Thursday, January 29, 2015

Grand Canyon after Snow Storm


IMG_9226 Pima Point in Winter,  Grand Canyon National Park
Figure 1. Pima Point, Grand Canyon National Park.

Although it snows in Grand Canyon, South Rim is not a snowy place. In addition, snow melts quickly. Timing has to be precise to see snowy landscape on South Rim.

A winter storm were forecast Grand Canyon during New Year of 2015 and I decide to spend the vacation there. It turned out to be a challenge to arrive South Rim from southern California. I-40 was snow covered around Needles and some places are blocked along the way to Flagstaff. I needed to detour to almost Phoenix and turned north to Flagstaff instead. Then I entered the park from the east side.

I've never seen so much snow in Grand Canyon before and I was glad I made it here. I arrived in Grand Canyon Village when the storm started breaking. After getting some shots at sunset, it's time to call it a day and wait for the sunrise tomorrow.

The Hermit Road was still totally snow covered in the morning. Some elk were even on the road as I expected. Although I wished to see more snow at the bottom of the canyon, there was not so much on Tapeats sandstone layer from Pima Point. It still looked good though and this is the best I can get.

Overall, it is worth the long drive here.

IMG_8675 Ponderosa Pine Forest in Winter
Figure 2. Ponderosa Pine Forest.