Utah and Arizona

 

Visiting the American Southwest...

Upper-left & right: Zion NP

Lower-left: just after sunset at Hopi Point, Grand Canyon NP.

(updated Thr. Jan. 22, 2015)


Our plan had bee to visit:

- Hoover Dam tour, then to Zion National Park for 2 nights

  1. -Glen Canyon Dam

  2. -Antelope Slot Canyon, in Navajo Country, near Page AZ

- 2 nights in Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim

- remainder of the trip in Phoenix


We needed to adjust our itinerary and visited:

- Hoover Dam, then to Zion National Park for 2 nights

- Drive over the Glen Canyon Dam after dark

- 2 nights in Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim

- Stop at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff... to see through the telescope that first saw Pluto Jupiter, three of the four Galilean moons, and its cloud layers - red, tan, white - with our own eyes...

- remainder of the trip in Phoenix




Hoover Dam (NV & AZ)











Links:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam


http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/


http://www.arizona-leisure.com/hoover-dam.html



Hoover Dam Tours:  http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html


CBS Sunday Morning:  “The Hoover Dam Turns 75”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hot-dam-the-hoover-dam-turns-75/

&

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/celebrating-75-years-of-the-hoover-dam/








Zion National Park (UT)


Absolutely breath-taking, every where you look.
















Above, “Last Light,” by David J. West.


His David J. West Photography Gallery is home to beautiful images from around America.  It is located in Springdale, just outside the Zion NP entrance, across from the Pioneer Diner.


http://www.davidjwest.com

&

http://www.davidjwest.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=5&p=4


Photos as we departed the park to the SE, en route to the Grand Canyon.












The Drive across the northern Arizona border, between Zion & Grand Canyon NPs:






This must surely have been the inspiration for Cars’ “Radiator Springs.”










Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)



       


       



The first morning we just missed the bus to the sunrise by seconds... we heard it pulling away as we walked up to the park bus stop.

About 30 seconds later, a large herd of elk walked past, from right to left.  We watched them pass by for about 30 minutes.  That was more valuable than the sunrise, which we saw the next morning.



Links:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm


http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/index.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon



There are multiple lodges within the NP.  We stayed at the Maswik Lodge:

http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodging/maswik-lodge/


The other lodges on the South Rim are accessible at: 

http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com




Lowell Observatory, home of Pluto


On the drive to the Grand Canyon, we stopped for gas, and I saw a brochure for Lowell Observatory - http://www.lowell.edu, which is now also home to the DCT / Discovery Channel Telescope.


I remembered right away that Flagstaff is home to where American astronomers discovered our ninth planet - Pluto.  Percival Lowell calculated its existence from irregularities in Neptune’s orbit.  After he passed, Clyde Tombaugh continues his search, an discovered Pluto using photographic plates, seeing its image move in the photos over a couple weeks’ time.


Learn more at:  http://www.discoveryofpluto.com/pluto04.html



Some perspectives on Pluto’s status as planetary / dwarf planetary / KBO - Kuiper Belt Object:


http://www.astronomy.com/Columnists/David%20Levy/2010/08/David%20H%20Levys%20Evening%20Stars%20Plutos%20second%20chance.aspx


http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/greatest-mysteries/2014/09/32-should-pluto-be-considered-a-planet


http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astronomy/archive/2014/07/10/guest-blog-the-case-for-planet-pluto.aspx





PLUTO


... Pluto was first seen by comparing two images showing

its movement from one week to the next...





... as photographed in the 13” Pluto Discovery Telescope,

by Clyde Tombaugh...




... Pluto was first seen via the naked-eye in the 24”

(refractor) Clark Telescope, at Lowell Observatory, named for the astronomer who predicted Pluto’s existence - Percival Lowell, in Flagstaff, Arizona. 





Learn more in “The Discovery of Pluto.”





Also at Lowell, Vesto Slipher obtained used the spectrograph to identify the first evidence of the expanding universe

  1. -he observed that the spectra of most galaxies were red-shifted, shifted toward the red end of the spectrum, which means they are moving away from us. 



Edwin Hubble (the space telescope bears his name)

  1. -used Slipher’s evidence

  2. -combined it with Hubble’s own observations, which used the regularity of Cepheid variable stars to calculate interstellar distances

  3. -combined it with the concept of the Big Bang, as developed by Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre, who viewed the expanding universe to have needed a starting point... later called the Big Bang...  the starting point being God - http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/science/faith-and-science/a-day-without-yesterday-georges-lemaitre-amp-the-big-bang.html

  4. -and developed the Hubble Constant, which helped show an ever-expanding universe




NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft rendezvoused with Pluto July 14, 2015.


