HIKING THE GRAND CANYON IN WINTER. Photos by Tom Scheaffer at The Intrepid Tourist

 52 Places to Go: Week 20

Grand Canyon, Arizona. The Colorado River winds along the bottom.

(This article originally posted on 3/3/14.)

A few weeks ago, my brother Tom and a friend took a trip to the  Grand Canyon in Arizona, visiting the South Rim.  At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the top of the canyon can be cold and snowy in winter. Although there were a few patches of snow near the top, the weather was clear and mild–perfect for sightseeing and hiking.

Kaibab Trail to the bottom of the canyon

They began their hike at the South Kaibab trail. Tom’s friend continued to the bottom and then hiked back up the Bright Angel trail (a round trip of more than twenty miles, descending a mile into the canyon from the rim), while Tom, after going partway down, returned to the rim, stopping to take pictures along the way.  He has graciously allowed me to share some of them here.

Tom takes a rest with a view.

For people who prefer not to make the hike on foot, there is the option of riding a mule.

Mules ready for riders.

At the eastern end of the South Rim, Tom and his friend visited the watchtower at Desert View--so named because of views from there of the Painted Desert to the east.

Desert view from the Watchtower

The watchtower, which sits on a promontory at edge of the canyon, was designed in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Colter, who traveled throughout the southwest to find inspiration and authenticity for her buildings. The tower was patterned after those she found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde.

Watchtower designed by Mary Colter.

The white decorative stones near the top of the tower, which fade out as the eye goes around the tower, follow a pattern used at Chaco Canyon.

Navajo Etched Pottery in Kiva Room of Watchtower

The kiva room of the watchtower, which is now used as retail space, was originally designed as a rest area. It was here that visitors to the canyon in the 1930’s could sit in comfort and have outstanding views of the canyon. And if you climb the stairs to the top of the tower you get an even better view.

For a VIDEO and more of the fascinating history of Mary Colter’s Watchtower go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/colter_wt_photos.htm .

For a list of HIKES and useful information about hiking in Grand Canyon National Park go to the National Park Service web page http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/day-hiking.htm .

While visiting the Grand Canyon, Tom and his friend stayed at Maswik Lodge. 

Tom and his friends visited the Grand Canyon and hiked the South Kabab Trail again in November 2018. 

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold
www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

VENICE, ITALY: Glittering Jewel at the edge of the Sea

Venice, Italy. Campanile and domes of Saint Mark's Basilica. View across the Grand Canal from Punte della Dogana on the Dorsoduro.

Visiting Venice is a little bit like going to Disneyland--the crowds, the rides, the spectacle, the assault on the senses--the difference being that everything in Venice is real and in many cases hundreds of years old. In late September, my husband and I spent three days in Venice and it was still just as magical as on our first visit 25 years ago. Between the food, the art, the music, the boats and the bridges we felt like we had been immersed in a painting by Turner or Canaletto.

A gondola traffic jam in one of the smaller canals.

The weather was perfect--sunny and warm, but not too hot--and although there were crowds of tour groups in the popular tourist spots during the middle of the day, they thinned out by evening.

Venice is an island, part of an archipelago that includes the main large island of Venice plus numerous smaller islands. You can see the Campanile in Piazza San Marco sticking up above the red roofed buildings.

Our first view of Venice was from the airplane as we approached the airport on the mainland. After landing, we followed a long walkway to the docks, where water transport was waiting to take passengers to the island of Venice. In our shared water taxi we sped across the lagoon, waves splashing across the bow, until we arrived at the entrance to the canals, where the boat slowed to a more sensible pace.

The Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal is the oldest bridge in Venice

We were one of the last to be dropped off, so our ride served as a mini-tour of the city and the web of canals that are the main streets of Venice.

One of the 400 bridges and 150 canals that connect the islands of Venice

Our hotel, Pensione Seguso, in the Dorsoduro neighborhood, was a two minute walk from the Zattere boat stop. After checking in, we took a walk along the Zattere promenade where there were various restaurants, many with tables on platforms over the water.

Waiting for pizza at our waterside table. On the other side of the channel we looked at the narrow island of Giudecca.

Our hotel was out of the way of the main tourist traffic in Venice, but it was only a short walk to the Accademia bridge over the Grand Canal and to the central part of Venice and the magnificent Basilica San Marco. (The easiest way to get around Venice is by walking, although the maze of squares, narrow walkways, bridges and canals make a map essential.)

View of San Marco and the Campanile (Bell Tower) from the loggia surrounding Piazza San Marco. The bell rings twice a day, at noon and midnight.

The Piazza San Marco is enormous, easily accommodating the thousands of tourists who visit it each day, not to mention the flocks of pigeons waiting for offerings of breadcrumbs. With its glittering mosaics and multicolored marble columns, the magnificent basilica is the perfect backdrop for all this activity. 

The Basilica di San Marco.

To the left of the Basilica in Piazza San Marco is Torre dell'Orologio (the Clock Tower) with its beautiful 15th-century blue and gold leaf clock.

