June 4 Day 8
Where are Tom and Lennie Now? -Click Here For Our Current Location
I am sure that everyone has spent the last 24 hours in anticipation of my quiz question answer :), so let's get started with exactly that...
The question was, what is the name of the artist represented by the bronze sculpture in the "Standing on the Corner" park in Winslow Arizona?
Typical answers, and good ones at that, would be Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, or Timothy Schmit, after all, they were members of the Eagles band. There were two other more obscure members of the band, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon. It turns out this is somewhat of a trick question. The statue is actually supposed to be Jackson Browne. You see, back in the early 70's, Jackson Browne and Glen Frey were neighbors. Jackson Brown began writing "Take It Easy" in 1971 for his own debut album. Browne had written the first and third verses, and the chorus, but his work on the song had stalled. After giving Frey permission to work on it, Frey added the second verse (including the line "It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford ..."). Frey liked the song so much that Browne gave it to him for his new band. It was released on the Eagles debut album in May of 1971, and the resulting single climbed to #12 on the Billboard chart. Browne has also written songs for Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, the Byrds, and others.
OK, enough music trivia.
Today we spent the entire day at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The views were just as spectacular as I expected, while the park itself is much larger than I anticipated. There are many lodges, cafeterias, gift shops, etc. They have a very efficient shuttle system if you want to leave your car parked. The shuttles are free (well, it does cost $25 to enter the park), and you can jump on and off as frequently as you like while visiting the many scenic overlook areas.
Here are a few interesting Canyon facts...
The Canyon is a chasm 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide
Below Yavapai point is 2,400 feet above sea level, about 4,500 feet below the South Rim and 5,400 feet below the North Rim for an average depth of about one mile
Took 3-6 million years to form; erosion continues to alter its contours
Includes approximately 70 species of mammals, 250 species of birds, 25 types of reptiles and five species of amphibians
Was formed by the Colorado River, which flows west through the canyon and averages about 300 feet width, 100 feet in depth and flows at an average speed of four miles per hour
Here are a few facts about the actual National Park...
Was made a national monument in 1908 and became a national park in 1919
Covers an area of 1,900 square miles
Is 190 miles long
Contains some 277 miles of the Colorado River
Is populated by five Indian tribes: The Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai, Paiute and Hualapai
Not much more to say, so I'll just post a few pictures.
Remember, you can always click on the photos to get larger versions.
The photo below is not of the main chasm, it is simply one of the side tributaries that feed into the main chasm !
You can get a glimpse of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon in this photo.
I did not take the picture below, it is actually a photo from the West Rim area, and is called Eagle Rock. I thought it was pretty cool. Take a look right at the center of the photo, and you can see a huge Eagle with its wings spread out.
Tomorrow we leave the South Rim area. We plan to visit Page, AZ to see a slot canyon known as Antelope Canyon. We will also make a stop at Lee's Ferry, which is one of the main "put-in" areas for rafting on the Colorado River. A stop at the Glen Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Powell by holding back the Colorado River, then it's on to our hotel in Kanab Utah. On Sunday we will take in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
No map for today, since we were just driving around in the actual park. We did end up putting about 60 miles on the bike just within the park.