Grand Canyon Winter Magic

The flipside, a sunrise view with my back to the Grand Canyon

This trip went through more changes than a 13-year-old boy’s voice.

Dawn at Marble Canyon

Plan “A” was to stay at Toroweap and some nearby places with three friends for a long weekend.  Ultimately (after several changes in-between), because of some health issues and concerns about the weather, we were 3 for one night in the Marble Canyon area and then I was off on my own. 

El Tovar lobby from above

The coming storm made me decide to scrap previous plans and head to the Grand Canyon.  The trick photographing fresh snow there is to get hunkered down before the weather hits and be ready to take advantage of stormy skies and fresh snow.  There were 50 MPH winds in the forecast and I’m a weenie about camping in high wind.  As it turns out, people cancel their reservations there when weather is coming, and the El Tovar Hotel had rooms available at a steep discount.  This architectural gem is 116 years old, part of a series of Fred Harvey railroad hotels.  What a treat to be tucked into a comfy room when the wind hit.

My camera and I were walking the Rim Trail Saturday afternoon when I got a text from dear friends who wanted me to know that they were spending a few hours at the Grand Canyon of all places.  Enjoying the serendipity, we had tea in the El Tovar Lounge before they returned home to Peeples Valley.  Somehow this first lovely surprise set the tone for the rest of the magical extended weekend.

Approaching Storm

I knew the snow was coming Sunday or Monday and that I was likely to be voluntarily ‘stuck’ there until the roads were clear, but I was giddy about the opportunity to be right in the middle of it.  Regular readers will remember a friend who’s a North Rim Ranger.  As it turns out, Jess is working part-time at the South Rim for the Winter season and lives at Verkamp’s.   

Verkamp's, Predawn

This structure, which happened to have its 110^th anniversary while I was there, was a general store until 2008 and now serves as a visitor’s center and gift shop operated by the Grand Canyon Association.  The Verkamp Family lived in an upstairs apartment with a canyon view.  I was thrilled to stay there as Jess’ guest for a couple of nights, enjoying the creaky floors and artwork donated by Grand Canyon Artists-In-Residence (AiR).  This perch was perfect for watching the weather and running in and out repeatedly to shoot when things were looking good.  At other times I processed images on my laptop and relaxed.  There’s a guest book from the AiR program on the living room coffee table.  I picked it up casually at first, becoming increasingly moved by the words and images there and had a profound sense of connection with the place.

The tome is an eclectic mix of drawings, musical notation, prose & poetry.  The examples are used with permission of the artists;

Siri Beckman  

Ekaterina Smirnova

I met some lovely folks who assumed, because I was alone and had lots of gear, that I was a Grand Canyon expert.  Sometimes I can answer questions and sometimes not.  My favorite was a man with a Latin-American accent asking me “where is the good view?”  I had a private chuckle, and eventually realized he was looking for what’s called the Sky Walk on the Hualapai Reservation, 250 road miles away.  I couldn’t resist telling him that he was better off right where he was.

iPhone pano of the Kolb Workroom.  The photo window is on the left.

Jess generously gave me a private tour of the Kolb Studio, perhaps the structure with the most striking views from the South Rim.  Built in 1904, it includes the family home as well as a theater (which showed the Kolb brothers’ movie for 61 years) and photographic studio.  Travelers down the Bright Angel Trail would have their pictures taken (from a window in the building) and could purchase prints when they returned.

Tuesday the storm had cleared and, though temps were below zero, the departure of the wind made for rather comfortable temperatures, at least with all the clothes I’d layered on.

Coyote Tracks

I was the first human out in the predawn light. When I spotted the prints, I thought someone had been on an early walk with their two dogs. I must have been a little sleepy, because it took me a while to realize that there were no human footprints. Then I heard the coyotes howl. 

When the morning light began to develop, crystalline in the wake of the storm, I forgot all the rest.  This is what the 3-day wait had been all about, and the canyon didn’t disappoint.  I’m afraid I don’t have words to convey what a joy it was to experience the canyon after a winter storm.

Breakfast at the El Tovar was delightful, and all that remained was 20 minutes scraping ice from the vehicle and heading down the hill.

More images are in the Grand Canyon Gallery on the Website.

