Today we will finish our tour of the Grand Canyon. We are headed across the eastern part of the South Rim today.
We finally found a Grand Canyon National Park sign. It is in a parking lot near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.
We made a quick stop at Pipe Creek Vista. Here are a panoramic view and a 360 degree view of Pipe Creek Vista.
We hiked up a nice trail toward Shoshone Point. As we approached the point, we saw a nice vista to the right. From that place, we could see the Colorado River and a great distance view.
We also took a panoramic picture from that same vista. Below the panoramic photo is the 360 degree conversion.
It was only a short hike from our detour to Shoshone Point. The hike did require some climbing near the end of the trail. The rock formation at Shoshone Point is astounding. First, how did the big rock stay balanced on the numerous rocks below it? Second, is it really a huge arrowhead?
From behind the arrowhead formation, we took a panoramic photo of the canyon in the background.
As we departed Shoshone Point, we looked back for one last photo of Shoshone Point and the Grand Canyon.
This is a photo of Duck in the Rock. We think the Duck in the Rock formation is hiding next to the big bush in the left center of the photo. We liked the background of the canyon much better than Duck in the Rock.
Our next stop was Twin Rocks. The distance photo shows the area of the canyon around the Twin Rocks. The close up shows the details of Twin Rocks.
Grandview Point provides a broad look at the Grand Canyon. A panoramic view seemed to capture it the best. It also made the 360 view possible.
Here is a different perspective of Grand View Point taken from the parking lot.
Going even further east, we arrived at the Tusayan Ruins. The main attractions here are the remains of a stone house and a large kiva.
Our next stop according to Google was at the No Name Parking Lot. It lived up to its name. There was a parking lot, but no signs. Since the Grand Canyon was here before signs were invented, we enjoyed the unnamed area. No signs necessary.
Navajo Point was our penultimate stop in the Grand Canyon. By the time we were here, it seemed obvious that the Colorado River was much nearer to the rim of the canyon. However, your eyes can deceive you. The elevation difference is about the same. Maybe it is because the river is wider or because the canyon is more open here.
We also did the panorama picture and the 360 view for Navajo Point.
Our last stop at the Grand Canyon was Desert View. The National Park Service has recently done a lot of construction here to make a larger visitor area. It was all very clean and new.
The biggest man made attraction at Desert View is older though. The Watchtower was built of stone in 1932. The view from the top floor of the tower is terrific. You can see the flat plain to the east of the national park all the way to the horizon. The intricate canyon carved by the Little Colorado River is visible as well.
This is where the Colorado River turns north toward Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. The Colorado River looks much different here than where we saw it earlier this year near its source in the Rocky Mountains.
We took a panoramic photo from the Watchtower looking north and east. The sudden change of the terrain heading east is dramatic. The canyons to the east are about 10 miles away. The land looks flat, but the top of the canyon 10 miles away is two thousand feet lower than at Desert View.
Before we left, we participated in a free tour of the Desert View Watchtower. It is now a museum and gift shop. It was a fun tour with some fabulous views of the surrounding area.
It was a short drive to the park exit. It was a longer drive to our hotel for the night. The drive to Holbrook Arizona was uneventful.
This was our second trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We enjoyed all four days.