This is Part 1 of a 3 Part series of Posts as outlined below.
Part 1 - Grand Canyon, The Desert View Watchtower.
Part 2 - Grand Canyon, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point, Pipe Creek Vista.
Part 3 - Grand Canyon, Visitor Center Complex.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I will begin Part 1 by providing the below link for you to look at if you so choose.
babakaps.net/?p=24694
If you go to the above link, you will find my introduction to the two trips (April 4th and 6th, 2017) that Patti and I made to visit The Grand Canyon (the canyon). At the above link, you will also find several maps showing where the canyon is located and ways and routes to take in order to visit it.
The canyon has two rims, the North and the South Rims.
We visited the South Rim. The access road(s) to the North Rim were not yet open in April. Access to the North Rim begins in May.
As I mentioned above, Patti and I made two trips to the canyon. We visited the canyon on Tuesday and Thursday, the 4th and 6th of April 2017, driving from Flagstaff Arizona North to the canyon.
The below photos that comprise this Part 1 of 3 Parts, were taken April 6th and show The Desert View Watch Tower and its environs, located on the South Rim, at its Eastern end.
In my next Post, Part 2 of 3 Parts, we will then leave the above Desert View Watch Tower and we will travel West to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex (the village).
IF you ever plan to visit the canyon, we suggest that you enter the South Rim of the canyon at its Eastern end first taking highway 89 North out of Flagstaff through Gray Mountain and then highway 64 West out of Cameron Arizona.
This is about an 82-mile drive that takes between 1-1/2 to 2 hours. We took longer because we visited other scenic attractions along the route to the canyon.
We suggest this highway 89 / 64 route because you get to immediately see the grandeur and glory of the canyon first. Then, later in the day, as you have traveled West along the South Rim, and you are growing tired and need to take-a-break, you then encounter the mish-mash and confusion, replete with crowds of visitors, and jam-packed parking lots, that define the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex (the village) and its environs.
I am not going to apologize for the many photos you are about to see and, hopefully enjoy. At age 80-years of age, and I lived in, and was a legal, driver's-license-carrying, resident of Arizona during parts of 1963-1964, this was my very first ever visit to the canyon. It probably will be my last unless I 'scratch my itch' to see the North Rim.
And so it may be with you. You may not have seen the canyon and you may never see it. This may be your one and only 'visit' to the canyon. So I am NOT going to short-change you.
As you drive North from Flagstaff Arizona on highway 89, just look at, just 'oogle' some of the scenery you see along-the-way to the canyon.
And finally we have arrived at ..
THE TRULY .. GRAND CANYON.
Coming West along highway 64 out of Cameron Arizona, the first evidence of the canyon you encounter is the below welcoming monument.
I have got to say this : It truly was a great thrill for both of us to to visit the canyon.
After you have passed the above monuments, you drive for a mile-or-two and come to The Desert View Entrance Station of the canyon.
Your visit is not free.
I purchased my umteenth Agency Senior Pass and that-was-that. Ten Dollars ($10) for life (IF) you have your pass and photo-proof-of-identity with you (which I seem absolutely unable to accomplish)!
Your first sight of the canyon comes when you visit The Watchtower.
But! First you have to park your vehicle!
You can see that there was still some snow-on-the ground.
A beautiful picnic area. Just a tad-chilly but some eager beavers were enjoying the area.
Now that you have parked your vehicle, you must walk quite-a-distance before you get to The Watchtower.
DESERT VIEW WATCHTOWER
Looking out and down from the top of the tower, you can see it IS quite-a-walk to the tower from the parking lot in the far, VERY FAR, distance!
God Love Our Patti! In the below photo, straight ahead of you, in the blue sweatshirt, with the cane, in her right hand, you can see the Trooper that Patti is! She was taking the long walk, just-one-step-at-a-time!
On Tuesday, April 4th, our first visit to the canyon, I walked a short distance along the path leading to the tower. I soon realized that it was quite-a-hike. So I suggested to Patti that, since we had a long day ahead of us, and to save our energy, perhaps we should NOT walk all the way into the tower. Patti agreed and so we did NOT visit the tower during our first visit to the canyon.
THE SOUTH RIM .. THE DESERT VIEW WATCHTOWER
The Watchtower is sort of a big deal at the canyon. As you can see in the upper right hand corner of the below photos, it is one of only four photos featured on the canyon handout. The other three photos to its left are just 'touristy' photos.
