Kaibab Plateau

After more than two weeks in the Sonoran desert, I drove a little over two hours north of Phoenix, up to 8000 feet above sea level on the Kaibab Plateau north of Flagstaff, into a different world.  Here the trees were just starting to leaf out.  The air was crisp.  And Humphries Peak still had plenty of snow.

A meadow near Humphries Peak, with an old wood fence, constructed in the mid 20th century when the area was used for ranching.

Classic Grand Canyon shot.   Notice the tip of weather resistant sandstone on the feature in the middle of the picture.

Same picture as above...loaded it twice by mistake.  But it's a nice scene.  At the canyon, I like to find a nice rock, well off the trail, and just sit and soak in the beauty, majesty, and mysticism of the scene.  The GC is a power spot!  So is Crater Lake; Yosemite Valley from its rim; a majestic old growth redwood grove.

A look into the inner gorge of the canyon.  The Vishnu schist rock here is black, jagged, and primeval.  It is up to 1.8 billion years old.

The Lizards are livin' on the edge!

Nice late afternoon colors.

Life is hard for plants on the rim.  But they add to the primeval beauty of the scene.

I secured a motel room in the park, so didn't have to drive far to set up happy hour on the rim.  The Lizards joined in with their friend John Jameson!

While it's hard for trees to survive on the canyon rim, when they die they're sure gorgeous!  Especially in the evening light.  You could stay around the canyon for weeks just taking pictures.  The beauty and diversity of landforms and lifeforms are unlimited.  Not only that, the same scene, the same plant, changes several times a day with the light.  The GC is an artists nirvana.