Look what I found in GRAND CANYON! (USA - Ep 26)
The rental process is complete. This car is ours for the next 2-3 days. If you visit Grand Canyon, I would recommend you to use this route. I can see the Canyon. Amazing! Why does the scalp itch when you wear a cap? Both of us are heading for check-in.
Of all the other places, the Yavapai lodge was the cheapest option available inside the national park, 125 dollars. And... this is our room. We are here for our complimentary coffee.
This is the best viewpoint. Today, I'm standing in front of the Grand Canyon. Today we'll visit the Delicate Arch. The sunrise view is amazing there.
Fortunately, there were only 2 cars at the parking lot. It took almost an hour to reach here Right in front, this is the Delicate Arch. This is a steep & deep gorge. I am in Phoenix. I reached here last night.
This is Mr. Shanku's house. -Shall we run? -Run! Run! Run! Basically, we are renting a car from this place. Mr. Shanku can add me also as a driver while renting the car. My Indian Driving License would be accepted here as well.
My International Driving... The rental process is complete. This car is ours for the next 2-3 days. Okay. Nice car! Quite big and...
-...spacious as well. -Yeah. -What's the name of this car? -GMC Terrain. -GMC Terrain? -Yeah. -Great! -Nice car. GMC is not available in India. What are we doing now, smuggling? -We are shifting our luggage to this car. -Okay.
I want to tell you something, I would very well sleep inside this car during summer. -I'm sure. -That can definitely be done. In that way, we would save our lodging cost.
When I come to the US next time, I'll surely try this out. I would rent a big car like this. An SUV would be comfortable to drive. -It's more powerful and I can sleep as well. -Right. Grand Canyon is a tourist attraction.
Located in Arizona state. Phoenix would be your Airport Phoenix would be the nearest airport from Grand Canyon, right? Mesa is yet another airport, though not very popular, but flights are there. But, Phoenix is a big airport and flights are comparatively cheaper. And since we had to head towards the Grand Canyon from Pheonix, we found a way in the map. It's a bit detour. It's via Sedona.
We decided to touch all the viewpoints on the way. This route connects Sedona and Flagstaff. If you visit Grand Canyon from Phoenix, I would recommend you to use this route. It's the first week of March. It's fully snowy, on both sides. This means the place is quite high? How many times have you been there? -At least, 10 to 12 times. -10-12 times!
-Is the climate usually the same? -Yeah, but snowfall is more. We usually visit during that time when everything is covered with white snow. -This is the first time, snowfall is less? -Yeah, somewhat less.
Once, when I was hiking here, it was the fall color time. The leaves were all red, orange and yellow. That's again a beauty with a difference. -This is basically the Oak Creek Canyon. -Oak Creek Canyon? -The Oak Creek Canyon road. -Oh!
If you go via Oak Creek Canyon, you would get to see this route. And if you go direct via Flagstaff, you would have to move along the highway. Okay.
Out of the many beautiful roads, which I have come across in this world, I can surely say that the Oak Creek Canyon road... -Is it called 'Oak Creek Canyon road'? -Yeah. This is one of the best scenic routes, according to me. This is the entry gate of the Grand Canyon National Park. There's a long queue here. Mr. Shanku says that the queues here are generally very long.
Almost, about 1 or 2 miles. -The entry fee is about 20 or 30 dollars. -Correct. But, we have with us, a very special... -'Weapon'. -Yeah.
This is the annual entry card accepted by all the national parks in America. I have mentioned this earlier also. The cost of the card is around, 50, 55, or 60 dollars. Let's see that.
And, you have visited Grand Canyon earlier? - Yeah -And, you have made videos as well? -Yeah? -And they are uploaded on YouTube? -Yeah? -What's the name of your channel? It's, 'Shanks Travel Diary'. Shanks Travel Diary. Would the name remain so or change? -The name would be the same. -You will not change it?
-No such plans, this is permanent. -Okay. Earlier, the name was something else, now it's Shanks Travel Diary. -You have Grand Canyon and other videos... -Some other local sites as well. You can go through the channel, Shanks Travel Diary.
Great! We are still in the queue. -This rather seems to be a long queue. -Okay, otherwise? You were saying that the queues are even longer.
-Yeah, quite long ones. -What's written over there? -Pre-paid... -Isn't that meant for us? Pre-paid... Perhaps, I had no idea. Oh! We could have gone through there? -Perhaps, we can go. -But, it's written that it's closed. This is also okay. That is also not moving that fast.
