Photo by Whit Richardson

See the Grand Canyon State’s finest in 362 miles.

Day 1: Tucson

Experience the unique environment of the Sonoran Desert in Saguaro National Park, a cactus-studded preserve with hiking trails and interpretive exhibits. Tucson is also renowned for is restaurants and lively downtown. Just to the south, Cochise County offers even more hiking opportunities in Arizona’s Sky Islands. These mountain ranges on national forests allow the hiker to go from desert to alpine environments.

Day 2 : Tucson to Sedona: 229 miles

From Tucson, drive northwest on I-10 to Phoenix. Merge onto I-17 in Phoenix and continue north on I-17 to Sedona.  Sedona is an ideal base for mountain biking, jeep touring and hiking among the red rocks. After your outdoor adventure, visit Sedona’s famous art galleries, spiritual shops, and bookstores.

Day 3: Verde Valley

Spend the day on the Verde Canyon Railroad riding a restored vintage locomotive through the remote Verde River wilderness where you are likely to see numerous wildlife species, including bald eagles and great blue herons.

Day 4: Sedona to Grand Canyon: 133 miles

From Sedona/Verde Valley, drive north from 1-17 on US 89A through scenic Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff.  Stop at the Grand Canyon Store in Flagstaff to get tour, river trip, and other visitor info about Grand Canyon. Spend the night and enjoy historic downtown or continue (93 miles) to the park. From Flagstaff,  take US 180 west to US 180/AZ 64 and drive north to Grand Canyon South Rim entrance.

End: Grand Canyon

Wallenda is a seventh-generation member of the “Flying Wallendas” acrobat family. He’s known for last June’s high wire walk across Niagara Falls … and his frustration when the ABC television network broadcasting the event forced him to wear a safety harness under threat of refusing to air the feat.

“I always said it was my dream to walk across Niagara Falls and I felt that part of that dream was taken away because I had to wear a tether,” Wallenda told Reuters. “That wasn’t going to happen again if I had anything to do with it.”

This time around, Walllenda made stricter rules with the broadcasting networks vying for exclusive rights. Not wearing the harness was non-negotiable.

The Discovery channel announced Monday that it had won the bid to air the walk, and since, has begun promoting it as a “nail-biting, play-by-play live event,” reported The Christian Science Monitor.

Wallenda will dedicate the wire walk to his late great-grandfather, who died in 1978 while attempting a traverse between two buildings in Puerto Rico.

In a press release, Wallenda said, “The stakes don’t get much higher than this. The only thing that stands between me and the bottom of the canyon is a two-inch-thick wire. I’m looking forward to showing the audience a view of the canyon they’ve never seen before.”

See Nik in action over a Sarasota highway:

Photo courtesy Xanterra Parks & Resorts

Harvey himself engineered a telegraph system that allowed the train to let him know its estimated time of arrival, thereby allowing his restaurant staff to be prepared to feed the masses. While most restaurants in that era required a significant waiting period for food, guests of the Harvey House were served quickly.

And it was the Harvey Girls—well groomed and carefully trained young women in spotless, white and black uniforms—who served that food. Harvey required that the girls be 18-30 years old, unmarried, educated at least to the eighth grade and highly moral. The women saw the jobs as a way to leave the Midwest (where many were from) and set out in search of adventure. In exchange for this adventure, the girls signed a six-month contract that included the decree that they not marry during that time period. The Grand Canyon National Park Lodges website says that the “Harvey Girls brought culture, refinement and romance” to the West.

According to the Kansas Historical Society, the Harvey Girls were the first female workforce in America. In the early years, each girl would earn $18.50 per month. The salary also included room and board, which allowed the Fred Harvey Company to restrict male visitors and enforce early curfews in the dorms where the girls lived.

Initially men staffed the Harvey Houses. Journalist and historian Pam Knight Stevenson reports that it was only after Harvey found a group of male workers dirty and hung-over at the start of their shift that someone suggested: Hire women “because they don’t get drunk, they’re neat, and they’re always on time.”

El Tovar (the Harvey House in the Grand Canyon) opened in 1905. According to Stevenson, it was one of the Harvey Girls’ preferred places to work because they felt it a privilege to work in such a beautiful place. Among the Grand Canyon girls’ many visitors were WWII soldiers traveling on troop trains.

