Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [178]
Next you'll come to The Abyss, where the steep canyon walls drop 2,600 feet to the base of the Redwall Limestone.
Three thousand feet below the next stop, Pima Point, you'll see some of the foundations and walls from the old Hermit Camp, a tourist destination built in 1912 by the Santa Fe Railroad.
Before descending to Hermit Camp, tourists took a break at the next stop, Hermits Rest. In this 1914 building, Mary Colter celebrated the "hermit" theme by building what resembled a crude rock shelter, with stones heaped highest around the chimney. Inside, Colter covered the ceiling above the large fireplace with soot, so that the room had the look of a cave warmed by fire. Nearby are restrooms and a snack bar selling sweets, chips, soda, and sandwiches.
Highlights: Closed to cars during high season, the overlooks are quieter than those on the Desert View Drive and afford excellent river views.
Drawbacks: Occasional long waits for buses.
Desert View Drive
Allow a half day for this 25-mile scenic drive on Ariz. 64, which connects South Entrance Rd. with Desert View.
The first stop, Yavapai Point, features some of the most expansive views up and down the canyon. A historic observation station here has huge plate-glass windows overlooking the canyon, along with interpretive panels identifying the major landmarks.
People entering the park from the south generally catch their first glimpse of the canyon from the next stop,
Mather Point. It's a clamorous place with one redeeming feature: a canyon view. (There's no such thing as a bad canyon view.) You can park here and walk to the South Rim's Visitor Center at Canyon View Information Plaza.
Yaki Point, the first stop off Ariz. 64, is accessible by car only when the shuttles aren't running. It's a great place to see the monuments of the central canyon, including Wotan's Throne, Vishnu Temple, and Zoroaster Temple. Two trails are also easy to spot from here. To the north, the South Kaibab Trail descends in switchbacks below Skeleton Point. Meanwhile, the Tonto Trail meanders across the broad blue-green terrace known as the Tonto Platform.
The next stop, 7,406-foot-high Grandview Point, is one of the highest spots on the South Rim. In the 1890s, one of the canyon's early prospectors, Pete Barry, built a trail from Grandview Point to nearby Horseshoe Mesa, where he mined copper. He then built cabins and a dining hall on the mesa, and a hotel a short distance from Grandview Point. Today only a trace of the hotel's foundation remains, but the trail is still in use, and Horseshoe Mesa bears the remnants of Barry's mines.
Next you'll come to Moran Point, named for landscape painter Thomas Moran. This is the best place from which to view the tilting block of rock known as the Sinking Ship. Stand at the end of the point and look southwest at the rocks level with the rim. The "ship" appears to be "submerged" in the horizontal layers of Coronado Butte (in the foreground). It's part of the Grandview Monocline, a place where rocks have bent in a single fold around a fault line.
Next comes Tusayan Pueblo, built in the 12th century by the ancestral Puebloan (sometimes known as Anasazi) people. Among the 3,500 documented archaeological sites in and around the Grand Canyon, this may have been the last one abandoned. A self-guided tour takes you around the pueblo. Built in 1932, the adjoining Tusayan Museum celebrates the traditions of the area's Native American tribes.
Don't miss the next stop, Lipan Point. With views far down the canyon to the west, it's a great place to catch the sunset. It also overlooks the Colorado River where the river makes two sweeping curves to form an enormous S. Just downstream