the Pleistocene, when the canyon had a cooler and wetter climate, the California condor scavenged carcasses of sloth, mammoth, and horse.  A once flourishing bird, the California condor was almost gone by the 1980’s when there were fewer than two dozen left in the world.  Scientists have been working to re-establish their presence in central California and northern Arizona.  One confirmation of a successful reintroduction program is reproduction in the wild.”

This condor is being tracked – notice the number on his wings.

And for another good story:

Here is Brighty and, of course, we rubbed his nose – :

We came back and sat out by the fireplace but it got too windy (there is a front coming thru – ).  So back inside, I took a nap (still not up to par), while Andy read.   This evening we both read!

Tomorrow we are doing the Rim Tour so stay tuned!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 120 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Utah: Old Highway 91; 5300 W Street; SR-9; SR-59

Arizona: SR-389; US-89A; SR-67