Our route today contained many straight sections – but the absence of twisty’s did not mar the experience in the least as we had a experienced a smorgasbord of climates.
Starting from Flagstaff we headed North East on US -180, starting in large Ponderosa pine forests which transitioned into another type of conifer and then desert as we descended from 2200 meters to about 1800 meters. Heading north on US-64 we passed through more desert before regaining the pine forests that rim the Grand Canyon.
Notwithstanding the mid-week visit in late September, there were considerable crowds at the visitor center. One enthusiastic group of motorcyclists were from Brazil; they were nearing the end of their two-week tour. The started out from Los Angeles and were returning through Las Vegas (which they had visited earlier and were not entirely impressed with). It was a brief exchange, so we didn’t get to explore potentially interesting topics such as the recent Amazon fires and the controversy surrounding their current president.
It was a perfect day to visit one of nature’s great wonders. Blue skies with a smattering of cirrus clouds, we had clear views in all directions. The geology that created this vast expanse is fascinating. Over almost two billion years, deposits were laid down in ancient seabeds, building the bands of sedimentary rock (sandstone, limestone and shale) that line the canyon. Then something remarkable occurred. Through the agency of plate tectonics, the whole plateau slowly rose. The Colorado river was already established, draining water from the western ranges of the Rockies to the north, and as the plateau rose the river continued to cut into the rising rock, so that today the river is up to 6000 feet/ 1829 meters from the rim. Amazing what water has wrought!
After taking a tonne of photos, we left the south rim, continuing east along US-64. The pine forests again gave way to spectacular desert views as we looked upon south eastern canyons and the cliffs of the painted desert in the distance. We finished the descent with a short band of twisty’s before turning north on US-89. Here we found desert again, however much different than what we’d seen earlier. The palette of colours was extensive – ochres, greys, sienna’s and umbers, with strange looking tope coloured dunes. As we moved north the red rock cliffs to our east gradually encroached, until just past Bitter Springs we cut up into the ridge on some beautiful sweepers before emerging on the plateau above. From there it was straightforward before again descending down into Page Arizona, just south of Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam.