After another satisfying breakfast at the Canyon Cafe - fully paid for, by the way - we took a shuttle over to the Bright Angel Trail Lodge. From here we were to take the Bright Angel Trail down into the Canyon. As that can start whenever one decides, we delayed our descent in order to benefit from a park-sponsored, ranger-led Fossil Walk at 9 AM.
(National Park Serivce photo . . . not our guide)
Ranger Jennifer was an upbeat, informed guide who was unusually patient with some very clingy young kids. "Everybody take two steps back please," became the morning's refrain. Along the way, she spoke boldly and confidently about deep time, once even mentioning that, at one time, it was impossible to measure such times and that many people thought that the Earth was only a few thousand years old. At one time . . but clearly not now. During a down moment, I spoke with her about the curious juxtaposition of the political and geological aspects of Arizona. She shook her head at the dilemma but was polite as she responded. When dealing with matters of faith, evidence is irrelevant.
Ranger Jennifer taught us a helpful mnemonic for the forces that have shaped the Canyon: DUDE.
First D: Deposition of material (calcium carbonate from the oceanic era, mud from swampier times, and a massive layer of sand from the most recent desert-era).
U: Upwelling of the layers in a remarkably uniform way.
Second D: Downcutting from the Colorado River, creating the canyon depth while carving away material.
E: Erosion via wind, water, and ice.
She then brought us to an area of the park, not far from the lodge, where one can find fossils every five feet or so. Liam was particularly adept at finding imprints of feathery shapes, most likely the fans of some ancient fern- or clam-like organism.
(all photos courtesy of the National Park Services)
Having spotted a dozen or more fossils, we were ready for our descent!
Canyon Critters: While waiting for the tour to begin, we had a coffee and a cinnamon roll. Our food on the stone edge of the canyon was enough of an invitation for an enterprising and fearless squirrel to join us. Trained by thousands of interactions with human visitors, the squirrel traded his charisma for calories, this despite the numerous park signs discouraging the feeding of the wildlife. Proudly, I can say that, while we took pictures, we did not reward him with any food. For several minutes, however, this common squirrel absolutely trumped the Grand Canyon in terms of visitor attention.
Also, during the Fossil Walk, we spotted a pair of California Condors . . . giant birds of prey swirling and soaring high above our group. It was impossible to not think they were looking for the feeble among us. It added some spring to my step, for sure!
(courtesy of National Park Service)
Here's a link to a podcast about the California Condor:
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