Not seeing The Watchtower, big deal that it is, on our first visit April the 4th, is the one-and-only reason we returned for a second visit. We felt that we had truly missed a major canyon attraction. On our second visit, all we did was to visit, and focus upon, The Watchtower.
Our first photo of the Desert View Watchtower!
If you look closely at the below photo, you can see we two were NOT alone.
The time has come, the Walrus said, to decide : Am I, your Captain, going to go into The Watchtower and climb up to its top level?
If I don't go in and do-the-deal, none of us, not even me or our Patti, will ever see what the inside of The Watchtower looks like!
Here we go loop-de-loop ..
I am NOT going to show you ( yet ) any of the views of the canyon visible out-the-windows of The Watchtower that I snapped. They will follow the below photos I snapped of the interior of the tower. This will keep our total focus on the tower's interior.
The below photos begin on the ground floor and work up to the top level.
Below you see one-level-up from the ground level.
Below we are at the top level, open-to-the-public, of the tower. The topmost level, see the wooden ladder-way below, is blocked from public access.
We are now back on the lowest level of the tower. As you can see below, visitors have ample-opportunity to spend money.
More merchandise (see the very bottom of the below sign) up-the-steps!
The time has come the Walrus said : To show views of the canyon as you see them from The Watchtower.
When I hiked up-the-tower, I certainly feel that I did the next-right-thing. To be so close and not walk up the tower would have been a real shame.
In general, as you explore the canyon, there is a myriad of informational data constantly available. You get kind-of sort-of numb to the flood of all of this very interesting information.
WOW!
WOWIE!
Just read the below plaque located very near to the base of The Watch Tower.
The establishment of the FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION and the establishment of national standards for aviation safety!
The photo below is the very first photo that I snapped of the canyon.
This completes our April 6th visit to The Watchtower.
This is the perfect place to complete what I am calling Part 1 of 3 Parts showing photos of our visit to The Grand Canyon.
In my next post (continue to scroll down) Part 2 of 3 Posts, I will show photos of the area of the South Rim going West from the tower and working our way to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex.
With Joy .. Cap and Patti ..
Time to-take-a-break or ..
Time to Scroll Down to Part 2 by clicking below on Older Posts.
Part 1 - Grand Canyon, The Desert View Watchtower.
Part 2 - Grand Canyon, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point, Pipe Creek Vista.
Part 3 - Grand Canyon, Visitor Center Complex.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I will begin Part 1 by providing the below link for you to look at if you so choose.
babakaps.net/?p=24694
If you go to the above link, you will find my introduction to the two trips (April 4th and 6th, 2017) that Patti and I made to visit The Grand Canyon (the canyon). At the above link, you will also find several maps showing where the canyon is located and ways and routes to take in order to visit it.
The canyon has two rims, the North and the South Rims.
We visited the South Rim. The access road(s) to the North Rim were not yet open in April. Access to the North Rim begins in May.
As I mentioned above, Patti and I made two trips to the canyon. We visited the canyon on Tuesday and Thursday, the 4th and 6th of April 2017, driving from Flagstaff Arizona North to the canyon.
The below photos that comprise this Part 1 of 3 Parts, were taken April 6th and show The Desert View Watch Tower and its environs, located on the South Rim, at its Eastern end.
In my next Post, Part 2 of 3 Parts, we will then leave the above Desert View Watch Tower and we will travel West to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex (the village).
IF you ever plan to visit the canyon, we suggest that you enter the South Rim of the canyon at its Eastern end first taking highway 89 North out of Flagstaff through Gray Mountain and then highway 64 West out of Cameron Arizona.
This is about an 82-mile drive that takes between 1-1/2 to 2 hours. We took longer because we visited other scenic attractions along the route to the canyon.
We suggest this highway 89 / 64 route because you get to immediately see the grandeur and glory of the canyon first. Then, later in the day, as you have traveled West along the South Rim, and you are growing tired and need to take-a-break, you then encounter the mish-mash and confusion, replete with crowds of visitors, and jam-packed parking lots, that define the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex (the village) and its environs.
I am not going to apologize for the many photos you are about to see and, hopefully enjoy. At age 80-years of age, and I lived in, and was a legal, driver's-license-carrying, resident of Arizona during parts of 1963-1964, this was my very first ever visit to the canyon. It probably will be my last unless I 'scratch my itch' to see the North Rim.
