The Desert View Drive

April 23

It's still snowing hard the next morning...we layer up, pack a lunch since we don't know what we are going to encounter and head east on the Desert View Drive. This road climbs through ponderosa forests to some of the highest elevations on the South Rim.

We get our first view of the Colorado River.

And as we're standing on the overlook, up pops a family of four that has just completed a six day hike down to the floor and back.  They're hugging and kissing and congratulating themselves and all the bystanders join in.  What I found most interesting was that they said it was like walking through all of the four seasons...from

the snow and cold at the top, to the 82 degrees and showy flowers on the floor.  They were one group of

happy campers!

Grandview Point is spectacular.  Love the variations on the size, color and shapes of these rocks.

Moran Point is stunning.

And the winter landscapes spotted along the way are picture perfect.

We walk alot, but it's not feeling like we want to have an outdoor picnic. So we park at a scenic overlook and enjoy a grand vista and a ham and cheese on rye that tastes far better than it has any right to.

Stop at the Tusayan Ruin and Museum . About 800 years ago, this small village was home to the Cohinina Anasazi. It truly is a ruin....very little left to get a feel for what it would have been like.

Mary Jane Colter

We were not familiar with the name Mary Jane Colter....we certainly are now and she was one amazing woman.  Imagine first a woman becoming an architect in the late 1800's and then being retained to design hotels and shops that were meant to evoke the southwestern experience.  Her buildings range from the rambling upscale El Tovar on the rim in Grand Canyon Village to more modest accomodations, to the famous Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor, Lookout Lodge, Hopi House and many other gift shops that were seemingly restorations of ancient Indian strucures. 

At Desert View sits The Watchtower, a 70 foot re-creation of a Puebloan observatory.  Built in 1932, it was always a gift shop, but one with not only an astonishing view from high above, but a feeling that this building has been there for centuries.

Inside, flanking the circular walls up to the observation level, are murals of historic Southwestern culture.

And on a clearer day, it's said you can see the Painted Desert from the top...but it was still pretty great as it was.

 Turns out there is a snack bar near the Watchtower....soup would've tasted good! 

As fascinated as I am with this pioneering woman, I'm equally intrigued by the  man that hired her.  Fred Harvey, a transplanted Englishman who believed creating a memorable experience through hospitality and food service was the future.  He, in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railroad, retained Mary Jane Coulter to bring this vision to life.  Seems to me he was an early day Walt Disney!  The saddest thing is that he did not live to see the completion of the jewel El Tovar.

Almost Sunset

Get back to village as it nears sunset and low and behold, it stops snowing and the sun is peaking out.  Run to the rim to get another view.

Tomorrow we're going to try the dawn patrol again.  Tonight's freezer diving expedition leads us to "designer sausages" (the chicken/apple, lamb/feta type).  Too cold outside to grill...slice in chunks on the diagnonal, saute onions and peppers, add sausages to heat.  Had a few fingerling potatoes....made a basil, scallion, garlic potato salad drizzled with olive oil.  Served with cole slaw.  We're making good use of the stuff we have and clearing out the fridge before we get to Boulder.