Yeah. You can pay the entry fee through credit card, debit card, or even by cash. But, during this Covid period, it's clearly mentioned that cards would be preferred. And then...
We have our own car and so the entrance fee is 35 dollars. This is the fee for 1 day to 7 days. So, 35$ is the entry fee for 1-7 days. The fare for a motorcycle is 30$, and 20$ if you walk or go cycling. I guess our national park card should be valid here. -Yeah. -Isn't it?
Otherwise, we have to pay 35 $. Finally, it's our turn now. Oh! These people are so good! "Good afternoon, welcome to Grand Canyon."
It hardly took a minute. Just 5 seconds. She greeted us and handed over a map. This is the map. Celebrating 100 years. 1919-2019. Great!
We were very comfortable in the car. I was wearing just a shirt. As soon as I stepped out... The temperature is quite low. People are wearing jackets and caps.
They are fully prepared. That's why I am wearing a jacket now We are heading to the visitor's center. It's 3.45 p.m. We had to spend at least 40 minutes at the Entry Gate.
The ETA according to Google, was 3 p.m. And now, it's 3.45. A lot of time was wasted there. Look, how's the climate? Let me show you. This is snow. This is very informative.
Oh! Yes! It's written, "Where do I go for sunset?" -I have all this information. -That's okay, then. These are the basic questions a visitor needs to ask. They approach the visitor's center to ask, "Where do I go for sunset or sunrise?" And so, everything is mentioned here.
The visitor's center is closed. Something else is also mentioned here. The information we wanted about the buses, it's right here. I have gone through all the instructions displayed over there. I came to know... There's a small trail and both of us would try that.
And then, there's a drive which you can do on your vehicles. Apart from that, there are free shuttle buses as well. We decided to go for the trail, a small hike by walk. And then, we would go for a drive. Today would be the 'trail day'. Then, there are 3-4 sunset points mentioned here.
We would visit one or two and then... We are going to spend the night here, in Yavapai lodge. The next morning, we plan to go for a drive. We would drive till the sunrise point. And after enjoying the sunrise, we would roam here and there and come back.
-There are so many visitors today? -Yeah. What is this? Mather Point. Mr. Shanku is asking me to get ready.
Because after this, an amazing view is awaiting us. Nothing very special is to be seen till now, only some plants and trees. That's the Grand Canyon. I can see just a glimpse of it from there. But, you are heading towards this side. Anyways, let's move on.
-How many times have you come here? -I think, 4 or 5 times. Okay. It was quite cold and so I had to wear a cap and gloves. Okay, here... What would be the temperature in summer? Would it be quite hot? It would be hot, but not like the typical heat of Arizona.
-It's quite nice. -Oh! Now, it's visible from here. Wow! Wow! It's visible now. Amazingly beautiful! Oh, my God! Wow! So beautiful! This is indeed very special.
-This is so big! -Yeah. There's a river crossing there, in the middle. It's not visible from here. You can see that from the Hopi point. -What? -The Colorado River. -Yes, it's not visible from here. -That is a famous viewpoint.
That's the one which is called Mather viewpoint? It's spelled M-A-T-H-E-R. Pronunciations vary from person to person. As we have been seeing these... Yes, I completely understood your point. Seeing this, I feel like flying my drone.
But they have mentioned clearly in the maps and the literature which they gave us that flying a drone is strictly prohibited. It was prohibited in Arches as well. So, I think it would be prohibited in most of the national parks in the US.
-We were talking about drones, and see there. -Wow! There you see. Is it clear now? This is the Mather viewpoint. This is my shadow. These are my legs and these shoes are mine. After seeing this, everyone seems to be saying what this lady just said.
"Wow!" Just got to see something here. It's mentioned, "Coins can kill." It's mentioned here, "Please help us protect park wildlife by not littering or tossing coins into the Canyon." We have a tendency to drop coins in rivers, ponds, lakes, etc to show our spirituality and positivity.
People might be doing this here as well. But at the cost of what? A California Condor, which is a bird, swallowed a coin considering it as food. The Zinc in the coin acted as poison for which the bird lost its life. I feel those coins would impart some kind of chemicals into water bodies as well. The polish or the chemicals may be harmful.
I never thought of this before. -Okay. -I went there a few days ago. Oh, okay. I see.
This... What's the name of this trail? I was wondering where are my glasses! -It happens. -This is the Rim Trail. Rim Trail. Okay.
Many times, we look for car keys inside the car while the car is moving. That's the fun part. Ok, so this is the Trail.
