Trip toTrip toWhen I was a boy, I enjoyed collecting rocks and minerals, among other things. During several summer vacations, I was able to spend many hours pounding rock and sifting earth, looking for quartz crystals and other semiprecious stones. Thirty years later, after teaching Earth Science for several years, I felt a need to visit a spectacular place where the earth is exposed. I needed to see the relationships between the different kinds of rock, the workings of the rock cycle, and the significance of geological time. And I wanted to absorb some of the intimacy that geologists have with places like the Grand Canyon, the kind of understanding that is only possible for those who have traversed it many times, accompanied by years of study.
My trip was sponsored by the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden Colorado. The trip was led by Darlene and Larry Fredericks, two master teachers from Colorado Springs. The trip was outfitted by Tour West, a Utah-based company. Nine other teachers and school administrators made up the rest of the group.
Day 1 Lee's Ferry (Mile 0) to Nautiloid Canyon (Mile 35)
Day 2 Nautiloid Canyon to Nankoweap Canyon (Mile 53)
Day 3 Nankoweap Canyon to Trinity Creek (Mile 91)
Day 4 Trinity Creek to Deer Creek (Mile 136)
Day 5 Deer Creek to Hell's Hollow (Mile 183)
Grand Canyon Geology
