POINT IMPERIAL
Grand Canyon North Rim has many places to overlook the canyon. The most popular one is just a short walk from the lodge, and a favorite early morning stroll.
CATHEDRAL ROCK
The Sedona area of central Arizona has many scenic canyons and peaks. One of the nicest views is of Cathedral Rock from Crescent Moon Park.
TOROWEAP
Toroweap is a remote canyon overlook of the Grand Canyon's north rim. Here the canyon rims are only about a mile apart, so the vertical topography is much more defined than what would normally be expected. There is a campground on the edge of the rim for spending the night after driving 60 plus miles on gravel road to get there.
POWELL POINT
This is one of the many readily accessed viewpoints on the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Why worry about handrails when a better view is had down on the rocks below.
THE WAVE ENTRANCE
The Wave is one of those world class wonders of nature. It's so popular that access is highly restricted to just a few selected visitors each day. Located in Vermillian Cliffs National Monument in southern Utah and northern Arizona, the wonder of this area makes it worth the long hike.
SAND COVE
Sand cove is located less than a quarter of a mile from The Wave and is one of many beautiful and unique places to visit if you're lucky enough to get a day pass into the area of North Coyote Buttes.
THE MAIN WAVE
After being selected in the lottery for a day pass and then hiking the miles to The Wave, most people spend hours leisurely exploring the many nooks and crannies of The Wave. Most of the time is spent right here.
POINT IMPERIAL SUNRISE
While visiting the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon, a good sunrise destination would be Point Imperial.
WHEELER PEAK
When visiting the remote Great Basin National Park, be sure to drive up to about ten thousand feet for a good view up to the thirteen thousand foot Wheeler Peak.
PUEBLO DEL ARROYO
Chaco National Historic Park is one of the best preserved archaeological sites in all of the Southwest. It is quite isolated after driving on a mostly gravel 21 mile road, but there is a large campground and plenty of ruins to explore.
HORSESHOE BEND MORNING
Located just outside Page, Arizona and downriver from Glen Canyon Dam, Horseshoe bend can be accessed via an easy half mile trail from a large parking lot. This lonely early morning view was bitterly cold. Coming down the hill behind me were the passengers from four busloads of tourists that would soon litter the edge of the cliff.
NAVAJO BRIDGE
The Navajo Bridge is located on US89A as it spans the Colorado River at Marble Canyon. The bridge on the right was built in 1929 and now services pedestrians only. It's twin was built in 1995 as it's replacement. This is Condor country, and a rare California Condor was perched on the new bridge's truss about mid span.
MONUMENT VALLEY
Well--not quite. The Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park sits just to the left of the road. This is the Highway 163 view made famous in the Forest Gump movie where Forest gives up his running phase. Nearly everyone seeing this sight for the first time stops for a photo just like this one.
WHITE POCKET
It's hard to get selected in The Wave Lottery, so most of the time you're going to have to find somewhere else to go. One of the more popular places to go is to the White Pocket. It has many similar characteristics to The Wave--just not quite as spectacular. The good thing is that you don't need a special pass to go there, just ask the ranger at the front desk for a White Pocket handout sheet. The bad news is that you will need 4WD and high clearance to get through the deep sand and rocky sections on the road to the White Pocket. If you don't have the right vehicle, there are several photography guides in the area who will be happy to take you there.
VERY LARGE ARRAY
Located along Highway 60, 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico; the VLA is truly very large. Each of the 27 dishes is 25 meters across. They are mounted on double railroad tracks that can be re-configured depending on the type of exploration being conducted. The tracks are in a Y configuration with each leg being 13 miles long. This separation allows the electronically combined antennae to see different wavelengths at before unobtainable sensitivity.
GRAND CANYON SLIDE SHOW