GRAND CANYON (SOUTH RIM) AND TUSAYAN RUINS

Off and on all trip I had the song "Route 66" stuck in my head. Part of the reason was places like this. This is Kingman, Arizona. I stopped for gas here. I did that a lot because I never knew if I would be running low somewhere that there was no gas station.
Interstate 40 looks a lot different out west.
This mesa (or is it a butte?) is off the road that runs from I-40 to the Grand Canyon.
And here it is. The big hole in the ground.
It's a long way down.
A tree near the rim. Not exciting, but they aren't all gems.
Another panoramic shot of the canyon. I was last here a few days before my 13th birthday.
It's a long way down from here too.
The El Tovar Lodge opened in 1905. It must be pretty cool to have one of the canyon view rooms.
The Hopi House. I'd like to say that it is some ancient Native American structure built on the South Rim, but the fact is that it was built around the same time as the El Tovar Lodge.
I took a lot of pictures of the canyon. Here's another one.
I walked two miles on the the trail from the Bright Angel Trailhead to the Yavapai Geology Museum. Along the way I spotted this cave in the wall of the canyon. I wonder if it was ever inhabited.
Some cacti near the rim. And you thought the picture of the tree was exciting.
I took several pictures down toward the floor of the canyon to show just how close you can get to the edge. There are places along the rim where there are viewpoints with railings, But most of it along the trail is open. Someone could simply stray from the trail and walk right over the edge.
There's the Colorado River again.
This is the shortest short bus I've ever seen. Just how mentally handicapped do you have to be to go to school in this thing?
Away from the canyon but still in the park is the Tusayan Ruins. This is a kiva, a room used for spiritual ceremonies.
According to the sign at the beginning of the path, these structures were built around 1185. I don't know how they can be that precise. These were storage rooms.
Ancient living quarters. I suppose these stone walls were taller at one time.
A larger kiva.
Yeah, like I'm going to harm a snake. They should have signs written in snake language telling them not to harm me. Sure, there's a snake language, but everything sounds like 'hissssssssssss!'.
Not all canyons are grand. This is the Little Colorado River Gorge.

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