The 24-hour clock on the Clock Tower.

Besides visiting the Piazza San Marco, highlights of our time in Venice included an afternoon at the opera (we saw the Barber of Seville at the Teatro de Fenice, the famous opera house where Maria Callas got her start), a Vivaldi concert at the Church of San Vidal, and visits to two art museums, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum and the Accademia Gallery (to be the topic of another post.)

Posters on a palace along the Grand Canal advertise the Biennale.

We never got to the Biennale, the bi-annual international art exposition at the Arsenale–not enough time in our short visit. 

Art by Jean Dubuffet was on display at the Palazzo Franchetti.

But the streets were filled with smaller ancillary art exhibits, dozens of art galleries, and the display windows of the high-end fashion shops in the streets near Piazza San Marco had their own spectacular art creations.

Carnival masks on display in a shop window.

Other shops featured typical crafts of Venice--elaborate masks, marbled paper, glass sculptures from the island of Murano, and much more.

Gondolier shirts are among the many souvenirs one can buy at pop-up stalls on Piazza San Marco

On our first trip to Venice we met a architect professor who had brought his students to see and draw the intersection of buildings, bridges, and water that make the city of Venice unique.No other city is like Venice, with its mix of churches, palaces, plazas, towers, bridges and waterways.

Sunset on the Giudecca Canal, viewed from the Zattere promenade. After dark the lights come on and the city sparkles in the night.

We were lucky on both trips to Venice to enjoy good weather. (It can be foggy and rainy.) This trip was short and we only had time to sample a few of Venice's pleasures. One day was a trip to the outer islands, a chance to get away from the tourist crowds--to be the subject of another post. Altogether our visit to Venice was a magical three days--and we wish we had had time to spend more.

SIX DAYS IN LONDON, Part 1: Guest Post by Paige Arnold

Tower Bridge, London, England

My granddaughter Paige, age 12, spent six days in London with her parents during her spring break and kept a diary of her daily activities (a family tradition.) She has written them up in this blogpost. I am impressed with the number of things they did and the detail of her report. I thank her for her excellent writing! Part 2 will post next week.

My first day in London was very nice.  We rented an apartment near the London Bridge, which is in a very nice neighborhood.  It’s close to the tallest building in the U.K., the Shard.   

The Shard, London's tallest building, was designed by Renzo Piano and is 1016 feet tall

We walked around a bit, and ate dinner at a pub called “The Garrison Public House.” They had some classic English food like mushy peas and fish and chips.  It was great food. Before that we walked across the Tower Bridge, which is one of the many bridges crossing the River Thames. 

Fresh juice at the Borough Market

The second day, we went to the Borough Market. It’s a big market with many stands selling a variety of foods such as meat, fresh produce, and baked goods. To have lunch, we went to somewhere called Fish! in the market. There was lots of seating and great food. They even gave me and my dad a napkin and a little bowl of water with a slice of lemon in it, just in case we had greasy fingers from our lunch.

Tower of London

Later that day, we went to the London Dungeons. It was around 80% fun haunted-house-like and 20% historical.  It was fun, and there was a water roller coaster in the middle of the tour. They went over many subjects, such as the torture methods, the plague, and murderers. It was very realistic and neat to go through. Also, the tour guides were very good at acting. For dinner, we went to a restaurant named Sartoria.  It was really fancy and the food was super great and rich. The only problem was that it took a really long time for us to leave because they forgot to give us our check. 

At the Olympic swimming pool

On the third day, we went to the Olympic complex to swim. They have three pools: a competition pool, a training pool, and a recreation pool.  They are all very nice, and the competition pool has a good depth. Afterwards, I went outside into the enormous park to draw people.  

Climbing wall in park outside Olympic Complex

There was a playground, a climbing wall, and it was right next to a river which had boats you could rent.  Right across the river, there was West Ham United.  We spent around 1 hour 30 minutes there, and then went home. 

Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater, London

That night, we went to Wicked, which was playing in the theater district. It’s kind of like the prequel to the Wizard of Oz that shows the Wicked Witch of the West’s backstory.  But, it was shown in a different format, with her going to high school.  It lasted about two hours, with a 15 minute intermission in the middle.  Before that, we went to an Indian restaurant called Simply Indian.  The food there was the best Indian food I have ever tasted, even though it was just this little hole in the wall place on a side street.

High Tea at Sketch

For the fourth day, we went to this place called Sketch for high tea.  It’s a modern restaurant with art posted all around where you eat.  They had really nice plates and cups and things that said random stuff on them.  For example, forget about it was written on the bottom of each teacup, ghosts was written on all the teapots, and it’s ok and it’s not ok were written on the sides of the little sugar bowl.  

Egg bathroom at Sketch. Inside each individual egg, forest music was playing.

