Remember that when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, only what you have given, a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage. -St. Francis of Assisi

Friday, September 5, 2014

Touring with Ranger Gaelyn

Thursday, September 4, 2014


For several years, I have been corresponding with Gaelyn through our blogs. We both grew up in the Chicago area and both enjoyed spending time at Starved Rock State Park, so we have some things in common.

This is Gaelyn's 8th season as a ranger on the North Rim, she has been a seasonal park ranger for more than 20 years.

I arrived on the Kaibab Plateau on Thursday, August 15th and by coincidence met with Gaelyn in the parking lot at Jacob's Lake.  We both have Thursday off work and planned to get together today after the morning rains stopped.




We had a great afternoon exploring the Walhalla Plateau area of the North Rim.

Point Imperial,  Roosevelt Point, Cape Royal and Angel's Window

Lupine
We stopped along the side of the road to take pictures.





We spent a lot of time at the various overlooks, waiting for the light to change
and to watch the approaching storm, it was time to leave when we heard
the thunder and were losing daylight.


 I would love to explore inside this canyon.
 I'm hoping to go about a mile into the canyon before I leave here,
 and I will return another year to travel deeper into the canyon.






I am still learning the names of the rock formations, so I have not labeled these pictures.




If you want to see some great photos check out Gaelyn's blog - 

or check out her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Geogpsy


It is now after 9pm and I am listening to the wind and the rain as I write this. We had just a few hours without rain today to explore this area of the park and were not able to explore all of the trails and the ancient pueblo sites, but we did see the sky changing color as the sun started to set.




6 comments:

  1. You may only have had a few hours but your pictures are incredible.

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  2. So beautiful! When I was in 3rd grade a classmate came back to school in the fall and told us about her trip to the Grand Canyon. Our music teacher played The Grand Canyon Suite.... that was at least 65 years ago but it planted the seed for my urge to travel. Your photos want me to get out my CD of the GCS and relive the clomping of the mule's feet, hear the thunderstorm and envision the sun coming out.

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  3. We timed it right and I had a wonderful time showing you the views from the Walhalla Plateau. Your phone photos turned out great. I'm still processing. Let's do it again.

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  4. What a great day you ladies had and of course the pictures are just fantastic. Love your header.
    I do pop over to Gaelyn's blog to look at her photographs. They are something to see indeed

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  5. Great photos - you were lucky to get that short time slot free of rain. I'll bet that area is pretty great during a storm, too, though. I hope when you go back onto the canyons you'll have company. That sounds kind of scarey to do alone. :)

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  6. PS - your header photo is incredible!

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It is the sandstorm that shape the stone statues of the Desert. It is the struggles of Life that form a person's character ~ Native American Proverb