First night in town, enjoying Mexican food at the Kachina restaurant. Barbara and Heidi were using a cell phone to place a call down to the far end of the table (I'm not making this up).
Christmas afternoon at Tom and Barb's. Lisa is holding their new puppy "Samson" - a Jack Russell terrier.
Dad, host of the turkey dinner on Christmas night (and MUCH more!). "Did everyone have a good time, and get enough to eat?" Thanks, Dad! Everything was great!
Judy and Bert, probably just glad their party was over and put away. Nice smiles, guys!
Cameron, up from Arizona State University for the holidays. The whole family was proud of Cam for his interview appearance on CNN just prior to the third Presidential debate (Bush-Kerry), held on the ASU campus. Cam's editor of the student newspaper.
Dave, that's just your cousin Natalie ... mostly harmless. Take it easy!Natalie may soon consider how NOT to torment her cousins - maybe say, in the next 5 or 10 years. Good musician, though.
Early morning view of the San Francisco Peaks behind the shopping center, taken from the balcony at our hotel. The peaks are part of what makes Flagstaff a wonderful and unique city.
Home - well, Dad's house. Our most frequent gathering place.
Taped to the underside of the diningroom table, a note recalling several notable men who joined Mom and Dad for dinner around this very table, during our family's years in Mexico (1961-1974): Dr. Charles A. Townes, Jr., Glenn T. Seaborg, and Norman Borlaug are mentioned.
Arriving at the Grand Canyon. This is the view from the Mather Point overlook, to the east.
"Sure Dad, we'll let you take our picture." Dave, Geoff and Chris at Mather Point.
Looking down on the Bright Angel trail from the West Rim drive. The visible trail is a spur to an overlook above the inner gorge. You often spot mule trains taking brave tourists into and out of the canyon.During the quiet months (October through February), private autos may take the West Rim drive all the way out to Hermit's Rest. The rest of the year, the Park Service runs a public Tram service to avoid traffic congestion.
Another view from the West Rim drive, this of the Colorado River and the inner gorge of the canyon. Elevation drop from the rim of the canyon to the bottom is about a mile.
Frozen men? Well, it WAS rather cold, humid and windy, so some of our stops were quick. Dave, Chris and Geoff.
From Grandview point, looking east towards Desert View and the plateau. In the early 1900s there was a resort hotel at this site, but the tourists had to ride 12 hours by stagecoach from Flagstaff.
The Colorado River (visible in right third) features white-water rafting trips that start into the canyon from upstream, closer to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon dam.
We took a short hike down to an overlook of the Little Colorado river gorge, which features an 800 ft. vertical drop. Supervise your children and pets, they suggest. Maybe "Fifi" is down there somewhere?
Chris
| Geoff
| Dave
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