September 24
Our first day at the Grand Canyon. We had decided that we would walk along the Rim Trail in the morning, see the Grand Canyon Imax in the heat of the day, and then do a quick hike into the canyon later in the “cool” of the afternoon. We only actually completed the first part.
The Grand Canyon was formed bycomplicated and lengthy geological events. Two billion years ago, the plate that became North America collided with another plate. The resulting heat and pressure shaped the metamorphic basement rocks, the bottom layer of the canyon. The second layer up from the bottom is the “Grand Canyon Supergroup”, a mix of limestone and lava. The rest of the rocks above this were formed when this area was under the ocean. They are made up of oceanic silt and dead animal and plant debris that got compressed into the horizontal layers we see today. 70 million years ago the Rock
y Mountains began to form and the Colorado plateau rose, with very little shifting and buckling of the strata. This uplift set the stage for the Grand Canyon. By 5 or 6 million years ago the Colorado river was formed by water draining down from the Rockies. The water flowed across the Colorado Plateau and down to the Gulf of California. Gravel and sand was washed into the Colorado river, scraping away at the soft limestone of the Colorado Plateau as the bits of sediment were swept along. Tributaries to the Colorado carved side canyons into the stone, increasing the width of the canyon. The water eroded the softer rock first, undercutting the harder rock, making those parts collapse. The pinnacles and towers were formed when two side canyons carved away the softer rock between them, leaving the hard rock in place. (Thanks to Grand Canyon National Park interpretive materials for providing the informationI used for this geological explanation)
How do I describe the Grand Canyon? The sheer colorful walls, the towering buttresses, the inner canyon…
The top of the Kaibab Plateau leading up to the Canyon is flat, covered with trees (like Ponderosa Pine) – very similar to the interior of B.C.
Suddenly the trees stop, or sink down. That is the edge of the Canyon, appearing in front of you with no warning. Behind the drop off are different layers of rock, from different geological periods. It is hard to tell what is the top of a ridge, or just a bold red line. There are pinnacles and spires separating each side canyon, ridges leading out to the center and … down, down, … way down, is the Inner Canyon. About half way down is a flattish plateau – below the first major cliffs. The edge of the Inner Canyon falls away from that plateau to the Colorado river below. The Grand Canyon can be up to 29km wide and 1.6km deep. We were on the South Rim. It is hotter, lower elevation and supposedly less beautiful than the North Rim. I think that the North side can’t possibly be more scenic. My words aren’t adequate to describe how magnificent the Canyon is. My father’s pictures do a good job, however, nothing can really capture the canyon.
California Condors originally 
lived in the Grand Canyon, but between them being hunted as pests and DDT softening their eggs, their populations declined and eventually there where no Condors in the Grand Canyon, and only 23 in California. Then scientists stepped in and started taking control of the population. The California Condors have been reintroduced to the Grand Canyon and are doing really well. We kept our eyes peeled and scanned the canyon skies for the three meter wingspan birds. In the two days we spent at the canyon we only saw one Condor, and that briefly. The Condor dwarfed the Ravens, and Turkey Vultures who were flying with it, looking large even thought it was far away.
Our hike along the Rim Trail took us the whole day. 
We dawdled by the sheer red cliffs, looked everywhere for Condors, found archaeological sites in the forest just off the trail, drank ALL our water, gawked at the squirrels running up and down the canyon edge and the ones that came right up to you begging for food. We could see their noses twitching at our food. I have a fear of heights and stayed more than half a meter away from the ledge. But Georgie and Daddy scrambled right near the precipice with a 100 meter drop. If I went that close—well, I won’t even go into my reaction.
Another night spent in the same campground. No Coyotes.
Suddenly the trees stop, or sink down. That is the edge of the Canyon, appearing in front of you with no warning. Behind the drop off are different layers of rock, from different geological periods. It is hard to tell what is the top of a ridge, or just a bold red line. There are pinnacles and spires separating each side canyon, ridges leading out to the center and … down, down, … way down, is the Inner Canyon. About half way down is a flattish plateau – below the first major cliffs. The edge of the 
lived in the 
We dawdled by the sheer red cliffs, looked everywhere for Condors, found archaeological sites in the forest just off the trail, drank ALL our water, gawked at the squirrels running up and down the canyon edge and the ones that came right up to you begging for food. We could see their noses twitching at our food. I have a fear of heights and stayed more than half a meter away from the ledge. But Georgie and Daddy scrambled right near the precipice with a 100 meter drop. If I went that close—well, I won’t even go into my reaction. 
