Grand Canyon News

Good morning everyone – as stated in the previous short blog entry, the official blog of GrandCanyon.com is once again up and running. It’s been nearly two years since our last entry due to circumstances beyond our control (and in my case, beyond my comprehension!) and we certainly have a lot to catch up on. This is going to be interesting…

First of all, the Grand Canyon is still there, still deep, still wide, and yes, the Grand Canyon is still located in Northern Arizona (not Colorado). And the Grand Canyon is still old, but something interesting happened last year: the debate re-opened as to how old the Grand Canyon really is. Most of us were told that the Grand Canyon’s oldest rock layer, the Vishnu Schist, an obsidian-like volcanic formation, was maybe two million years old. But back in mid-2008, new figures were being bandied about: was the Grand Canyon really six million years old? Fifteen million years old? Using a technique called "radiometric dating," geologists from the University of Colorado and the California Institute of Technology collected enough data to suggest that the Grand Canyon might actually be an unfathomable 55 to 60 million years old. What’s more, they also suggested that the Grand Canyon may be started out as several different canyons that eventually evolved into one.

This latter theory becomes quite plausible after experiencing the newest addition to our Grand Canyon tour family, the Inner Canyon Jeep Tour. We began booking this tour in late 2007, and not surprisingly, it was an instant hit. Here was a way to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in one day, without putting yourself in traction on some uncomfortable mule or scaring yourself silly in an airplane or helicopter. On this trip, you can get picked up in Williams or Grand Canyon South Rim. The tour begins with a cruise up old Route 66 – this is very cool! You remember Route 66? "It winds from Chicago to LA – over 2,000 miles all the way?" This legendary highway is "officially" gone, having been bypassed by Interstate in the early 1970’s, but Arizona possesses the last remaining active segment of the old "Mother Road." You pass through Seligman, an adorable little town with all kinds of cute shops and restaurants with that colorful, kitschy 1950’s look and feel. In fact, those of you with kids who love the movie "Cars" have GOT to take this tour: Seligman is the real-life basis for the town of "Radiator Springs," and some of the actual characters such as Mater and Red can be seen parked on the town’s main street.

After you exit Seligman, you then pass through some really pretty meadows and foothills. Then, it’s time to crawl into a really big hole: the Grand Canyon Caverns. The Grand Canyon Caverns are an example of a dry cavern. Made up primarily of limestone, it actually gets its internal air from the Grand Canyon over 20 miles away. It has some really huge chambers (and some really small ones) lined in a substance that looks like snowballs, and some really pretty delicate crystal formations (called helictite, I believe). It also has curiosities like a mummified bobcat, a replica of a giant sloth found in the caves many years ago, and a cache of foodstuffs from the Cold War era when all caves in the country were converted by Presidential order into bomb shelters!  Our tour guide was a real hoot and made the tour very enjoyable.

After emerging from the caverns, you then make the journey to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The road to the bottom, called the "Diamond Creek Road," is not situated in the National Park. It’s on Hualapai Indian Tribal lands. We went in mid-April when the wildflowers were blooming and it was just beautiful. We saw ocotillo, a bush with long spindly branches topped by a brilliant  orange blossom; different kinds of cacti, which have blooms of all sorts of colors ranging from butter yellow to fuschia, plus other wildflowers such as orange globe mallow, yellow mustard, purple sage, etc. The road winds gently through washes and draws, which makes you aware that the Grand Canyon is actually made up of many sub-canyons, and each of them is almost a world unto itself.

Finally, you reach the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Even in April, it’s pretty warm down here, so most of us opt to roll up our trouser legs and take a splash in the river, which is a constant 47 degrees. Diamond Creek, which feeds into the river, is more bearable at about 60 degrees, perfect for wading. You know, no matter how many trips I make to the canyon floor, I never get tired of being down here. At the risk of sounding schmaltzy, there’s something about this river and being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon that makes you feel a very special connection with the Earth, plus gives you a more realistic perspective on your place in it. It’s so peaceful yet so powerful. Words – or even pictures – don’t do it justice. The Inner Canyon Jeep Tour is an awesome day, and the best part is, it’s not too physically demanding.  The tour through the caverns has a little uphill and downhill walking and some stair climbing, but it’s nothing too strenuous.  Kids as young as 5 can take part in it. If this tour sounds like fun, just jump back on our homepage and click on the link for the "Inner Canyon Jeep Tour" to learn more, or click on the link on the text.

Thanks for joining us again, and stay tuned for more updates on what GrandCanyon.com has been doing during these last two extremely busy and fabulous years! Till then, make it a "grand" day.

Alley Kaye

P.S.  If you’d like to get to the bottom of the canyon in a helicopter, learn more by visiting our homepage, GrandCanyon.com, and learn more about the Las Vegas Grand Celebration Helicopter tour, or its upgrade the Las Vegas Canyon Escapes. 

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