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Grand Canyon Adventure
1.8 billion years of time made by mother nature> Part 1: South Kaibab Trail The trail is amazing! It had an entire view of the Grand Canyon. It is also at least 1 mile above sea level and man-made. Working mules would use this trail to carry supplies, food, and trash. They also carried logs to stop the erosion of the rock in the Canyon caused by plants and weathering. Kaibab means "mountain upside-down," which is what the top layer of the trail looks like. The trail also has many fossils, like sponges and trails of animals, like shown below. The hiking may take awhile, but it's worth it, because halfway there,you get to see the Ooh Aah Point of the hike, which is where you get to the whole Grand Canyon and its wonders.



<-- Fossils

One of the 1,700 types of plants on the trail<--

Grand Canyon Journal

May 3rd, 2012 - Grand Canyon hike The Grand Canyon hike was the first of our stops on the field trip, and was the second longest activity we participated in, the first being the Colorado River boat trip. At the trailhead, you could see an astounding view over the canyon, but at the time we could only see an estimated 10% of the entire canyon. The colors of the towering walls reminded of a painting I had seen, the differing layers of rock representing the strokes of the artist’s paint brush, as well as the thin layers of cloud and dust in the distant sky that hovered above fellow hikers ahead of you. The atmosphere of the narrow trail was never constant; some moments would be calm and tranquil as I gazed into the endless horizon filled with rocky terrain, while at other times, I persisted to keep all of my belongings from blowing off the edge of the trail due to the surging winds down at the Ooh Aah point. Near the End of the trail, as I was hurrying to catch up to my peers, I spotted multiple birds gliding high in the sky. As if it was second nature, I grasped my small camera, and aimed high in the sky to capture the magnificent group of ravens in a snapshot. After zooming in to great amounts, I was able to snap a blowup of all four birds, and pushed on to the end of the trail, where I would show all of my friends my accomplishment. On the trail, our knowledgeable guide had some very interesting information about the Grand Canyon, some of which we had already learned, but most was very interesting. From start to finish, he taught us about the canyon, the canyon dwellers, the plants, and the animals that reside above and below the canyon. Most of the erosion that formed the canyon was caused by plants growing and displacing rock. The river didn’t cause any erosion in the canyon. The Grand Canyon is mainly composed of two types of rock, soft rock, and hard rock, soft rock erodes easily and then the hard rock falls over on top of the eroded soft rock. The result is a slant in the landscape. Marine fossils are common in the Grand Canyon, like sea sponges. 11 tribes used to live in the Grand Canyon, they used tree bark and yucca plants to craft clothing, baskets, and other useful things. ---Lawson Take

Grand Canyon Journal #2

May 4th, 2012 – Wupatki ruins

The trip to the Wupatki ruins was near the end of our trip, and was a very memorable location. When we arrived, we visited the visitor center and learned about the history of the monument. I enjoy learning about ancient cultures, and I found this part of the trip to be very fun. All of the artifacts in the visitor center also added to the experience. I’m glad that we were able to learn about such an amazing place, and with the help of our guide, I learned so much more.

The Wupatkin people built a giant building with many rooms and some other adjacent buildings about an estimated 900 years ago near sunset crater. At the time, teenagers were considered adults and were the ones who built the monument. During the construction, many volcanic rocks were used, but most bricks were clay. The building was placed in a rather peculiar place, in a hot and desolate area, but had fertile soil for farming due to the ashes from sunset crater that preserved water in the ground. The geography of the area influenced how the building was laid out, the big rock was the backbone of the building, the rooms had ladders out through the roof instead of doors, and flat roofs were used to collect water and guide it into storage pots. The Wupatkin people were specialized in farming, craftsmanship, and trade. After they had obtained the essentials for life, they could then build more, trade more, and take more pleasure in life, the result was the monument that we have today. Other landmarks near the Wupatki ruins include an air hole that depending on the outside temperature, can suck in air, or blow it out. Other structures such as a ball court and meeting area have also been constructed near the Wupatki monument.

---Lawson Take

Colorado RiverThe Colorado River was great. You can see the walls of the Grand Canyon, 700 feet high, and its many layers. You can also see many birds, like the California Condor. There are only 170 left! The river may look nice to swin in, but you shouldn't, because it's super cold. It is 48 degrees farenheit. When not on the river, you are probably at a reststop on the trip. While there,, you should see the petroglyphs, rock art that shows images from Indian life. Sometimes they are calenders. On the way, you go through the Glend Canyon. It use to be 1,600 miles, but now it is only around 400 miles long. There is a point there called Echo Point. It is rumored that Bob Dellenbough had shot a bullet off the peak and got an echo back 27 seconds later. Many people have tried to do it but never got close to the time. At the end of the day, you'll be glad to have taken the ride. Images of the River

Sunset Crater The sunset Crater is actually a cinder Cone. The last Time the volcano erupted was around 1000 years ago. Sunset Crater's last recorded eruption was in 1075 A.D. and the lava flowed all the way to Kansas! The lava flow path is a mile long loop. John Wesley Powell thought that the color of the volcano looked like a sunset and that is how he named it. These colors were created by the lava and ash from the erupted volcano. If a tree was burned down it would take 200 years to grow back! There is so much lava and minerals that burnt into the ground and it makes it hard to grow for the trees. There are few plants surviving in all the ash, but lichen grows all over the place there. I thought that Sunset Crater was awesome. This was my first time to experience Sunset Crater. The thing I liked most was to see the cool scenes. The thing I disliked about the trip was the long walk. The reason for the trip was the see what John Wesley Powell saw. Once at Sunset Crater we had a discussion about the crater.