We ate breakfast at 7:30 and then we were off to meet up with our 1.5 mile ranger-led "Nature Walk" at 8:00. The route took us on Bright Angel Trail which is an easy 1 mile round trip hike out to Bright Angel Point and then through the ponderosa pine and aspen forests around the lodge. Bright Angel Trail was one of the trails we had done the previous afternoon upon arriving. It was interesting, though, to go with the ranger who gave us information on the different plants and animals on the north rim (the Kaibab Plateau) that we wouldn't have known about otherwise. One tidbit of info is that the Kaibab Squirrel, the elusive white tailed squirrel, is only found on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Another is the Pinyon Jay is so named because it eats the seeds of the pinyon pines and stores them for winter. The pinyon pines then sprout from some of their hiding places, therefore ensuring there is alway a good supply of pinyon pines for food. We were back at the lodge by 10:00.
After a short break in our room, and wondering what should we do next, we decided to take the next ranger-led talk and walk on the geology of the Grand Canyon at 10:30. The talk by the ranger was very informative- different info from the previous ranger who was more into flora and fauna - and Terry took copious notes that I won't go into in this blog (you can thank me later). He gave a presentation of the different geologic layers of rock in the canyon and passed around samples of the different types of rocks. It turns out the ranger is a geology teacher in his "real" life. This was a summer job for him. He was really good with the kids. The talk was held at the lodge on the back patio overlooking the canyon. After the lecture we went on a walk, and as luck would have it, the walk took us down the Bright Angel Trail, again. That's three times in less than 24 hours. The walk ended back at the lodge just in time for lunch.
After lunch we headed back to the room to freshen up a little and decide what to do next. As we were walking we noticed that the sky was getting a little overcast so we decided to put off the scenic drive until tomorrow and today we would use the time to just rest a little. I took full advantage of the break; while Terry sat on the bed reading his USA Today, I laid on the bed a was asleep in no time.
After my nap we decided to venture out for some bird watching. Terry has really gotten me interested in bird watching. With video camera and digital camera in hand we set out, bound and determined to capture birds and wildlife on film. We walked along some trails back in the woods, we even sat still and quiet on a log waiting for something to come our way and nothing. I was somewhat disappointed but on our way back to the cabin, walking through the parking lot area, we stumbled on a baby bird who has apparently fallen from it's nest and the mother bird was flying in every so often to feed it. I was able to capture it on film and it was truly fascinating. After researching it in our bird books, Terry was excited to discovered that this bird was a Grace's Warbler, a bird only found in a very small area of the southwestern United States, and which was a new bird for his life list. The following is a short clip from the video:
After that it was time for dinner at 6:30 and then we were in bed by 8:00.