And so it may be with you. You may not have seen the canyon and you may never see it. This may be your one and only 'visit' to the canyon. So I am NOT going to short-change you.
As you drive North from Flagstaff Arizona on highway 89, just look at, just 'oogle' some of the scenery you see along-the-way to the canyon.
And finally we have arrived at ..
THE TRULY .. GRAND CANYON.
Coming West along highway 64 out of Cameron Arizona, the first evidence of the canyon you encounter is the below welcoming monument.
I have got to say this : It truly was a great thrill for both of us to to visit the canyon.
After you have passed the above monuments, you drive for a mile-or-two and come to The Desert View Entrance Station of the canyon.
Your visit is not free.
I purchased my umteenth Agency Senior Pass and that-was-that. Ten Dollars ($10) for life (IF) you have your pass and photo-proof-of-identity with you (which I seem absolutely unable to accomplish)!
Your first sight of the canyon comes when you visit The Watchtower.
But! First you have to park your vehicle!
You can see that there was still some snow-on-the ground.
A beautiful picnic area. Just a tad-chilly but some eager beavers were enjoying the area.
Now that you have parked your vehicle, you must walk quite-a-distance before you get to The Watchtower.
DESERT VIEW WATCHTOWER
Looking out and down from the top of the tower, you can see it IS quite-a-walk to the tower from the parking lot in the far, VERY FAR, distance!
God Love Our Patti! In the below photo, straight ahead of you, in the blue sweatshirt, with the cane, in her right hand, you can see the Trooper that Patti is! She was taking the long walk, just-one-step-at-a-time!
On Tuesday, April 4th, our first visit to the canyon, I walked a short distance along the path leading to the tower. I soon realized that it was quite-a-hike. So I suggested to Patti that, since we had a long day ahead of us, and to save our energy, perhaps we should NOT walk all the way into the tower. Patti agreed and so we did NOT visit the tower during our first visit to the canyon.
THE SOUTH RIM .. THE DESERT VIEW WATCHTOWER
The Watchtower is sort of a big deal at the canyon. As you can see in the upper right hand corner of the below photos, it is one of only four photos featured on the canyon handout. The other three photos to its left are just 'touristy' photos.
Not seeing The Watchtower, big deal that it is, on our first visit April the 4th, is the one-and-only reason we returned for a second visit. We felt that we had truly missed a major canyon attraction. On our second visit, all we did was to visit, and focus upon, The Watchtower.
Our first photo of the Desert View Watchtower!
If you look closely at the below photo, you can see we two were NOT alone.
The time has come, the Walrus said, to decide : Am I, your Captain, going to go into The Watchtower and climb up to its top level?
If I don't go in and do-the-deal, none of us, not even me or our Patti, will ever see what the inside of The Watchtower looks like!
Here we go loop-de-loop ..
I am NOT going to show you ( yet ) any of the views of the canyon visible out-the-windows of The Watchtower that I snapped. They will follow the below photos I snapped of the interior of the tower. This will keep our total focus on the tower's interior.
The below photos begin on the ground floor and work up to the top level.
Below you see one-level-up from the ground level.
Below we are at the top level, open-to-the-public, of the tower. The topmost level, see the wooden ladder-way below, is blocked from public access.
We are now back on the lowest level of the tower. As you can see below, visitors have ample-opportunity to spend money.
More merchandise (see the very bottom of the below sign) up-the-steps!
The time has come the Walrus said : To show views of the canyon as you see them from The Watchtower.
In general, as you explore the canyon, there is a myriad of informational data constantly available. You get kind-of sort-of numb to the flood of all of this very interesting information.
WOW!
WOWIE!
Just read the below plaque located very near to the base of The Watch Tower.
The establishment of the FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION and the establishment of national standards for aviation safety!
The photo below is the very first photo that I snapped of the canyon.
This completes our April 6th visit to The Watchtower.
This is the perfect place to complete what I am calling Part 1 of 3 Parts showing photos of our visit to The Grand Canyon.
In my next post (continue to scroll down) Part 2 of 3 Posts, I will show photos of the area of the South Rim going West from the tower and working our way to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Complex.
With Joy .. Cap and Patti ..
Time to-take-a-break or ..
Time to Scroll Down to Part 2 by clicking below on Older Posts.
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