Day Three: 50-75 mile, possible stop at Little Colorado River or Nankoweap Indian Ruins (Anasazi Granaries).
(Picture above: Anasazi Granaries at Nankoweap.)
The Nankoweap and Little Nankoweap Creeks drain into the Colorado River at the Nankoweap Delta, one of the largest deltas in the Grand Canyon. Between 900 and 1150, Ancestral Puebloans built an impressive row of granaries and other storage structures 500 feet up the cliff face. Accessible by a recently produced footpath, the granaries stored corn, squash, beans, and other crops. Although the word “weap” is Paiute for canyon or wash, the precise definition of Nankoweap — “place where people were killed” or “singing or echo canyon,” depending on the source — is lost. Major John Wesley Powell supervised the building of the Nankoweap Trail, accessible from the North Rim, in 1882-1883 for a geologic expedition.
The Granaries are at mile 53. Beyond them is the confluence of the Little Colorado River with the Colorado… and the point where the Grand Canyon officially begins.
They are getting ready to ride some big rapids, because all the rough guide has for tomorrow is “big rapid day.”
Cold Spaghetti :: World of the Mouse, May 2010 | 30-Jun-10 at 8:50 am | Permalink
[...] much time before the kids are old enough to appreciate Europe. Or trekking in the Himalayas. Or rafting the Grand Canyon. Or finding the perfect pebble on Skye. So right now, while they are this wonderful age, we are [...]