The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
at the Grand Canyon - South Rim

September 7, 2012

map showing location of Grand Canyonsign: Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, and the Havasupai Tribe. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. It is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

history bookThe Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over one mile. Nearly two billion years of the Earths geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon ("Ongtupqa" in Hopi language) a holy site and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was Garcia Lopez de Cardenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

sign: Little Colorado scenic overlook
Little Colorado scenic overlook just outside the Grand Canyon
Little Colorado scenic overlook just outside the Grand Canyon
sign: Desert View at Grand Canyon National Park
the two RV Gypsies at the sign: Desert View at Grand Canyon National Park
fake bobcat

Below: First view of Grand Canyon - Desert View and the Historic Watchtower

Historic Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
Historic Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
Historic Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
Natation plaque of honor

Below: View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon

View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
panorama View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
View from the Historical Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
saying at the watchtower
birds in a tree

Below: Navajo Point at the Grand Canyon

panorama view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point
view of the Grand Canyon from Navajo Point

go to the next page This section of the Grand Canyon has been divided into four (4) sections to allow the photos to upload onto your computer screen much faster. So please continue on to page 2 of 4.