River Rock

If you've ever had the chance to drive through a suburban area with Nathanael you will have heard one of his rants of distaste for poorly constructed river rock belly bands, chimneys, and entrances of homes. Around 2000 river rock started popping up in mass produced suburban environments and in many craftsman wanna be homes across the Northwest. Fake river rock stands out like a sore thumb in his mind and i enjoy pointing it out to him whenever possible. So when I was thinking about the next segment of our journey across the country to visit some of Nate's favorite vistas, the Grand Canyon and Natural bridges i could not resist calling it for what it is. Nate would like me to make the distinction that the name of the blog posting does not offend him as it's name is singular as opposed to the offensive plural word. well, alrighty then. Changing subjects....

Montezuma's Castle!

"Gaze through the windows of the past into one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. This 20 room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a 1,000 year-old story of ingenuity and survival in an unforgiving desert landscape.
Marveling at this enduring legacy of the Sinagua culture reveals a people surprisingly similar to ourselves."  
http://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm

I am already looking forward to our next time at the Grand Canyon, in warmer weather. The weather was lovely, however in the canyon the trails were Icy in March and we decided to forgo the slight chance we slip and sprain an ankle.

Sun rise on the first day.

We still walked about 6 miles of the rim of the canyon and enjoyed a nature walk by Ranger Scott, lovely designs by Architect Mary Kolter and ease dropping on the cowboys instructions for the clients about set off on a mule ride down the canyon.

A peace filled Canyon.

Mary Koler's Pueblo inspired structure currently used as a gift shop.

 I had no idea camping facilities could host so many activities. This is the only picture of Ranger Scott we have.  Nate and I attended a evening program about cougars that was both educational and entertaining. Did you know that the habits and study of cougars in the Grand Canyon did not come into existence until 2003? Crazy! Lori also showed us a gps tracking map that revealed one cougars path through the Grand Canyon. Many of the red dots were right by the highways leading into the park, but don't be alarmed, only 12 people in the past 100 years have died as a result of a cougar attack. Compared to the fact that so many people die from bee stings a year made me feel slightly better about walking to my tent that night.

28 degrees at night here... and I found out I'm claustrophobic in a sleeping bag.

We found out latter that it is 50 degrees at night and up to 70 during the day, much better camping weather if you can scale the icy path with a sheer cliff.

We were able to see the canyon in many lights including sunrise, sun set and at night as the moon lit up the canyon nicely.

Nate wants to paint this one.

Our furry companion during our picnic lunch.

So many colors!

Along our hike on the rim, the safe, but not first choice trail. 

First timers tip: Don't miss the Kolter Observation Tower on the east entrance of the park. Great views from the top of the tower.

My skin perfectly matches my coral earnings,  I always burn when it's over cast. Behind me are some ancient ruins of round native homes.  The inner circle is for the fire,

This amazing lady hired a ranger to find her rocks around the canyon.  He spent over a year collecting rocks for the tower.  This is my favorite structure during our trip and my favorite Architect.

The interior

You just have to see it in person

A very straight road and the last of the change in scenery for a whole day's drive through two reservations. 

When studying the old rocks and trying to wrap my brain around millions and millions of years the Grand Canyon stopped me in my tracks and reminded me that we are but a blink of an eye in time on this earth.
Thank God for eternity and thank God for each day we have here.