100th Night

Lurch at Buck Farm Overlook, Grand Canyon

I’ll just get this out of the way first; I’m kind of a chicken.

People often comment that I’m very brave (or stupid, perhaps) to be camping alone, or to tackle dirt roads, sometimes of questionable quality.  Well, I love those trips, but I’m not brave.  I have a chat with myself pretty much every time I pull out of the driveway in the camper – four-wheel drive pickup combo I call Lurch, talking myself into the proper adventure-seeking mindset.  I’m grateful that so far I’ve been successful with the attitude adjustment and that I’ve had no frightening experiences in 100 nights of camping.

100 nights, almost half of them alone and most outside established campgrounds.

This camper has changed my life and way of working photographically.  I’m grateful.  Here are a few superlatives from that first 100,  just for fun.

Monsoon Rainbow at Jumpup Point, Grand Canyon

Most isolated;

Night 39, Jumpup Point on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.  Toroweap is a longer drive, but I’m sure there were no humans for many miles in any direction at Jumpup.  I love that, and we had a spectacular monsoon storm too.

Most crowded;

This was a tough one, because I’m almost obsessive about camping in places and at times which minimize crowds.  Then I remembered the Overland Expo at Lake Mary near Flagstaff May 2014, nights 32-34.  This is a cool convention with classes on topics as far-ranging as marital harmony on the road, cooking, and recovery techniques in deep sand.  We accepted an invitation to camp in the area reserved by the maker of our mobile mansion, Four Wheel Campers.  The camaraderie was fun, but after three nights cheek-to-jowl with maybe 40 people, my husband, the dog and I were pleased and relieved to spend the last night in the forest alone.  Incidentally we decided not to attend in 2015 and learned later that the area was a giant mud bog.  Lucky break.

Coldest;

Night 51, a little over 2 years ago, I woke up to -20 Degrees F at Grand Canyon’s South Rim.  There were two other parties in the campground, in tents!  I managed fine with my propane heater and stood on the canyon rim uncomfortably, waiting for the sun.

Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

Most Involuntary:

This story has been told, but in summary an electrical problem with the truck stranded me on the first of a 6-day trip (night 26) in Death Valley.  I limped the vehicle to Stovepipe Wells Campground and spent a less-than-stimulating day waiting for help.  I did shoot the dunes the next morning before the long tow to Las Vegas.

Worst weather/least attractive;

Yep.  One place gets both descriptors.  We met friends (who were in a sort of hotel) in Tecopa, California.  We barbecued together at a strange desolate campground and boon docked there on night 55.  The wind was legendary.  We ended up pulling down the pop-up roof (not so easy with the wind ripping it out of our hands) and spending the rest of the night on the dinette bed, which is a little small for two.  Tough night.

Valley of Fire State Park

Most visited;

Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.  Nights 99 and 100 were there, for a total of seven nights.  VOF is a spectacular small park.  There’s no question that my work gets better as I become familiar with a place, and this one will certainly continue to be worth the 5 ½ hour drive for some time.

Luna at White Tanks

Closest to home;

Night 10 at White Tanks Regional Park (Maricopa County AZ).  I had the itch and took the dog out for some quality time camping and hiking in my own backyard.  As I write this, I’m thinking that more of these little trips in the desert would be good.  Just not in the summer.

Furthest away;

Our very first night with Lurch, at a horse staging area off hwy 20 near Nevada City in Northern California.  We’d spent the day in Reno having the camper installed, buying a few essentials and filling the water tank at Home Depot, Trader Joes, etc.  It was too late for any of my grandiose camping plans, and we found this (most likely illegal) spot on Google Earth.  It was lovely.  As for the distance issue, I know that’s not really very far from home and I’m hatching a plan to remedy that problem.

There’s one obvious question I haven’t answered.  So many spectacular camping spots, from lonely nests in Death Valley to a field of sunflowers near Flagstaff to a handful of awe-inspiring views at the Grand Canyon.  I just can’t choose a favorite.  Sorry; I tried.  Perhaps the best is yet to come, provided I can keep my courage up.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with these words from John O’Donohue;

“May the angel of the Imagination enable you

To stand on the true thresholds

At ease with your ambivalence

And drawn in new directions

Through the glow of your contradictions.”