Friday, May 3, 2024
This morning before heading back to the Canyon, we visited a local attraction we have been hearing a lot about. Bearizona is a wildlife park featuring rescued animals and has two viewing areas, one drive-thru, and one walk-thru.
After purchasing tickets and entering the park, we spent about an hour enjoying spotting animals in the drive-thru area. We were pleased with the number of animals we could see, often up close. The animals largely seemed unperturbed by cars full of gaping passengers rolling past them.
Entrance
——————— Drive-thru Area ———————
Coues Deer
Arctic Wolf
Black Bear – Nap Time
Black Bear – Lunch Time
White & American Bison
Goat
After the drive-by viewing, we parked the car and entered the walk-thru area. Again we were impressed with the accessibility to many different types of animals. The animals seemed to be well cared for and housed in appropriate habits. During our walk, a public feeding event started where a staff member fed unleashed exotic birds and a raccoon while enticing them to perform for the audience. After the feeding show, we continued our walk which required passage through the gift store to access a couple of the animal displays.
——————— Walk-thru Area ———————
Red Fox
American Badger
Artic Foxes
Northern Leopard Frog
Goat & Turkey
Javelina
Grizzly Bear
Bobcat
Porcupines
Trumpeter Hornbill
Knysna Turaco
Red-legged Seriema, aka “Chopsticks”
“Girlie” Racoon
Jaguars
Elk
Otter
After completing our Bearizona visit, we drove back to the campground, ate a light lunch in the RV, packed overnight bags, and drove the 53 miles back to Grand Canyon National Park.
We passed through the park gate without a wait and drove to Maswik Lodge to check-in for the evening. Our reserved room was in Redbud, one of the lodge’s many separate buildings nestled in a ponderosa pine forest. We unpacked, scoped out the room, then headed out for some hiking and canyon viewing.
Maswik Lodge
Redbud Building
There was a section of the southern rim of the canyon west of the Village that we had not yet visited. Cars were not allowed, so we hopped on the free shuttle bus (red line) and rode it to the western-most point of the Rim Trail, Hermits Rest. Hermits Rest has an attractive building designed by Mary Colter with a gift shop and snack bar as well as separate restroom facilities.
Pedestrian Entrance to Hermits Rest
Gift Shop
Snack Bar
After perusing Hermits Rest, we set off eastward on our Rim Trail hike. We walked about a mile to Pima Point and then another 1.8 miles to Monument Creek Vista, both with shuttle bus stops. The views from the rim were fantastic and we walked slowly to savor the sights (and to not stress my left ankle that has been bothering me lately).
—— Rim Trail from Hermits Rest to Monument Creek Vista ——
We boarded the shuttle bus at Monument Creek Vista with the intention of returning to the Village for dinner and to watch the sunset. On the bus ride, we decided instead to disembark at the Powell Point stop and walk the short distance to Hopi Point to watch the sunset there. Hopi Point juts out into the canyon and is known to have a good western view of the setting sun.
We arrived at Hopi Point a little over an hour before sunset. So, we made use of the restrooms there, and wandered around checking out the views in the ever oranging sunlight. Finally, we found a west-facing rock and settled down to witness sunset over the Grand Canyon. The sunset was beautiful with lots of orange colors, and from the darkness of the canyon, a sliver of the Colorado River reflected the sunlight.
At the end of the show, three shuttle buses were waiting to carry the audience back to the Village. Jane and I weren’t able to board those buses and had to wait for two more buses before we could crowd into the last one for the return trip.
——————— Sunset from Hopi Point ———————
After disembarking from the shuttle bus, we exhaustedly walked to the main Maswik Lodge building where we enjoyed a veggie pizza with beer (Prickle pear IPA for Jane and Piehole Porter for John). After dinner, we walked to our room in the Redbud building and were quick to hit the hay and soundly fall asleep.
Waiting for our Veggie Pizza