The Harvey Houses continued to be popular railroad rest stops until the 1930s, when the personal automobile became more popular. At this time, the company began to focus more on national park locations. In 1968 Xanterra acquired the Fred Harvey Company, including its location at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Harvey Girls’ reputation was captured forever on the silver screen with a movie, aptly named The Harvey Girls, starring Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury.

Sources:

Xanterra.com
KansasMemory.com
GrandCanyonHistory.org
TheTrain.com

Picacho Peak State Park
Located just off I-10, about 40 miles north of Tucson, this 1,500-foot-high mountain was the location of a Civil War battle in 1862 between a band of Confederate Rangers and Union soldiers from California. Picacho is now a peaceful place to have a picnic and stretch your legs. Hiking trails leading up to the summit of the peak and also around its base. An interpretive sign about the Civil War Battle of Picacho Pass is near the entrance. Admission is $7 per vehicle. Closed in summer. For more information: azstateparks.com.

Arcosanti
Driving across the high desert north of the Phoenix metro area, you will spot an odd collection of buildings to the east in what looks to be the middle of nowhere. It is Arcosanti, the half-finished utopian community designed by the late architect Paolo Soleri. Arcosanti offers an intimate, unusual glimpse of life in the desert. Learn about Soleri’s vision for deep green living with a free tour of the eco-friendly, über-hippie complex that is comprised of apartments, workshops (world-famous wind chimes are made here), gardens, walking paths, and a retail store. Located 65 miles north of Phoenix just off  I-17, exit 262 Cordes Junction. For more information: arcosanti.org.

Jerome
A 19th-century mining boomtown turned bohemian artists’ enclave, Jerome is perched on top of Cleopatra Hill in the Bradshaw Mountains overlooking central Arizona. The small community is full of funky shops, artist studios, antique stores and coffee nooks. Walk down the main street, which is literally carved into a cliff, and appreciate one of the most eclectic and historic towns in Arizona. From I-17, take AZ 260 and then US 89A up the hill to Jerome. For more information: azjerome.com.

Cameron Trading Post
Located on US 89 at the turn-off to AZ 64, 32 miles east of Grand Canyon’s East Entrance, the original trading post built in the early 1900s traded goods from the Hopi and Navajo tribes. Today, Cameron Trading Post  houses a large gift shop selling Native American crafts as well as souvenirs. The facility also includes an art gallery, ice cream fountain, convenience store, public restrooms, and a shaded grassy lawn. Buy authentic Native jewelry or sit on a bench under large cottonwood trees and eat an ice cream cone.

Chapel of the Holy Dove
Located on the north side of US 89 (near milepost 236) between Flagstaff and Grand Canyon, this small building is open 24 hours and is covered with notes people have pinned to the walls about their travels, prayers and bizarre messages.

Emma Wharton

Outfitter: Grand Canyon Youth; gcyouth.org

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1997

Three essential skills for a commercial guide:1) Must have a sense of humor; 2) strong work ethic; and 3) a love of people and the outdoors.

Most intense trip experience: I was on a trip where we encountered a passenger with a different outfitter who fell out of the boat. His foot got trapped against a rock in a rapid. We could not free him and he drowned. I learned a lot about the power of the river.

Outrageous item packed by a passenger: Battery-operated curling iron.

Best part of being a guide: Witnessing the sense of community that develops among people of all ages over the course of a trip. I also love being away from phones and computers.

Worst part: The constant loading and unloading of the boats. Just get me to the river!

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: Grand Canyon brings people together and transforms them in a way you just don’t see on other rivers or wilderness destinations.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: Grand Canyon has taught me  about priorities and beauty, which I apply to my life every day, even when I’m sitting in an office. I always try to look for beauty in every situation.

Besides guiding: Wharton is executive director of Grand Canyon Youth, a Flagstaff-based nonprofit organization that sponsors Southwest river trips for children of all economic backgrounds. She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington with an emphasis on community development.

Erica Fareio

Outfitter: Arizona River Runners; 
raftarizona.com

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1997

Three essential skills for a commercial guide: 1) Be calm and confident in all situations, from running rapids to answering many questions from clients. 2) Be able to create an atmosphere of trust and safety among the group. 3) Be able to put your ego aside and adjust to the needs of the group, whether that is making dinner less spicy or taking a more conservative run through a rapid.

Most intense trip experience: Floating down the river during a heavy summer monsoon storm. Every drainage was flash flooding, and waterfalls were pouring off the tops of cliffs in so many shades of red and brown.

