P3D Re: Mesa... Here I come! (Maybe)

[bob Wier <wier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>    I have a question about next years convention.  I know it's pretty early
>to ask, but... It may make the decision for me.
>    You see, I looked at a map of Arizona, and noticed that Mesa is as close
>to the Grand Canyon that I'm ever likely to be.  It's doubtlful that airfare
>from South Florida will be real cheap, though I'll keep my fingers crossed.
>The trip will be, overall, pretty costly, for me.
>    If I remember correctly, NSA usually sponsors "day trips" to some
>wonderful spots.
>Here's the question:
>  Are there any plans to sponsor a day trip up to the canyon?
>Thanx,
>Chuck Fielddd
>AKA Mr. Lizard

I can't speak to the NSA trip (or if there is one), but having
lived in Flagstaff for 5 years, I can suggest the following if
you want to do it on your own. Figure at least 3 hours (if you
really hit it) to the South Rim (one way). This would be up
I-17 (assuming no construction).  It would make a pretty full
day, but doable. Perhaps a better scenario would be to head up in the morning
on one day, be at the canyon for sunset (best time of the day, 
especially for pictures, IMHO), and then drive back the next
afternoon if necessary. Accomodations are always tight, so
figure either paying an arm and leg to stay at the canyon
itself, or 80 minutes back and forth to Flagstaff. Also, during
the height of the summer, they will not let you drive the south
rim road - shuttle busses run (the last I heard). You'll see
*lots* of tourists. If I remember correctly, even 10 years ago
the canyon was getting 3.5 million visitors a year, most between
memorial and labor day. Even staying in a motel in Flagstaff, it's
very important to have reservations at least a couple of months
in advance (and it will be expensive, but not like staying on
the South rim itself - the motels take full advantage of the season
to gouge the tourists - it's the only place I've ever seen that
had three Motel 6 inns within 3 miles of each other).

Plan on taking it easy walking - the South Rim is at about 7,000' elevation,
plus the sun is very intense.

If you have more time, there are *lots* of things to see in Northern
Arizona ("New Age" capital Sedona, Meteor Crater, Montezuma's 
Castle, Sunset Crater, and a bit farther out the Painted Desert and
Petrified Forest. To the north is the Navajo Reservation (and the
North Rim - MUCH less developed than the South Rim) There are of
course the famous donkey rides to the bottom of the canyon and
possibly an overnight at the bottom and a trip to the Supi
Reservtion. And for the *really* hardy, there's the rim to rim hike
(I forget - is that 14 miles?, with about 10,000 feet of
vertical elevation change). If you've got kids,
don't let 'em play in the dirt - remember this is hantavirus
country.

One of the stunning things about the canyon is that the rim(s)
are forested - either pinion pine or Ponderosa pine. As you
approach the edge, there is no warning at all - it drops
straight off. If would be entirely possible that if an early
explorer didn't know it was there and was riding thru the forest
at a gallop on a horse, he'd go over the edge because there wouldn't
be time to stop in some places.

It is possible to make some fairly interesting hyper stereo
pictures if you grab a left hand frame, walk a hundred feet or
so along the rim and then get the right hand frame - or use
35mm with photoshop or something similar to get identical
windowing. There could be problems with drifting clouds and
shadows, however. For regular stereo, you'd need to have some kind
of foreground object to give depth (like a tree limb or ground or
something). The canyon is so vast that you can't get any 
stereo effect with normal eye spacing - it looks flat (similar
to mountains, but upside down). Cygnus Graphics sells an interesting
anaglyph topographic map of the canyon. It's amusing to reverse
the glasses and get mountains instead :-)

One interesting thing - the last time I saw anyone with a Realist
"accidentally" (ie, not at a convention or something) was at one
of the overlooks at the GC - a gentleman looking to be in his
late 70's perhaps. Had it on a strap around his neck - I didn't
ask him about it, though.


THANKS

--Bob Wier (in a previous life living on Route 66)

       mailto:wier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
       1:07 PM Saturday, July 31, 1999
     Unix/Internet Systems Administrator
    Rocky Mountain College, Billings, MT
      (currently in Ouray, Colorado)



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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 3429
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