Oh, nice. Good. There are hardly any people around. -I think we can experiment here. -Yes! I have seen this in many tourist attractions and in many viewpoints. the first viewpoints are always crowded Look here. There is hardly anyone. It's empty.
One can click awesome pictures from up here. Yes, actually. It's all empty here. We are going back. Mr. Shanku was saying that... He said that the place where we are, is called South Rim. And over the other side, is the North Rim. And the Canyons are here in the middle.
The distance between these two rims, how much you were saying it is? -Approximately, 10 miles. -It's 10 miles. It means if a bird flies, it would take her 10 miles to reach. Ok, so the other side visible from here is 13 miles from here. 13 miles, and it's seen clearly. There are no obstacles. It doesn't look like the distance is really 13 miles. Another thing just happened. A helicopter passed by
and we assumed it to be a drone from this far. We knew drones aren't allowed. still someone must be flying it. It looked white from far. As it came nearer, we could hear its sound. And we saw it was a helicopter. It was flying low around the river.
In total, the Canyons is around 277 miles, length-wise. -277 miles? Okay. -Yes, 277 miles. The width actually depends. It varies from place to place. But it runs from, like, 277-300 miles. And there are some 300 caves here. -Caves? -Yes.
Yes, there are some 300 caves. Okay. Just a second. There is a shelter there. -I think this is the bus point. -Yes. The free shuttle bus would come till here.
There, people are clicking pictures. That's the shelter. One can come by walk or take a bus. But you said that that point where we went, it would take 10-15 minutes by walk. But it would take more than that if we take a bus. It's because the shuttle takes a longer route. And here, the benefit is that we can walk along the edge.
Yes, you were saying something. Sorry. Yes, I was saying that there are 300 caves here. Out of those, there is one cave which is open to the public.
Otherwise, no other cave is open to the public. They are meant for Scientific researches Here, the crowd is a lot vocal. We came across this while going out. "Tribes Call the Canyon Home."
Meaning, in this Grand Canyon area, the many tribes who live,... By tribes, I mean native Americans who belonged to this place. There are people who migrated from Europe, who are called whites. The African immigrants are known as Blacks. But the people who used to live here prior to these people, the tribes who used to live here, their names are engraved here. Like, "Apache."
Here, it's mentioned "Yavapai" And here, it's mentioned, "Hualapai". There is a beautiful tourist destination called Hualapai. This is Havasupai. A fall is named after this.
This is Southern Paiute. Hopi. There is a place here named Hopi. This is Zuni. Navajo. It's J. In Spanish, J is pronounced as H. Navajo.
And we are back. These native Americans are here referred to as Indians. If we understand about the tribes in a simpler way,... in the Indian context...
then you can understand them as "Adivasis" Meaning the old inhabitants of a particular place. So, these were the names of those old inhabitants. -Am I right? -Correct. Ok, so the visitor center is there and here is the parking. Okay, so we need to check where is our guest house? 'You are here'. So, we are here. This is our parking area.
Mather point is here. -What's the name of the guest house? -Yavapai. Yavapai. Ok. I see. Desert view. Let's go here tomorrow morning. Here is Yavapai lodge.
Oh, it is not very far from here. Yes, it's not too far. Yavapai Point is this way. I would like to ask you a 'life and death' question. The question is, why does the scalp get so itchy after wearing a cap? I don't understand. After some time, I need to do something like this.
-Do you have any... -No answer. -No? Ok. -Let's see if any subscriber can answer this. -Very important. -Yes, a very important question. It's not like I can do this in front of everyone. There are many things in this national park.
Car charging points. There is our lodge. The name is Yavapai lodge. -ATM. -There is an ATM. -Is that an ATM or a bank? -Looks to be a bank.
Yes, that's Chase Bank. There is a general store there. There is a post office as well. The good thing is that we can play cricket here. -We can put two wickets and... -Right. -And then we'll go to jail. -Yes, for a brief period. That's okay. He is planning to play cricket at the parking lot.
-There is a restaurant as well. -Where is that? -Are we going there now? -Yes. So we are going to check in now.
We are going to the Yavapai lodge. Mr. Shanku says that the Yavapai lodge was the cheapest option to stay here inside the national park. -For that, we are paying around how much? -120-125 dollars. 125 American dollars. What? Are you paying now? Yes, they charge a security deposit.
Thank you. There is no wifi here. There is, but just in the lobby area. I am freezing.
We are going there, right? -Towards our room? -Yes, towards our room. And where are we now? Yavapai lodge. Our room number is ... 7033-7048.