Best part of being a guide: Seeing how transformative a trip through the canyon is for people.

Worst part: It beats up your body. The hard work and rugged environment takes a toll on your joints, back, and skin.

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: The length of the trip. When people are on the river for two weeks without any internet or cell phone service, they are really able to connect with nature and their friends and family in a way they had not before.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: It has helped me discover what is most important to me.

Besides guiding: Fareio is a Flagstaff-based artist working in water color and ink. Many of her surreal landscape paintings are inspired by scenes and experiences in Grand Canyon. For more: ericafareio.com.

Andre Potochnik

Outfitter: Grand Canyon Dories; oars.com/grandcanyon/dories

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1973

Three essential skills for a commercial guide: 1) Gotta like people. You can’t be the silent type when you are living with the same group for 18 days straight. 2) Must have enough sustained physical endurance to heft gear twice a day and row on long, flat stretches of river. 3) Know how to read the river; this is critical with dories, which are more sensitive to river fluctuations. If you screw up and get caught on the rocks, you are not going to keep your job long.

Most intense trip experience: When I first started running Grand Canyon in the early 1970s, no one had any experience, so we had to learn as we went along. On one of those first trips, we had to run Crystal when the river was low and rocks were exposed. I had all my passengers get out and walk around while I paddled through and got pinned against rocks. I had to work so hard to get out. And then I ended up running Bass Rapids in the dark.

Outrageous item packed by a passenger: A group of art dealers from Santa Fe brought 12 cases of fine bottled wine. That was a very fun trip.

Best part of being a guide: Sharing the place I love with new fans. You might think that rafting Grand Canyon is all about the rapids, but what seems to have the most impact on people are the connections formed with other guests on the trip.

Worst part: The modest compensation and the way guiding makes it tough to maintain long-term relationships. It’s like you are married to the river.

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: The length of time—about 18 days—that you can travel without seeing any sign of modern civilization. It is a continuous wilderness experience.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: It got me excited about geology and wanting to study the Earth’s history.

Besides guiding: Potochnik has a PhD in geology and teaches classes about Grand Canyon natural history for the Grand Canyon Field Institute.

Christa Sadler

Outfitter: Grand Canyon Field Institute; grandcanyon.org/fieldinstitute

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1988

Top three essential skills for a commercial guide: 1) Be a people person. Knowing how to run the river is not nearly as important as people skills. 2) Patience. It’s not all rapids in Grand Canyon; there is a lot of flat water, and you have to deal with chores like toilet duty. 3) Be a team player.

Most intense trip experience: Seeing people completely transform. Over the space of two weeks, I’ve watched clients learn to let go—the lines around their eyes relax, and their face softens as they fall into the rhythm of the canyon.

Outrageous item packed by a passenger: Massage table.

Best part of being a guide: Getting to know Grand Canyon really well. During 25 years of guiding, I have become intimate with 275 miles of river, the shoreline, and the rock layers. It is as familiar to me as my house.

Worst part: When people are not having a good time. It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally a client just doesn’t like being in the Grand Canyon and there is nothing I can do about it. That is very hard for me emotionally.

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: The length of the trip. Spending 18 days in the wilderness really allows you to sink into the place. And from a geological perspective, it is unique in the way you can experience deep time. From the start of the trip at Lees Ferry, you go deeper and deeper into the history of the Earth.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: It’s made me appreciate life. I am blessed with the best job in the world. And it also has given me compassion and patience for people who are different from me.Besides guiding: Sadler is a writer, educator, and naturalist who has studied fossils in Grand Canyon and the Gobi Desert. Through her company This Earth (this-earth.com) she brings natural sciences curriculum to elementary and high school students. She is also the author of the books Life in Stone, about the fossil history of the Colorado Plateau, and There’s This River: Grand Canyon Boatman Stories (This Earth Press, 2nd ed).

Dennis Smoldt

Outfitter: Arizona Raft
Adventures; azraft.com

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1999

Three essential skills for a commercial guide: 1) Sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and take things in stride.
2) Be patient with people and understand that it may very likely be their first time in Grand Canyon or even camping. 3) Have perseverance in doing a lot of hard work: loading and unloading, watching out for the safety of passengers, whatever tasks are required.

Most intense trip experience: I have been in several evacuations over the years. I had my first boat flip in a Grand Canyon rapid last April. That was pretty intense for a few seconds.

