Today is Flag Day (for those who keep track of such things). It's also Molly's 19th birthday and my Aunt Iris's 80th. Happy birthday to both the birthday girls! I talked with both of them
We had lots of prep work done last night (packing lunches and snacks, figuring out which water bottles to take, packing our backpacks, and laying out our clothes). Our plan was to get up at 5:30 a.m. and get to the trailhead by 7:00 a.m. The NPS recommends hiking before 10:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m., to avoid the mid-day sun and heat.
We took the shuttles to the trailhead, and at 7:23 a.m., we started our hike. Of course we were among many other people of all ages and shapes and sizes and nationalities who were also on this most popular trail. Some were hiking up from Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor where they had spent the night. Some were starting down the trail like us, and many of them passed us along the way.
Our destination was the 1 1/2 mile rest house, for a round trip of three miles. We figured that was enough for our first hike into the canyon, and we were right. It took us just over an hour to go down and just under two hours to hike back up, for a total of three hours. That doesn't sound like much, but at 7000 feet and with some steep sections, it was plenty.
First Tunnel
We enjoyed the views--when we could take our eyes off the trail long enough to look around! We were hoping to see a condor, but mostly what we saw was ravens, turkey vultures, swifts, and lots of squirrels. There are signs all around warning not to feed the squirrels: they have fleas, which can carry plague, and they bite! Besides, it's illegal to feed them. Nonetheless, that is just what Ken did today.
While we were stopped at the rest house, he was unwary enough to set his baggie of pretzels down for a moment. Plenty long enough for a squirrel to nip in and grab it. Score one for the squirrel, nothing for Ken. Well, not quite nothing. I shared my pretzels, and he had plenty of other snacks.
Back up at the rim, we hit the restrooms and then sat for a moment to regroup. We decided to go explore El Tovar, the Hopi House, and Verkamp's Visitor Center. The Hopi House had authentic Native American crafts and an art gallery upstairs. Some of the things were beautiful, but of course we have no room to collect, and besides, the prices were quite high (even a very small Navaho rug was over $1,000).
We enjoyed seeing the different architecture of El Tovar and the Hopi House. Mary Colter designed the Hopi House to look like a pueblo, and it does, except that as Ken commented, the electric lights kind of spoil the illusion.
Tonight we attended a special evening program titled "A Woman By Design" about Mary Colter. It was billed as a "living history" program, and one of our shuttle drivers mentioned that it was a play being put on by some out of town folks. We took the Village shuttle part way and walked toward McKee Amphitheater, where the evening programs are held, only to find a signboard directing us to the Shrine of Ages Auditorium instead.
We had seen the Shrine of Ages shuttle stop, so we walked that way and found a building labelled "Shrine of Ages," but a sign on the door indicated that it was an office building and not generally open to the public, although worship services were held there sometimes. We walked around the building and discovered that the auditorium was in the rear and someone was moving inside.
We walked up to the door and found it locked, so we knocked, and a ranger appeared. He seemed a bit harried and told us that people were getting ready and he would open the doors in a few moments (we had showed up quite early). While we waited outside, we were impressed by the soaring lines of the building and the many tall ponderosa pines, including three incorporated into the courtyard.
The performance turned out to be basically a one-woman play. The woman was Elizabeth Ware. She and her husband, David Edgecombe, had researched and written the performance as a sabbatical project for the University of Alaska Anchorage. He directed and provided a few lines from offstage. Other lines were spoken by recorded speakers, and the whole was accompanied by still photos of people and places important to Colter's life and work.
It was a tour de force. Ware is a great actor with a prodigious memory and energy, and she brought Colter vividly to life onstage.
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