Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Grand Canyon: North Rim



A view from the Lodge dining room!

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon had always been my dream..so it's a good thing I started my trip there..as the government shutdown kept me from proceeding to the South Rim..Thus, there will be no blog, the sequel..Grand Canyon South Rim. Can't say it wasn't exciting to be a part of government incompetence..
Of course there were magnificent views, it's the Grand Canyon!
But I am always seeking ecosystems..After driving through the desert and reaching the higher elevations of North Rim, the Boreal and Ponderosa  forests were a cool surprise.. The Ponderosa Forest is found at an elevation of 8,000-7,200 ft, about the elevation of the Lodge..

A brave Ponderosa Pine..they
 can live to be 500 years old


I bark but don't bite..



Wildflowers thrive beneath the Ponderosa Pines..The visitor center listed the wildflowers in bloom in October, and I tried to find an example of each.. However, the visitor center listed only the generic names, so I have done my best to discover their  proper scientific names, but I disclaim  responsibility for strict accuracy :-) Please let me know if I have goofed.



Wooly Aster, Corethrogyne filagnifolia
Sky Rocket, Gilia Aggreegata, var. Arizonica


Quoth the Raven.."I am not a wildflower"

Lupinus argentus




Did I mention beautiful views?


Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja integra



Bitter Weed, Helenium amarum



Wildflower break time! 
Dark Eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis..
Western variation

Bitter Weed and Penstemon cyanocaulis,
Bluestem Beardtongue
Golden Rod..I am a complete failure at further ID..






That view again.. plants cling to life in the most awkward places..


A Yucca case in point..
The trunk of a living tree

Forest fire on the South Rim.


The highest elevation on the North Rim is at  Point Imperial..8, 803 ft. As you climb to this elevation..you pass through the Boreal Forest, 8,200-9,200 ft. The dominant trees in this forest are the Quaking Aspen and tall pines such as the Engleman Spruce, and Douglas fir..




Quaking Aspens recovering from a forest fire.
Colors of recovery.




Aspen trunks at dusk, at a lower elevation.
Views from Point Imperial












The day I left the North Rim, on my way I had hoped, to the South Rim, a Steller's Jay finally posed..in the parking lot. The forest Jays had been uncooperative. Steller's Jays and a Red Headed Woodpecker were life-birds on the North Rim.

The best birds are in the parking lot.. Cyanocitta stelleri
Venus over the Grand Canyon.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin~ John Muir Our National Parks