"It’s A Beautiful Morning:" Grand Circle Wakes Up to Winter Wonderland

Dec 19

"It’s A Beautiful Morning:" Grand Circle Wakes Up to Winter Wonderland

On my recent trip to Moab, a colleague remarked that some members of her staff had a remarkable penchant for calling in sick on a morning such as this. It just so happens that said individuals are also photographers, which prompted this gal to “unofficially” declare another type of personal day: the ‘photography day.’ I’ll betcha a dime to a donut that these individuals are taking a “photography” day today as a winter storm moved through Northern Arizona and Southern Utah overnight. The whole area is looking absolutely beautiful in a mantle of white – even Las Vegas got a rare dusting of the stuff! On my way to work, I saw several cars pulled over on the side of the road, their occupants snapping away.

There wasn’t all that much in the way of accumulation – maybe an inch or two, maybe more in the higher terrain – but showers are expected to continue throughout the day. No matter that there wasn’t a ton of snow – there was just enough to make for some amazing photo opportunities. The photo above came off the Grand Canyon National Park Service Webcam at Yavapai Point about 5 minutes ago, so visibility is still pretty good, as you can see. Right now, the problem spots are some of the roads: there are no closures or chain requirements in effect – YET. According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, though, the East Rim Drive apparently has some snow or ice on it around the Desert View Watchtower area to Cameron, as does US 89 from Gray Mountain up through the Gap; ditto for I-40 between Williams and Flagstaff.

If you’re on the Utah side of the Grand Circle, a lot of the roads around the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Brian Head have 4WD or chain requirements in effect; around Bryce Canyon, they’re apparently still open, but there is snow on them. If you’re in the vicinity of Las Vegas, Highway 95 from Boulder City to Searchlight is closed.

At the risk of trotting out an old cliche, we do have a saying around here: “if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.” Well, it’s true! In the space of 10 minutes at the Grand Canyon – I am NOT lying about this – I’ve seen it snow, sleet, hail then turn back to blue skies. As we speak, the snow is melting in a lot of areas. So… if you’re heading out of the area, you might want to wait for it to warm up just a hair. You’re on vacation, so grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate (the Belgian Hot Chocolate at the El Tovar is particularly yummy!) and hang out awhile. Hopefully you’ve left a bit of a “cushion” in your Grand Canyon vacation plans to where you don’t have to be in a hurry. But as the guys on “Car Talk” say, “if you really have to drive in the snow, do everything slowly.”

For up-to-the-minute information on Arizona Road Conditions, visit the Arizona Department of Transportation’s website at www.az511.com For Utah, it’s http://www.commuterlink.utah.gov/ie.htm For Nevada, visit www.nevadadot.com. Those of you planning a visit to the area in the near future may want to bookmark those pages – you might need ‘em!

Happy Travels, everyone, and….. “let’s be careful out there!”

P.S. What is the Grand Circle? It refers to the large cluster of scenic, historic and cultural treasures located around the Four Corners area. The Grand Canyon, Zion, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde…. they’re all a part of it. The Grand Circle Association publishes an excellent annual guide on this area – and it’s FREE! Order one at www.GrandCircle.org