2023 – Early February – Grand Canyon NP

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Image captions note the locations where the images were taken.

Maricopa Point

After a several hour drive from Kingman, AZ, we stop in Ash Fork, AZ to stretch our legs.  The first place we see is the Ash Fork Historical Society Museum.  We enjoy visiting museums, so we stopped.  A volunteer welcomes us, “This is a hands-on museum.”  “Feel free to sit with the characters playing cards, try on the fire fighting gear, and sit in the old car.”  I can’t remember if it was a model T or A.  We have a great time doing ‘hands-on’  We spend an hour looking, then another half hour listening to our docent tell stories of the area.  It’s a great little local museum to visit.

We are only 90 minutes away from the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park.  We have reservations in a Bright Angel Lodge cottage only 200’ from the south rim.  No 70-degree temperatures here.  Closer to 40.  North facing slopes have snow, offsetting the red canyon walls.  Only two of the four shuttle routes run year-round.  This allows us to drive west towards Hermit’s Rest, visiting all the overlooks in between.  This works well for us since we will be at Hopi Point for sunrise tomorrow.  We wander the shops and have dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel.  Dinner is very enjoyable.

Our cottage is comfy, with a refrigerator and TV.  Normally we are not television watchers, but the nights are cold, so we stay in, watching TV.  We have some winter clothing but not enough for the 20-degree weather we are experiencing.  We hit the bed early, to be ready for tomorrow's sunrise.

The alarm wakes us at 5. It is dark, too dark to tell if it’s cloudy.  We put on the multiple layers we bought for our Antarctica trip, for the expected cold.  Walking to the car we see the sky starting to light up, some clouds but we are not socked in.  The temperature is not too bad, either.  We are the only ones out.  Nobody is on the road to Hopi Point.  We pass several other spots overlooking the canyon, but our research reveals Hopi Point is a good spot for sunrise and sunset.  Only one other car is in the parking lot when we arrive.  We grab our backpacks, tripods, hats, gloves before making our way to the overlook.  Snow surrounds us.  The steps are ice covered, Nicida slips and falls going down one of the steps.  She is not hurt, it happens quick, she says in retrospect she wasn’t paying attention to where she was stepping; on her feet one second, sitting on the ice, the next.  Fortunately, her backpack cushions her fall.

Hopi Point

Making sure she is okay and wanting to continue, we watch the clouds turn pink.  The nice calm air back among the trees becomes a blustery wind, on the Point.  The extra layers we put on are appreciated as we settle in for a spectacular sunrise.  The pinks become red, gold, purple, when the color stops lighting up the clouds, we see the east facing canyon walls turn shades of red.  

Hopi Point

The color at this time of day is stunning.  The snow lightly covering the slopes give the canyon walls texture, not normally seen without the snow.  A few more people arrive as we continue shooting and savoring our view.

We pack up moving west, stopping at several other Points along the route.  On our quick trip back to our cabin, we come to a quick stop - eye to eye with an Elk.  This one is a youngster, if he was an adult he would be staring – down - at us.  He’s minding his own business, in the middle of the road.  Finally, moving over, he meanders alongside the road looking to see what’s on the buffet.  He pays no attention to us; food is on his mind.  He goes his way, we go ours.

Desert View

After thawing out from our morning rendezvous with sunrise at the Grand Canyon, we head east.  Our destination is Desert View, the last Point before exiting the park.  Desert View is 25 miles from Grand Canyon Village.  We stop at several other Points along the road providing different vantage points of the canyon.  To some degree, all are covered by snow and or ice, causing us to cautiously walk around each location.  No repeating the fall from this morning.

Desert View Watchtower is the most crowded Point we have seen at the Grand Canyon.  Everyone is treading like penguins on the ice and snow.  Desert View is an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site.  People have been living in this area for over 12,000 years.  The watchtower is a four-story tower with native artwork adorning the interior walls.  Windows provide commanding views of the Colorado River carving its way through the canyon.

Yaki Point

The next morning, we head to the Grand Canyon Village Visitor Center to catch the shuttle to Yaki Point.  The shuttle is the only way to get to Yaki Point unless one wants to hike the several mile route.  The wind is blowing again today, feeling even colder than yesterday.  A few shots later we are ready to make the trip back to the visitor center.

Mather Point is only a quarter mile walk from the visitor center.  It is named after Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, appointed in 1917.  The Point provides a wide view of the canyon.  You can see to the Colorado River at the bottom and Phantom Ranch on the other side of the Colorado River.

Desert View

We visit Kolb Studio, a photography studio operated by the Kolb brothers.  By 1902 the two brothers were known as photographers and adventurers.  The ultimate, is a movie of their 101-day adventure running the Colorado River.  Our last stop is the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum.  Here models of the geology of the Grand Canyon show in detail what text describes in books and brochures.

Bright Angel Trail

We are considering a hike down into the canyon.  The trails are icy and snow covered.  We purchase crampons at one of the shops in the visitor center.  By the time we get back to our cabin to hike a bit of the Bright Angel Trail, the temperatures have warmed, making the trail a muddy, or icy mess depending on whether the trail is in the sun or shade.  We pass on the hike, saving it for next time.

Maricopa Point

On our way out of the park the next morning we come across a couple hitch hiking.  We stop, thinking they are having car trouble, but find out they would like a ride to the one of the Points.  They are backpacking to the bottom of the canyon for three – four days, popping up on the rim close to their car, where we just picked them up.  We wish them well and think of them over the next couple days, seeing bad weather; snow with colder temperatures coming to the canyon.

Navajo Point

February is a great time to see the canyon.  Being at elevation, +7,000’ generally means colder temperatures, making your adventure unique.  You can’t always count on snow, but for us, recent snows still hang on in shadows of the north facing canyon walls.  The snow makes the views special.  February is also great because the roads are open to personal vehicular traffic.  As the number of visitors increase the park maintains control by only allowing shuttles to ferry people along the south rim.  It’s not bad, they do a good job providing access to the places we stopped west of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.

Bright Angel Trail from Maricopa Point

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark