Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Grand Canyon... is it really that Grand?

Yes, the Grand Canyon is the meaning of the term Awesome!  First, the promised weather observations...




5:20 AM, Sunrise in Kingman AZ 2,000 something feet, 69 degrees, calm and cloudless.  Not really a weather report, more like a report of preheating a convection oven.  Wind gauge was safely packed in my duffle bag but it was windy and 91 degrees at 8AM when we left for the Grand Canyon South rim.  As those from NJ can imagine, at our average 15 miles and hour over the speed limit, and a 75 MPH Arizona speed limit... the 185 mile ride to the canyon was like a ride to the beach.  It was an ear-popping ride, up and down High Desert passes until at 11AM we reached the 7,200 foot edge of the Grand Canyon at Mather's Point.  71 degrees, and if possible it seemed like negative relative humidity- why not, this is my report and  they have below zero temps in the winter...  We wobbled at the edge of the Canyon, unbelievably no guardrails... We saw several endangered California Condors zooming overhead without flapping,  a great day.  On the way down we observed a dust devil swirling tumbleweeds several hundred feet into the air.  Back in Kingman, 92 degrees and after a great dinner we are looking at stars we never see in NJ due to light pollution.  Only thing more awesome than the Grand Canyon is a dark desert sky.

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