Outrageous item packed by a passenger: A battery-operated toothbrush that kept going off inside the boat during rapids.

Best part of being a guide: Getting to experience Grand Canyon for the first time all over again through someone else’s eyes.

Worst part: Coming home.

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: The duration of the trip is long enough that people get a chance to truly unwind. You can see a visible transformation take place in people as  their relaxation level increases. With kids, this transformation happens immediately; as soon as they push off from shore.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: I appreciate life more. Grand Canyon has taught me to keep my pace in check, to live more deliberately.

Besides guiding: Smoldt is a manager for Arizona Raft Adventures and oversees the company’s trip logistics and other planning.

Robby Pitagora

Outfitter: Rapid Creek Outfitters; rapidcreek.com

Guiding in Grand Canyon since: 1980

Three essential skills for a commercial guide: 1) You must like people. Otherwise, you are not going to make it. 2) Have a passion for the outdoors. 3) Enjoy sharing a place with other people. You can learn about rowing along the way if you have that passion for people and the place.

Most intense trip experience: I did a trip with a nonprofit foundation where we took members of Native American tribes to their origin place in Grand Canyon. They had never been in the canyon before, but they had this sense about where to stop and get out of the boat and find petroglyphs or ruins. It was very powerful.

Outrageous item packed by a passenger: Once I had this passenger who had been told by her husband that we would be staying at fancy hotels every night. She didn’t like camping, and it was the only way she would join him on the trip. So she packed all these evening clothes and heels and a hair dryer. I discovered this as we were pushing off from Lees Ferry. The woman was shocked to know the truth but was a good sport about it. I doubt that couple is still married.

Best part of being a guide: Getting to live close to the Earth and to rise and fall with the sun—and sharing that experience with other people. I am more at peace in Grand Canyon than anywhere else.

Worst part: The hard work of guiding means your body is going to wear out eventually. You have to have a back-up career plan.

Rafting Grand Canyon is unlike anywhere else because: The length of time spent on the river. You travel almost 300 wild miles, and that is unmatched in the United States.

Number one way Grand Canyon has changed me: I’ve become more kind toward others. Being a guide and having to take responsibility for a lot different types of people has given me compassion.

Besides guiding: Manages his own company, Rapid Creek Outfitters, and paddles rivers all over the West. “My buddies and I are always looking to try a new river.”

The new study, published online in the renowned journal Science, states that a river other than the Colorado chiseled away the land to form the canyon. Researchers believe that this ancient river flowed east, contrary to the Colorado’s west-running water.

The study’s lead researcher Rebecca Flowers knows that her group’s results are controversial.

“Arguments will continue over the age of Grand Canyon,” she told the Ahwatukee Foothills News in an email. “I hope our study will stimulate more work to decipher the mysteries.”

Flowers is certainly right about the ensuing arguments. Geologist Karl Karlstrom of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque calls the results “ludicrous.”

Karlstrom points out that the oldest gravel and sediment that washed downstream date back only 6 million years. No older deposits have been found. He also believes it unlikely that this older Grand Canyon was not further eroded over those millennia since its formation.

Utah State University geologist Joel Pederson says that both hypotheses could be correct if small, older rivers did in fact cut out portions of the Grand Canyon long ago, and then the Colorado River came through and “finished the job.”

Via ScienceMag.org and Ahwatukee.com

After more than 16 years of planning, the Department of the Interior’s carefully prepared strategy for high flows and massive floods along a stretch of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon came to pass last week.

The strategy is an effort to rebuild habitat in the area by ultimately moving more than 500,000 metric tons of sediment downstream. While sediment used to flow more freely in the canyon, since the building of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1966, the only sediment sources now come from the Little Colorado and Paria rivers. The back eddies and beaches the flooding aims to create are necessary for native fish species, campers and rafters.

At first glance, the floods appear to have worked, as evidenced by the reappearance of sandy beaches more than 100 miles down from the Glen Canyon Dam; however Jack Schmidt, chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring Center, points out more research will have to be done to tell for sure. In the past, test floods had unintended repercussions like increasing non-native, predatory trout populations.

“Surely there are new white sandbars in a lot of places,” Schmidt said. “But what we have learned from doing this in the past is that the devil is in the details.”

Scientists guess that it will be weeks before they’ll know precisely how effective the method was.

Via MSNBC.com