You can monitor its progress with the App:


iPhone:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-horizons-nasa-voyage-to/id473217882


Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=requio.com_newhorizons


“It’s Pluto Time” app:  http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/plutotime/




Three Astronomy Magazine New Horizons cover stories

July, 2015:

http://www.astronomy.com/issues/2015/july-2015

&

Web Extra: Pluto probe promises spectacular surprises


February, 2015:   

http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/press-releases/2014/12/february-2015


The NASA/JPL app tracking its progress:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-horizons-nasa-voyage-to/id473217882


July, 2010:          

http://www.astronomy.com/issues/2010/july-2010









Phoenix


The purpose of our trip was for our cousins’ wedding... a blessed event!

Beyond that, we just had fun by the pool.



           














Additional Links:





Glen Canyon Dam (UT/AZ border, at Page, AZ):


http://www.canyon-country.com/lakepowell/gcdam.htm

http://www.desertusa.com/gc/gcd/du_glencandamtour.html

“The Lost World of Glen Canyon” (OP, Oct, 2005): http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/the-lost-world-of-glen-canyon.html

Tours: http://www.glencanyonnha.org/glen_canyon_dam/glencanyondam_tour.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam



Antelope Slot Canyon - Page, AZ; on Navajo Territory,
                                        ~ 5 minutes from the Glen Canyon Dam

                                        between Zion NP and Grand Canyon NP

Not on the travel plans for this trip,
but a beautiful place to visit:

http://www.powellguide.com/lake_powell_info/page_lake_powell_antelope_canyon.htm

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/antelope-canyon-dramatic.html

Remember, do not enter if any hint of rain:
http://www.summitpost.org/canyon/226112/Antelope-Canyon.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Antelope-Canyon,-A-Slot-Canyon-Adventure&id=4230364

http://www.silverspurtours.com/antelope-canyon.html


http://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/1009/d-whereami.html


http://www.davidjwest.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=9&p=3


Recommendations for how to photograph the slot canyons (Antelope, and more):

Part 1 - Zion Narrows: http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/zion-narrows.html


Part 2 - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/the-bear-and-the-moon.html


Part 3 - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/antelope-canyon.html


Part 4 - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/rays-from-above.html


Part 5 - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/rays-from-above.html


Part 6 - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/editors-lightbox/week-8/antelope-slot-canyon.html





NationalParkTrips.com

 

http://nationalparktrips.com/


http://www.myzionpark.com/

 

http://www.mygrandcanyonpark.com/

 

(Also Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, and Yosemite Parks...)



Las Vegas, Beyond the Strip, from our HomePage:

http://web.me.com/vanvooren/iWeb/VanVooren%20iWeb%20Page/Las%20Vegas.html

Southwestern USA pictures we’ve been blessed to take:


2010 trip to CA; pix-from-the-plane, OMA-LAS

2009 trip to CA, over S. Utah, looking into Monument Valley (silhouetted against a snowy ground!!!... the day after CRHP 24), pictures 1451 to 1466;
1466 is the bend in Marble Canyon (confirmed not the ‘Horseshow Bend’ that is noted in the AAA article below)... right at the ‘a’ in ‘Marble’ on both state-wide and zoomed-in paper-based maps/road atlases I have seen; Marble Canyon is immediately upstream of the Grand Canyon, just downstream of Glen Canyon Dam (which itself creates Lake Powell)

2008 trip to CA, over AZ, pictures Meteor Crater to Sedona

2005 flight STL-LAX, Canyonlands to Hoover Dam


  

Books

(you’ll need inter-library loan http://webpac.slcl.org/screens/ill.html):

 

Jack Dykinga’s Arizona

http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Dykingas-Arizona-W-Dykinga/dp/1565794990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271346947&sr=8-1-spell

 

Jack Dykingda’s Grand Canyon

http://www.amazon.com/Images-Jack-Dykingas-Grand-Canyon/dp/1932082875/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271346947&sr=8-2-spell

 

David Muench's Arizona: Cherish the Land, Walk in Beauty

http://www.amazon.com/Arizona-David-Muench/dp/1558689869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271346975&sr=1-1-spell


Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography

http://www.amazon.com/reader/0873588940?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib%5Faps%5Fsup&qid=1262104763&page=random#reader_0873588940


