Sunrise from Yavapai Point

I got up early the next morning and headed over to Yavapai Point to watch the sun come up. Not many people are up and about for sunrise in June because it comes so early but there were several other hardy souls already at my preferred viewing location when I arrived there. This sunrise was one of the most dramatic and colorful sunrises that I have ever seen at the Canyon. After sunrise it was still a bit too early for breakfast so I went back to my room and crawled back into bed for a little while longer.

Breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel

We finally got up around 7 am and headed over to the El Tovar Hotel for breakfast. I had been dreaming about the Sonoran Eggs for several days prior and was not disappointed, even though the dish had been altered slightly since the last time I had it. My wife, Robin, was disappointed that they no longer had the Belgian Waffles with fresh strawberries on the menu but made due with the chocolate chip and Amaretto version.

California Condors

During the walk back to Maswik Lodge from the El Tovar I noticed what I thought was a turkey vulture soaring overhead as we approached the Bright Angel Lodge. It had to be the largest turkey vulture that I had ever seen. On closer inspection I noticed that it had numbered tags on its wings and was not a turkey vulture after all but rather a California Condor. This made me extremely happy as I had never seen one of the condors since they had been released near the north rim of the Canyon several years ago. When it landed on a cliff edge in the Canyon and I started to look around I was amazed to discover that it was only one of a group of seven other condors that were now frequenting the south rim village area. After talking with a women from Hawk Watch who was there to monitor the condors I discovered that the group actually numbered 13 condors. No one seemed to know why they had decided to hang out in the village area but some people suspected that it may have been due to the fact that they had been raised by humans and this was the largest concentration of humans in the area. They also seem to like to drink from the leaky pipeline that supplies the south rim with water.

Rock Squirrel

While photographing the condors I noticed a rock squirrel with the remains of someones ice cream cone. No, I didn't give to him! I couldn't understand who would be eating ice cream at 7 o'clock in the morning but the fact was that he was there and he had the cone and I couldn't resist taking a photo even though I disapprove of people feeding the local varmints.

Babbitt's General Store

A trip to Babbitt's General Store in Grand Canyon Village was a bit of a shock as the interior of the store had been completely remodelled since our last visit (September 1999). The new layout seems less cramped and much more open than the old and it is a definite improvement. There is now a photo processing lab setup in the front of the store. The section in the back that sells (and rents) camping and backbacking gear is now officially referred to as The Inner Canyon Backpackers Shop and also been completely redesigned. The redesign did not appear to affect the food market side of the store and this still looks the same. Perhaps that will be next.

Grand Canyon Collection Tour

Prior to the start of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society annual picnic a small group of Pioneers took a tour of the Grand Canyon Collection. The tour was conducted by Kim Besom and it was quite interesting. The Park Service has a very impressive little "treasure trove" of photographs, taxidermy, fossils, artifacts and other Grand Canyon memorabilia. The tour lasted only a little more than an hour and even though I was very impressed with what we were shown I am sure that it just scratched the surface of the collection. I am sure that I could probably spend days going through the collection of old photographs alone.

Grand Canyon Pioneers Society Annual Picnic

Following the tour of the museum collection we went over to the annual picnic of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society. Because of extreme fire danger along the rim this year we were not allowed to hold the picnic at the usual Shoshone Point location and instead held it at the ramada next to the Grand Canyon school in the village. This is not nearly as nice of a location but a good time was still had by all.

Two Grand Canyon Hall of Fame awards were presented at the picnic: the first was presented to John Bradley; and the second was presented posthumously to Jeanne Schick's father, Edwin W. Cummings, and was received by Jeanne. John Bradley worked at the Grand Canyon for twenty years, leading mule trips into the Canyon by day, and entertaining visitors at the Bright Angel Lodge saloon by night. Sadly, John passed away less than week after the picnic.

Dinner at Cafe Tusayan

Later that day we had dinner at the Cafe Tusayan in Tusayan, which replaces the Denny's that came and went in the blink of an eye. I've never heard of a Denny's going out of business but apparently the combination of the high land lease rate in Tusayan and the high franchise fee was just too much to make it worthwhile for the owners. Cafe Tusayan still looks a lot like a Denny's on the inside but the menu is much more like home cooking. It does not have a big menu but the food was very good and I highly recommend it. I had a ham and cheese omlette and my wife had a grilled cheese sandwich with fries. I like places that serve omelettes at any time of day.