Explorations

 

Quiet two-track, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

The North Rim Forest.  Ahh.  The first trip of the year always feels like a homecoming.

Sunrise at Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon Arizona

This was a family trip, and we hit Desert View Campground on the South Rim first.  It’s not a bad place to camp, though crowded and it has been photographed by many and Gypsy would really rather run around in the forest off-leash.  We left a day early and no one was disappointed.

The plan was to explore some new spots.  The list is long, but we checked some of them out.

Brow Monument

There’s a survey marker from the second John Wesley Powell expedition of 1871-2.  There was a short hike culminating in lovely views from what’s called the Brow Monument, apparently named for the landform which gives views of Bryce and Zion to the north. 

Soft light on the ponderosas, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

We figured that, as long as we were WAY out in the forest, we might as well find a boondock spot nearby and we tucked into a lovely mature ponderosa grove (we were below optimal altitude for aspens). 

Flowers along the forest roads, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

I’d been looking at a pair of roads on Google Earth, and (as Marco likes to say) there was good news and bad news.  Both roads were lovely and remote, but both were blocked with multiple downed trees in various sizes.  We camped as far out as we could get and explored on foot. 

 

Fire Point, Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

When I began this obsession with the North Kaibab Forest, it was all about the viewpoints.  There are many.  I’ve gradually become more interested in subtle photography in the forest than the long views.  There’s more opportunity for original photography, and there’s no one around.  On the last night of our trip, with rain in the forecast, we decided to duck into the park and get a permit to camp at Fire Point, which has been one of my favorites.  

Spooky dead ponderosas in the burn scar, Fire Point

The Viewpoint on Western Grand Canyon just reopened after a wildfire a few years ago.  I was curious.  Though the long views are still beautiful, the conifers are charred dead soldiers.  There’s some graphic potential in that, but really the feeing there was spooky. 

Resplendent ferns and aspens, Kaibab Plateau Arizona

There were also lush carpets of ferns in some aspen groves along the long drive home on Forest Road 223.

Like any really good trip, Gypsy and the humans found solitude and the exploration list is longer now than it was before.  There’s another visit on the calendar.

 More images are in the Summer 2022 Gallery on the website.