I’ve been to the Grand Canyon before, in 1982! The Canyon has not changed, but my hiking abilities have. I stayed up along the rim this time. We visited The Watchtower, which was designed as a Harvey House rest stop, serving tea for those visitors on a Harvey Tour. The architect, Mary Colter, worked hard to make the building appear old and belonging to the surroundings. The inside was being renovated, so we could only look in through the window. The large circular painting was by the Navajo artist, Michael Kabotie, representing the story of the Snake Dance, important because it was the ritual that brought the rains.

Many of the walls were constructed of flat-sided stones and pebbles surrounded by cement. They called this “desert masonry” (look at the wall behind the guy in the purple shirt.) The petroglyphs shown was found on the site and became the logo for Taliesin West. Many pieces of artwork were included throughout the buildings.

Outside of Phoenix is the winter home/studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. He and his apprentices built the structures trying to coexist with the surroundings. I especially like his attention to the small design details that show up in corners and ceiling designs and fixtures.

The canopy of trees towering above our heads as we walked was beautiful. The guide said it was a competition about which trees could grow tall enough quickly enough to get to the sunlight. Other trees were useful for capturing the nitrogen and enriching the topsoil, but they seldom made it to the canopy. The banana slug inhabits the forest. We saw several. This one was about seven inches long. It is supposed to be good luck to kiss a banana slug, but I decided to take my chances and pass up the opportunity. The growth on the tree is called Bear’s Bread. The guide told us that the bears eat it before going into hibernation because it causes constipation, which is useful if you are trying to hibernate.

The island trek was pretty easy. There was a boardwalk to follow with only a few wobbly boards. The temperature was cool, but since it was not raining, it was really a pleasant walk. We did not look for Pokémen because there was no internet service. You gotta get off the grid once in awhile. We saw big slugs and heard birds, but did not see any.