The Wild Colorado

http://webpac.slcl.org/search~S32?/Xwild+river+colorado+river&searchscope=32&SORT=DZ/Xwild+river+colorado+river&searchscope=32&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=wild%20river%20colorado%20river/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&FF=Xwild+river+colorado+river&searchscope=32&SORT=DZ&1%2C1%2C

 

John Wesley Powell (kid’s book about the Civil War veteran who led the first-known “white man’s” exploration through the Grand Canyon)

http://webpac.slcl.org/search~S32?/X(powell%20colorado%20river)&searchscope=32&SORT=D/X(powell%20colorado%20river)&searchscope=32&SORT=D&SUBKEY=(powell%20colorado%20river)/1%2C14%2C14%2CB/frameset&FF=X(powell%20colorado%20river)&searchscope=32&SORT=D&6%2C6%2C



 

 

Videos:

Grand Canyon for Kids (great for kids and parents):
http://webpac.slcl.org/search~S32?/Xgrand+canyon&searchscope=32&SORT=D/Xgrand+canyon&searchscope=32&SORT=D&SUBKEY=grand%20canyon/1%2C121%2C121%2CB/frameset&FF=Xgrand+canyon&searchscope=32&SORT=D&3%2C3%2C

 

Wild River - The Colorado River, by KUED:

http://www.kued.org/productions/wildriver/


Arizona Highways TV:

http://www.azhighwaystv.com

 


Magazines:

Nat Geo: Glen Canyon - April, 2006 issue:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/04/glen-canyon/glick-text.html


http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/going-green-environment/conservation-in-action/glen-canyon.html



Nat Geo: Canyonlands - March, 2007 issue:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/03/canyonlands/edwards-text


http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/canyonlands-national-park/


http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/canyonlands-4297/Overview


See also:

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/a-matter-of-perspective.html


Nat Geo: Zion National Park:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/zion-photos/



Nat Geo: Grand Canyon National Park:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/grand-canyon-national-park/


http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/3149/Overview


Arizona Highways:

http://www.arizonahighways.com

& their photo contest winners:

http://www.arizonahighways.com/photography.asp



Outdoor Photographer articles

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/canyon-wilderness.html

I really want to see Balance Rock (p2) in person…

 

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/from-news-to-nature.html

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/shooting/transforming-large-format.html

               
horseshoe bend on p2 of the above article, just south of Page, AZ, (http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/shooting/transforming-large-format.html?start=1)… is the same as the one mentioned in the AAA article below… but is npt to be confused with this bend in up-river’s Marble Canyon’s (next to ‘A’ in Marble on map):

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/legacy.html  (Anasazi ruins p. 3)



OP searches:
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/search.html?q=arizona+muench

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/search.html?q=arizona+dykinga

 


AAA Midwest Traveler

http://www.ouraaa.com/traveler/mid/2010/01/fBig.html
Page has a dirt runway = not for commercial planes, and chain hotels… Fairfield Inns, etc.


Navajo Bridge is nearby http://www.bing.com/search?q=navajo+bridge&form=QBLH&qs=n&sk=




Podcasts 

Beautiful Places in HD:

http://www.onnetworks.com/feeds/4688/video/rss.xml?default_format=hd&target=itunes


Grand Canyon River:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/upload/grcariver2008.xml


Inside Grand Canyon

http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/upload/in-grca2008.xml


Insider’s Look at Grand Canyon

http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/upload/grcapod2008.xml

Traveling Nevada Podcast:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/traveling-nevada/id297624624




And, in case you’re interested in the planes to take you to/from AZ and anywhere else…

 

http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2009/ff_airspace_map_1703

 

http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2009/ff_airspace_compare_1703

 

http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/multimedia/2009/02/ff_airspace_gallery



Also strongly recommended by friends: Oak Creek Canyon, in north-central Arizona, ‘twixt the Grand Canyon, Phoenix and Sedona.  That’s on our list for the next visit, too!

 

Links:


http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm


http://www.nps.gov/zion/parknews/newspaper.htm


Driving Directions (Las Vegas is to the SW)

http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/directions.htm


Zion Lodge, the hotel inside

http://www.zionlodge.com






http://www.backpacker.com/trips/utah/zion/



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park



http://www.allzion.com



See also, from Outdoor Photographer / outdoorphotographer.com:


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Three Days In Utah

For landscape photographers with a long winter weekend, here are some top spots in The Beehive State to get stunning, out-of-the-ordinary photos.


http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/three-days-in-utah.html