After some discussion and more brochure-gathering, we decided to go with a helicopter trip. They were a little more expensive than the plane rides, but neither of us had ever been on a helicopter before.

Our pilot was a tiny Japanese woman named Yoshiko who bubbled over with enthusiasm for the park and for flying. Peter and I got the front two seats next to her (the upside to being a lightweight ;) ), so we got a great view of the cockpit controls as well as the scenery outside.

The tour started over the Kaibab National Forest for the few miles north to the park. This section south of the canyon was once the Tusayan National Forest, but was consolidated into the Kaibab in 1934. Yoshiko flew low over the trees so that it seemed like the canyon appeared out of nowhere...and then she flew us right out over the rim. The world dropped away a mile beneath us.

Kaibab National Forest with the Grand Canyon approaching.

Once out over the canyon, Yoshiko flew us over the east rim. We saw the Colorado River, the tiny sliver that carved this mile-deep canyon over millions of years, turn from muddy brown to vibrant blue as the elevation on the canyon floor rose and fell.

Colorado River.

Yoshiko, our pilot.

The Walhalla Plateau on the canyon's north side is an important area for canyon history and archeology. Irrigation ditches, ruins, and stone tools found on the plateau lead archeologists to believe that the Kayenta Anasazi natives began their peublo, or town, period here sometime after around 800 AD.

Walhalla Plateau.

One thing that really surprised me was the stark differences between the north and south rims of the canyon. The Kabib National Forest is of course bisected by the gorge, and it makes sense that the trees and landscape would be so different -- at 8000' elevation, the north rim is an average of 1200' higher than the south -- but I guess it just hadn't occurred to me.

Typical landscape at the north rim; very alpine.

Kabib National Forest at the north rim.

Mount Hayden, at Point Imperial.

More Colorado River.

All too soon, we were back at the airport.

After the helicopter trip, we grabbed some lunch and rode into the park. Another nice thing about the hour-long helicopter ride was that we didn't feel compelled to ride all the way to the south village and see every single vista point. Instead, we went up to Mathers Point, took some photos, and then headed east on Highway 64 towards Desert View (the eastern edge of the park).

Happy bikes!

I love the vistas with no guard rails.

I think this is perhaps my favorite photo from the entire trip. It looks Photoshopped, but I assure you, I set the self-timer and then ran my ass out onto that overcropping. ;)

At one vista point, we made friends with this little dude. Another tourist offered him a pretzel, which he steadfastly refused until Peter poured him a little bit of water. After a nice cool drink, he was more than happy to accept the salty pretzel offering.

Oh, yes, water please.

Yum!

Our last stop within the park was at Desert View, to fuel up and visit the Watchtower, created as a gift shop and rest area in 1933. The interior was painted by Hopi artists, the modern-day descendants of the Anasazi; the centerpiece mural is called "The Snake Legend" and tells the story of the first man to navigate the Colorado River.

The Snake Legend mural.

The Watchtower.

We continued on Hwy 89 north up through the Navajo Reservation. I was hoping to take Hwy 89A west once we got up to the Utah border, but unfortunately, we hit the usual "Superhawk fuel tank" issue. I had known of a native-run gas station in The Gap, AZ, but when we arrived, the storefront was shut and a cardboard sign on the door read "NO GAS". By the time we reached the intersections of 89 and 89A, we weren't convinced that Peter could take the scenic route and make it to Kanab on the same tank of gas from Desert View. We decided that being out of gas at night in the desert would be no fun, and that even the non-scenic route was pretty attractive, so we stuck on Hwy 89 up through Page, AZ.

Peter at the 89/89A intersection.

Vista point on Hwy 89 just past the 89A turnoff

Me at the 89/89A intersection.

We stopped at Glen Canyon Dam just south of the UT border, which gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's a pretty impressive engineering feat; on the other, I enjoy Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, which contains a pretty scathing essay on the dam's destruction of the region's ecosystem. "The impounded waters form an artificial lake named Powell," Abbey writes, "supposedly to honor but actually to dishonor the memory, spirit, and vision of Major John Wesley Powell, first American to make a systemic exploration of the Colorado River and its environs. Where he and his brave men once lined the rapids and glided through silent canyons two thousand feet deep the motorboats now smoke and whine, scumming the water with cigarette butts, beer cans, and oil, dragging the water skiiers on their endless rounds, clockwise."

There's still a pretty strong controversy raging over whether Lake Powell, which lies behind Glen Canyon Dam, should be drained. Proponents of the dam say that Lake Powell provides valuable recreation and hydropower, whereby opponents argue that Glen Canyon Dam was originally built to control flooding and no longer serves this purpose.

Glen Canyon Dam.

As was becoming common, the last part of our day was done under cover of darkness. We crossed into Utah and headed towards Kanab. By the time we reached the town, we were tired and decided to stay there for the night instead of continuing on to Mt Carmel Junction. We bought a six-pack of beer at the gas station just inside town and eventually found a room at a Super 8 (the town was surprisingly full; the Super 8 clerk told us it was the most popular time of year for tourists as the summer heat was quickly cooling off). So we spent the evening with free wireless internet and a couple of bottles each of Uinta Brewing Company's Cutthroat Pale Ale.

Day's mileage: 271 miles
Day's max speed: 112 mph
Total trip mileage: 1256 miles

Next Day --> September 27: Kanab, UT - Las Vegas, NV