Half the fun of photographing a special place like the Grand Canyon is the drive and adventure to get there. Especially when it’s a remote location such as Toroweap. The drive from Southern Utah into Northern Arizona presents some classic western scenes along the highway where I could picture John Wayne mounting a Calvary charge. (He actually filmed some great movies in this area).
On the road to Arizona’s Grand Canyon at Toroweap.
A storm appears on the road to Arizona’s Grand Canyon at Toroweap.
A field of blooming Indian Paintbrush.
A Red-Tailed Hawk flies into stormy clouds at the desert environment of Northern Arizona.
You can drive up to 45 MPH on this stretch of dirt road.
About 20 MPH here.
About 2 MPH here. The last couple of miles are on something resembling a road.
Zero MPH. I actually decided to back up here. When you’re 70 miles from the nearest town, you don’t take chances. This was at the end anyways.
On the way back, I almost ran into a deer. For some reason, I couldn’t get my Ford Ranger out of 4-wheel drive low!. I tried everything to do so. So I drove home totally in 4-wheel drive, very slowly. A few days later and after talking to my mechanic, I was able to disengage the 4-wheel drive by driving backwards for about 75 feet. Something to remember.
Another visit to the remote Toroweap area of the Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. You must negotiate a 61 mile dirt road to get there with the last couple of miles treacherous. (See future post on the road to Toroweap) You stand on the edge of the rim and look straight down to the Colorado River, some 3,000 feet below. I wasn’t so daring on this trip as to get too close but these photos, a time lapse video and a video coming shortly may give a sense of the area.
Arizona’s Grand Canyon at Toroweap at Grand Canyon National Park
There’s someone laying down to the right.
Arizona’s Grand Canyon at Toroweap at Grand Canyon National Park
Marble Canyon is that canyon that precedes the Grand Canyon. It’s a tough opening act but Marble Canyon is spectacular if not as grand. Marble Canyon is actually part of Grand Canyon National Park. John Wesley Powell gave it it’s name even though there is no marble in the canyon. He thought its walls looked like marble.
I approached the rim of Marble Canyon last week from a road that few venture on. It’s a decent dirt road off Arizona Highway 89A. On my BLM map, it’s road 8910 and you take it about 25 miles to get to the canyon’s edge. When I camp at the upper elevations of the Kaibab National Forest in the summer, I look straight down towards Marble Canyon. From above it is a sharply defined rupture in the earth’s crust. The landscape is very flat leading up to the edge. But when you get to the rim, your breathe is taken away. You look straight down to its bottom and the Colorado River.
Road 8910 leads to remote view points of Marble Canyon.
I camp from the top of the Kaibab Plateau above and have a birdseye view of Marble Canyon. But you need to be at the rim to see the bottom.
From Saddle Mountain.
You have to reach the very edge of the rim for these views.
Like an army of ants, autumn colors made its journey through Zion Canyon the past few weeks. Cottonwoods, maples and scrub oaks are the trees that provide the display. Its just too bad that the colors don’t stay longer.
Autumn colors at the foot of Angel’s Landing
Fall colors line the Virgin River in Zion Canyon.
The sharp autumn sun sets on the sandstone walls at Zion.
Even the cactus looked like they were changing color.
Point Sublime, on the North Rim of The Grand Canyon offers one great vista of the canyon and surrounding area. The storm cell images are those that ravaged Southern Utah on Monday causing death and destruction. As I experienced, these cells roll very fast over the landscape and you better be prepared to take cover. I had my vehicle close by and felt secure. With all the monsoonal moisture we have experienced this summer, the depths of The Grand Canyon have really greened up.
Passing thunderstorms along the North Rim of The Grand Canyon have big potential for producing memorable shots. Just pick a spot or two with great vantage points and allow the photos to develop in front of you. Last week I camped along the eastern side of the North Rim and just watched all day long, storms and clouds form and pass. Watch for the filtered sunlight and how it transforms the landscape below. And I used my zoom lens on a tripod to get in tighter.
View from my campsite in the Kaibab National Forest towards Grand Canyon National Park.
The Colorado River has carved Marble Canyon just before The Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona
The sun sets on the Marble Canyon at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
It has been a very moist spring here in Southern Utah as well as most of the Desert Southwest. We need it and I need it for more dramatic photos. Normally we are at around 90 degrees F but we’ve been having highs of 65 to 75. Pics below are from the last week in and around Zion National Park.