-What's our room number? -7306. -73? -06. -7036? -7036? Ok. Is that 7036 or... Because there is a room, 7306 B.
-It's mentioned over here. -Ok. -7036. -Yes, 7036, right? So, we are here? The cross here is the parking lot. So we are going to head straight, take a right and reach here. The song has started to play. It's time to stop it. Otherwise, there would be a copyright... Copyright strike?
Would it be a copyright strike or a copyright claim? -Copyright claim. -Ok, so that would be a claim. I have reduced the volume. Which one of these would be 7036? Can you see something from here? It's 7000 series from here. We have to go further. It was 7016 here. It's 7019...
Ok, we have to go till 7036. 7036. There is snow here. One needs to be careful. It's 70... What is it called in Hindi!! This is our room. Yes, this one is 36.
And... This is our humble room. Yes, this is our room. Where is the light's switch?
Oh, man. I can't spot the switch. Where is it? -It is weird. -It's very weird. It's clean and smells nice. It's nice and warm. It's fair enough.
-Yes, it's fair enough. -Yes. -Although there is no view. -That's true. This is an important place, and that's me. Wow! There are many things available here in this general store.
There are things to eat and other things as well. From the outside, it looked like a small store. But this is... Food is available in that section.
There are jackets also available here. Equipment for adventure sports, like mountaineering, hiking are available. Like Decathlon stores.
But here, they have North West, Patagonia, trekking pants, hiking pants, gloves. I saw a very interesting thing. It's called warmers. You can put it inside your gloves and toes and it will keep them warm for about 10 hours. This is great.
When we were checking in Yavapai lodge, we were handed over this. Let me show you what is that. Let me tell you why are we here! We are here to have the complimentary coffee. After coffee, we will have popcorn. Or we will have popcorn along with the coffee. We will sit in the car and listen to Arijit Singh.
We will listen to Papon, and who else? For now, these are our two favorites for this trip. Travelers who don't get to carry something to eat need not worry. They can buy something from here. It's 10:30 a.m. and a new day has started. After checking out from Yavapai lodge, we have come to another viewpoint in Grand Canyon. It's called Lipan point. That's the pronunciation I guess.
I can say that the South Rim of the Grand Canyon... This is the South Rim, right? This is the South Rim. So, maybe, amongst the viewpoints of the South Rim, this one is the best one. And this lies towards the last. I think this is the most beautiful one.
As soon as someone reaches here, like the people standing here... Their first word is, 'Wow'! The reason is that the Colorado river is very clearly visible from here. That side, and especially that side. It's very clearly visible. And perhaps from this point, Canyons almost end here. The area after that is the plains.
The best thing about this viewpoint is... Undoubtedly, this is the most beautiful viewpoint. This is its USP. And why is it so? Because the other side of the rim that's very near and very clearly visible.
Whereas, in Mather point, or the points where we went in the evening, the rim was somewhat far from that place. By rim, I mean the other edge of the Grand Canyon. The second good thing about this point is, the parking. If you come in your own vehicle, you can park them here.
It's so convenient to come here in your own car to see the sunrise. In fact, I think that this is the best viewpoint to see the sunrise. The sun, perhaps rises somewhere, from that side. And then, its rays perhaps falls on this side. The sunrise surely creates a magical effect. I am not sure about sunset.
They say that Hopi point is the best for sunset view. And another special thing is that people are so less here. Perhaps because it's very far and so fewer people come to see this place.
It took a little more than half an hour, to reach here from Yavapai lodge or from the Grand Canyon visitor center. There's very good information here. It's about the creation of the Grand Canyon. It's a very basic question.
What's the reason for the color of these stones? The Colorado River, about which I was talking just now, flows very smoothly in a soft circular motion. There are hardly any cuts. Moving ahead, due to a sudden turn, it tries to break the rocks. Water can't break them alone but when the water current is very intense, smaller stones or even the big ones, when they hit the huge rocks, the rocks get eroded, they break into smaller pieces. It took about 50 lakhs of years, for the river to go down 1 kilometer. And now the point where it's standing, I am surprised by its name which is, 'Vishnu Basement Rock'. It's right in front.
I could not get why the name is, Vishnu Basement Rock. In fact, yesterday, when we were at the Mather Point, We had noticed a Vishnu... Wasn't it, Vishnu temple? It was Vishnu Temple.
I am not sure why the name, Vishnu. Whatever, about the Vishnu Basement Rock, it's written that it's the lowest part of this continent, or this place. The river cannot go beneath that, because it's the toughest rock. It's interesting! Very interesting!
2022-01-30 23:21
