Grand Canyon Photos II of III: A Day at the Bottom of the Canyon

We spent one day at the bottom of the Grand Canyon before we hiked back up. Here are the pictures from all our exploration:

There used to be a camp set up at the bottom. A few remnants can still be see, and this old cold cellar is now used as a storage room. The history of the trail and camp is really interesting to read about.

We read that some of the “tents” with glass windows had been burnt down, and this must’ve come from that. There was a lot of thick glass that seemed to have melted into the surrounding rock.

Since Hermit Trail is not easy to traverse, and mules do not go down it, Tim and I were wondering how all of this huge equipment got to the bottom. We read in the trail guide that there used to be an aerial tramway from one of the points at the top of the canyon. That explains all the huge metal cords, wheels, & pulleys.

Lizards everywhere…Tim wanted to catch one and I said, “they bite, don’t they?” His reply was, “yeah, I’ve been bitten before: they just have little razor teeth.” I know I used to catch lizards as a kid, but even “little” razor teeth don’t sound so great to me. He stopped his chase because he didn’t want any poor lizards to lose their tails just because of him.

Tim pumping water through the filter from the super cold creek:

He tied rope to a rock, then wedged it into the crag like a cam (a piece of equipment that you use for rock climbing).

A self-portrait at our new shady camp spot. : )

Our stuff hangin’ on the line.

Burning the ends of the rope to keep it from fraying:

Ahh, ice cold pool. Here, my toenails still look normal because of my nail polish. Right now, with the polish off, they look more purplish-yellowish-black. Too much info?

The best thing about swimming in super cold creeks is laying on hot rocks when you get out. We ate our lunch on this big rock by this cold, refreshing pool. It was wonderful, and it made me feel like it was summer with the blazing sun and cool water to stick your feet in. (Or, your whole self in Tim’s case…90-something degrees was still not hot enough for me to dunk my whole self in this cold water. Wetting my shirt and bandanna was enough for me!)

Don’t worry, he knows that it’s not smart to go under a waterfall…He was only there for a second or two : )

Tim’s frog friend: These guys get super loud at night. It sounds like a herd of sheep. Seriously.

Hello, Mr. Frog.

They were BFFs until the frog jumped away for the last time.

A big, pretty moth:

The view from our tent:

I spent the 2nd day hiking around in flip flops in hopes that my toes would stop hurting for the climb back up. It kinda worked…we cut holes in my shoes and all was good.