The Grand Canyon
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Standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon the majesty of nature stretches out before you.
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Ravens caw out from their distant perches and California Condors soar and glide on thermal updrafts.
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Desert plant life clings to the canyon edges hiding some 250 species of birds, 70 species of mammals, 25 types of reptiles, and five species of amphibians.
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Grandeur Point (elev. 7,037 feet)
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The canyon averages 10 miles wide and about a mile deep
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Most geologists believe that the canyon is about six million years old
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The canyon was carved by the Colorado River, which originates in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado
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The canyon's oldest rock layers (at the bottom of the canyon) are at least 1.7 billion years old
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The Colorado River carves a colorful course cutting one mile deep into the Grand Canyon.
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The Colorado River has remained relatively narrow over the last six million years
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The Colorado River was called
River of the blue-green waters by the Havasupai Indians
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The Colorado River is surprisingly cold. Even in summer it is 50 degrees Fahrenheit at its warmest
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Unkar Delta - The red banks of the river are
Dox Sandstone
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The Colorado River is known for its furious rapids and drops 1,900 feet on its ever-narrowing path through the Canyon from Lee's Ferry to Lake Mead
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Joan with long-time friend Paul and his wife Alex
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Bright Angel Lodge (left) and Lookout Studio (right)
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The Canyon's Mules
Hopi Indians
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For over 4,000 years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans. A Hopi Indian
Hoop Dancer manipulates the hoops to portray himself as different animals and birds
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The Hopi House (1905), designed by Mary Jane Colter to resemble a Hopi pueblo building
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The Yavapai Watchtower designed by Mary Jane Colter in 1930 to mimic an
Anasazi watchtower
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The Watchtower was constructed with each stone handpicked for size and appearance. Weathered faces were left untouched to give the tower an ancient look
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800-year-old Pueblo Indian ruins
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800-year-old Pueblo Indian ruins
El Tovar
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El Tovar is a National Historic Landmark. It opened in January 1905 as a luxury hotel for the Santa Fe Railway at a cost of nearly $250,000.
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El Tovar is built twenty feet from the very edge of the Canyon's South Rim by architect, Charles Whittlesey
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El Tovar was considered by many to be the most elegant hotel west of the Mississippi River.
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Bright Angel Lodge
The Grand Canyon Railway
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The Grand Canyon Railway has been taking passengers on a fabled journey to the Canyon since 1901
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Taking tThe Grand Canyon Railway wiith close friends Paul and Alexandra
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The Grand Canyon Railway is a trip back in time on restored rail cars with entertaining musicians
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Champagne and music with a view
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Out your window, the terrain changes from high desert to prairie and from prairie to pine.
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The Grand Canyon Railway is a trip back in time with the antics of cowboy characters.
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The train is being attacked by robbers!
Hoover Dam
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Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S.
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From here the Colorado River turns due south towards Lake Havasu tracing a path of natural wonders and wildlife habitats along the Arizona-California border.
New Highway Bridge
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New Highway Bridge Construction
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The new bridge (background) vs the old route that croossed over the dam
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The New Bridge
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Hoover Dam is on the border of Arizona and Nevada
Talliesen West
Frank Lloyd Wright's Winter Home
Grand Canyon Tour by Google