Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

Two hours before sunset on our first evening in the Grand Canyon, we met up with Grand Canyon Jeep Tours & Safaris in Tusayan for the Grand Sunset Tour. Unlike the other tour company we used this trip, this was a well-run operation and we enjoyed this introduction to the park immensely.

Our guide, a local with Navajo roots and deep knowledge of the native flora and fauna, led us through Kaibab National Forest along the unpaved historic stagecoach roads. He stopped whenever someone spotted an elk or deer through the trees, giving everyone a chance to take a look.

Our first stop was the steel Grandview Lookout Tower. This was built in 1936 as a fire watchtower by the Civilian Conservation Corps. We climbed the 80 foot tower to see the view from the top.

We climbed back into the jeep and followed the gravel road until it reconnected with the main park road. Our next stop was Moran Point, where we enjoyed views of the river and Grandview Point. After taking in the scenery, we hopped back in the jeep and headed to Grandview to catch the sunset.

The Grandview is the southernmost point on the South Rim and the farthest from the Colorado River. Because of its position, the drop-offs here are less steep with more intervening buttes and ravines than in spots closer to the river. This makes it an ideal place to watch the sunset as it washes over all the nooks and crannies in a colorful display.

There was a hotel built here in 1895 for Grand Canyon tourists, before the construction of El Tovar and other Grand Canyon Village facilities. It only lasted a few years and we saw no remains of it when we were there.

Grand Canyon➤

• Bright Angel
• Hermit’s Rest
• South Kaibab
• Yavapai
• Desert View
• Grandview
• Western Rim Skywalk
• Western Rim Guano Point

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Location: Arizona
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: January 11, 1908
Date of my visit: August 19, 2014