September 27, 2012

OUR TRAIN RIDE/OVERNIGHT STAY had given us enough of an overview of Canyon Village that we knew how to get around Canyon Village. Because the shuttle buses are color coded, a practice we had first encountered years ago in the London Underground, it was easy to get to wherever you wanted to go: determine the color of the “line” where your destination is located and get on a bus marked with that color. We decided to check out a geology museum. It wasn’t much of a museum, but had a huge window offering a broad view of the canyon. On a shelf near the window, the Park had placed at least a dozen high-power binoculars. A convenient map indicated points of interest in the canyon. We could see where a number of rafters had pulled ashore, and could make out the location of the Phantom Ranch. With the zoom lens on my camera, the photo I took made some rafters look closer than the two miles away they had pulled their rafts ashore.

During the balance of the day, we ambled along the rim and viewed the canyon from a variety of vantage points.  As we walked along the rim, we noticed that as Americans we were minorities. I was waiting for one of the Italians to start talking to Carole, but it didn’t happen. Early fall is a popular time for foreigners to visit the West.

Tired of eating sandwiches, we had dinner in the Arizona Room in the Bright Angel Lodge.  In addition to a Caesar Salad, I ordered a huge “sampler” which included filet, ribs, chicken, green beans, and baked potatoes. Carole ordered a Rib Eye served with a shrimp topping. 

The night ranger program was conducted by a guy who had been a ranger for around thirty years, and his experience showed. He had some title to his program, but answered questions on numerous topics. He mentioned that while cougars are rare in the park, a tracking camera had once filmed one in the park several minutes after two rangers had passed the same site. 

Oddly enough, squirrels account for the largest number of animal attacks in the park.  Despite warnings not to feed them and further warnings that squirrels can transmit a form of the plague, an average of one person is bitten by a squirrel. In each case, a tourist was feeding the squirrel.