But the coolest part of the restaurant was the bathroom.  Both the men and the women went through a door; then there was this giant fat egg thing in the middle of two curved staircases. Oh, and the whole bathroom (including the stairs and the giant fat egg) was pure white. The women went up the staircase on the right, while the men went up the staircase on the left.  Then comes the most interesting part. The toilets were inside eggs. There was a cluster of about 8-10 eggs on both sides.

National Portrait Gallery

After that, we went to the National Portrait Gallery. They had a lot of portraits of kings such as King Charles II and King Edward VII.  For dinner, we went to a pub called Trinity.  They had some very interesting food. My dad ordered whitefish fries, which we thought were deep fried pieces of whitefish, but they were entire fried mini-whitefish! My mom ordered fish and chips, which came with the fish’s skin and scales on. Overall, the food was good. I had a good time. 

Old London phone booth

Photos by Paige Arnold and Matt Arnold


Look for part 2 next week. 

HIKING THE GRAND CANYON IN WINTER. Photos by Tom Scheaffer

Grand Canyon, Arizona. The Colorado River winds along the bottom.

A few weeks ago, my brother Tom and a friend took a trip to the  Grand Canyon in Arizona, visiting the South Rim.  At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the top of the canyon can be cold and snowy in winter. Although there were a few patches of snow near the top, the weather was clear and mild–perfect for sightseeing and hiking.

Kaibab Trail to the bottom of the canyon

They began their hike at the South Kaibab trail. Tom’s friend continued to the bottom and then hiked back up the Bright Angel trail (a round trip of more than twenty miles, descending a mile into the canyon from the rim), while Tom, after going partway down, returned to the rim, stopping to take pictures along the way.  He has graciously allowed me to share some of them here.

Tom takes a rest with a view.

For people who prefer not to make the hike on foot, there is the option of riding a mule.

Mules ready for riders.

At the eastern end of the South Rim, Tom and his friend visited the watchtower at Desert View--so named because of views from there of the Painted Desert to the east.

Desert view from the Watchtower

The watchtower, which sits on a promontory at edge of the canyon, was designed in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Colter, who traveled throughout the southwest to find inspiration and authenticity for her buildings. The tower was patterned after those she found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde.

Watchtower designed by Mary Colter.

The white decorative stones near the top of the tower, which fade out as the eye goes around the tower, follow a pattern used at Chaco Canyon.

Navajo Etched Pottery in Kiva Room of Watchtower

The kiva room of the watchtower, which is now used as retail space, was originally designed as a rest area. It was here that visitors to the canyon in the 1930’s could sit in comfort and have outstanding views of the canyon. And if you climb the stairs to the top of the tower you get an even better view.

For a VIDEO and more of the fascinating history of Mary Colter’s Watchtower go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/colter_wt_photos.htm .

For a list of HIKES and useful information about hiking in Grand Canyon National Park go to the National Park Service web page http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/day-hiking.htm .

While visiting the Grand Canyon, Tom and his friend stayed at Maswik Lodge.

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING at the de Young Museum of Art, San Francisco

Poster for the Girl with a Pearl Earring Exhibit at the de Young Museum, San Francisco

I read the book. I saw the movie.  And now I have seen the painting!  The Girl With the Pearl Earring by Vermeer is the focus of a wonderful exhibit of Dutch paintings from the Mauritshaus Museum in Amsterdam which I saw recently at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. Billed as the Dutch Mona Lisa, the girl (who has never been identified) looks over her shoulder out of the painting, seeming to invite the viewer into her world.  The exhibit includes dozens of remarkable paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters, organized by theme–a room each for portraits (formal and informal), landscapes (featuring huge skies over the flat water and land), still lifes (with flowers in brilliant detail), scenes of everyday life, and more. The paintings document the richness of Dutch life in the 17th Century.  The exhibit ended at the de Young on June 2nd but travels to the High Museum in Atlanta for the summer and will be at the Frick Museum in New York October 22, 2013–January 19, 2014.  See http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/mauritshuis for more information about this exhibit.

Tower Viewing Area

After viewing the painting exhibit and an accompanying exhibit of prints from the same period–exquisite etchings, drypoints, engravings and mezzotints by Rembrandt and others–we went to the museum cafeteria for a delicious lunch, which we ate on the enclosed outdoor patio facing the sculpture garden.  I had cream of parsnip soup, which was very tasty.  Everything on the menu had a Dutch theme–to coordinate with the Mauritshaus exhibit.

Pond in front of the de Young Museum (viewed from Tower)

One of the special features of the de Young Museum is the Tower and its 360 degree view of San Francisco from its 9th floor viewing area.  It was a beautiful sunny day, so after lunch, we took the elevator up to the top of the tower and got a spectacular view of the city.  Immediately across the plaza in front of the museum we could look down the living roof garden of the science museum.  These two museums, which share a parking garage under the plaza, are among the jewels of Golden Gate Park.

Sculpture and Shadows at de Young Museum

The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park are the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.  To find out more about these museums and their many exhibits both permanent and temporary, go to www.famsf.org.