Scott Chandler
Wildness is a necessity- John Muir
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2014
- Messages
- 1,099
4/12/15
It had been a while since I had been out to Toroweap Overlook on the Grand Canyon. I've always thought it was one of the coolest views around and with my newfound obsession about the big ditch I wanted to see it again. So I mentioned it to my dad and convinced my brother to quote "sit in the car over a bumpy road for a few hours to walk along the rim for half an hour and spend as much time coming back."
On the drive over Mt Trumbull (yeah we took the non typical road) we ran into this sweet gopher snake sunning in the road. Easily three feet long and he wouldn't budge.
It is always nice to get close to the rim and see the plateaus rising over the Esplanade Sandstone. It is a little less nice to enter GCNP and have the road turn to -----, but what can you do? It would be rough to brave the nasty roads to then discover the road gets nastier to a point your car can't handle. I like having a car that can be adventurous
Nearing the rim we parked in a wide spot in the road to not face the final rocky drop and started to walk. We had a spectator for a few feet.
We also lucked out and hit the area when plants were in bloom. The cacti were especially gorgeous.
And I'm calling these Sego Lilies.
Toroweap is great for its intimate and "close" views straight down to the Colorado. According to the brochure the nice volunteer gave us, 3000ft straight down. My dad likes to say that gravity has weight near the rim. It is certainly one of those spots were my acrophobia tickles at me.
"Little" man by a big ditch
There were some nice plants that looked great with the canyon backdrop.
Even yucca were blooming
On the other side of the rim the vista is westward and extremely epic. Lava Falls, 3000' down and maybe a mile a way sounds pretty darn loud. I can only imagine what the beast sounds like up close.
I had another gawker come and enjoy the view with us.
Thirty minutes on the rim done (more like two hours.) We headed back to the car stopping to admire the nice outhouse and the plant life nearby.
Driving out was interesting. The nastiest spots on the road sure look worse and rode bumpier. Then driving the primary road northward we were amazed at the washboarding. Then fifteen miles away from the highway, Colorado City within site, my car started freaking out at me, beeps and flashes. Low tire pressure. I stepped out of the car and first thought it was on my side, then my dad said it was on his. I had somehow had my sidewall puncture on the rear passenger tire and it was so loud I had thought it was the other tire at a normal flattening. Many sighs, a few expletives as I learned how bad the jack that came with my car was, and soon we were scooting along on my spare. Out of the 8-9 times that my family has gone out to Toroweap we have a 50% success/fail rate on returning home without a flat. It's a good thing I really like it out there or I'd take that as a curse.
Featured image for home page:
It had been a while since I had been out to Toroweap Overlook on the Grand Canyon. I've always thought it was one of the coolest views around and with my newfound obsession about the big ditch I wanted to see it again. So I mentioned it to my dad and convinced my brother to quote "sit in the car over a bumpy road for a few hours to walk along the rim for half an hour and spend as much time coming back."
On the drive over Mt Trumbull (yeah we took the non typical road) we ran into this sweet gopher snake sunning in the road. Easily three feet long and he wouldn't budge.
It is always nice to get close to the rim and see the plateaus rising over the Esplanade Sandstone. It is a little less nice to enter GCNP and have the road turn to -----, but what can you do? It would be rough to brave the nasty roads to then discover the road gets nastier to a point your car can't handle. I like having a car that can be adventurous
Nearing the rim we parked in a wide spot in the road to not face the final rocky drop and started to walk. We had a spectator for a few feet.
We also lucked out and hit the area when plants were in bloom. The cacti were especially gorgeous.
And I'm calling these Sego Lilies.
Toroweap is great for its intimate and "close" views straight down to the Colorado. According to the brochure the nice volunteer gave us, 3000ft straight down. My dad likes to say that gravity has weight near the rim. It is certainly one of those spots were my acrophobia tickles at me.
"Little" man by a big ditch
There were some nice plants that looked great with the canyon backdrop.
Even yucca were blooming
On the other side of the rim the vista is westward and extremely epic. Lava Falls, 3000' down and maybe a mile a way sounds pretty darn loud. I can only imagine what the beast sounds like up close.
I had another gawker come and enjoy the view with us.
Thirty minutes on the rim done (more like two hours.) We headed back to the car stopping to admire the nice outhouse and the plant life nearby.
Driving out was interesting. The nastiest spots on the road sure look worse and rode bumpier. Then driving the primary road northward we were amazed at the washboarding. Then fifteen miles away from the highway, Colorado City within site, my car started freaking out at me, beeps and flashes. Low tire pressure. I stepped out of the car and first thought it was on my side, then my dad said it was on his. I had somehow had my sidewall puncture on the rear passenger tire and it was so loud I had thought it was the other tire at a normal flattening. Many sighs, a few expletives as I learned how bad the jack that came with my car was, and soon we were scooting along on my spare. Out of the 8-9 times that my family has gone out to Toroweap we have a 50% success/fail rate on returning home without a flat. It's a good thing I really like it out there or I'd take that as a curse.
Featured image for home page:
