Business, Education, Entertainment, Events, Family, Local, News, women, Youth

Grand Canyon Weekly Wrap-up: June 19-23, 2023

by Community Contributor • June 22, 2023 • Comments Off

Messages and Grand Canyon News-Week of June 19, 2023

Center Road and Clinic Road One-Lane Traffic Notice

From July 5-8, Center Road will be reduced to one lane in the vicinity of the Center and Clinic Road intersection. The construction work is for the new substation project to trench and install conduit and cable from the substation site to a transformer in the residential area.

Following completion of the work, construction crews will shift to Clinic Road and work in sections along the road as they progress towards the residential area. The Clinic Road section of work is expected to finish by the end of July. Visitors and residents will still be able to commute to the clinic during the construction. A map of the work areas can be found here.

Construction continues at the substation site to prepare the site for foundation work next month. The substation access road project, an extension of Clinic Road, is finished and is for official business only. It is not open to the public. The substation site is an active construction site and requires those on official business to be wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.

Hull Fire grows to 1,102 acres between Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon

Crews continue to work on the lightning-caused Hull Fire on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest as well as within Grand Canyon.

The Hull Fire, located near Lower Hull Tank along the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park boundary just northeast of the Grand View Lookout and east of Grandview Point, is currently at 1,102 acres burning in ponderosa pine forest, it is spreading north, and is being co-managed with Grand Canyon National Park (approximately 300 acres are burning within the park).

This lightning-caused wildfire is fulfilling its role in the ecosystem: burning naturally to reduce fuel loads and promote healthy landscapes. The Hull Fire is moving slowly but steadily across the forest floor at a lower intensity, removing hazardous fuels and promoting healthy vegetation. This, combined with unseasonably green grass, cooler temperatures, and recent precipitation, have limited the spread of the fire. More information on the Hull Fire can be found on the Inciweb site here.

Desert View Pathway Work Notice

NPS Trail Crew is beginning work on the pathway from the Trading Post to the Watchtower, and this pathway section is expected to be closed June 22-Aug. 31.

The Trading Post (operated by Delaware North) will remain open until mid to late August when grading and asphalt work will occur in the vicinity of the entrance. Updates for the expected closure will be sent out closer to when the work will be completed. Visitors can use two alternate pathways to reach the Watchtower.

The Trail Crew will be conducting work to the pathway to make it within accessibility standards. The redesign is part of the Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Design project.

North Rim Roads Update

The North Rim W1 and W4 Roads, which access locations such as Point Sublime and Swamp Pointhave reopened to the public today, as of Wednesday, June 21.

All users should be advised to utilize 4×4, high clearance, street legal vehicles to travel these routes. Cell service is limited. Travelers should be encouraged to be self-reliant when traveling these remote routes in the backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park.

Kudos to the North Zone Wildland Fire crew for their hard work clearing all the downed trees along these roads!

Dupkia Hoyam Dancers draw large crowds this week

This week the Dupkia Hoyam Dancers gave two performances at Desert View and the Grand Canyon Visitor Center as part of the Grand Canyon Speaks program. They had more than 230 visitors and community members in attendance at the Desert View program alone.

This group is made up of our very own Fred Nanacasia and Mike Wadsworth and their children, nieces, and nephews (Kienan-Dwight Nanacasia, Ellanina Nanacasia, Ciaus Kennedy, Leighanna Naha, Lalantima Poleahla, Kailey Kachinhongva, and Julian Wadsworth) who attend the Grand Canyon School.

Dupkia Hoyam are locals that have been here at the Grand Canyon for years. They performed the Butterfly Dance which is a social dance. They have been performing for Heritage Days for the past 12 + years to share part of their culture with wider audiences. The children dancing are local students from Grand Canyon School and are the 5th Generation of the canyon.

Cultural Demonstrators next week at the Desert View Watchtower

Join us at Desert View Watchtower Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, June 27 through 29, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. to meet Navaho Painter, Dawni Laughter, and Hopi Carver, Darance Chimerica.

Dawni will be performing live art demonstrations —painting in the watchtower and by the canyon rim while sharing her experiences about landscapes, animals, colors, cultural significance of storytelling.

Darance has been making Katsinas for more than 18 years and has developed his own carving style and technique. His tools are all hand, woodworking tools, and the paints are all-natural mineral pigment paints that he personally collects on from Hopiland. Darance says, “The Katsina dolls that I carve are replicas of how I would see them in physical form, when they come to visit Hopi. For me, it is something I love to do.”

Twenty-three new search and rescue team members were trained during this year’s Basic Search and Rescue class on the South Rim.

Members were represented from PSAR, EMS, Interpretation, Fees, River Operation, Facilities and Maintenance, Helitack, Projects, Environment, and Planning Division, Law Enforcement, and Xanterra Fire.

Employee Spotlight!

Kate Densmore

Division Management Analyst, Division of Planning, Environment, and Projects

Hi! I’m Kate. I’ve lived at the Grand Canyon for 8 years, but only made the jump to the NPS myself about a year ago. Before coming over to the dark side – I mean, NPS employment – I started out life as a middle school teacher for five years, and then transitioned into starting and running my own photography, workshop, and consulting business, serving thousands of clients all over the world for 12 years. I sold that business in December of 2021, and I’m now in an NPS position that lets me put both those areas of expertise to good use: doing my part to keep the Division of Planning, Environment, and Projects clicking along and running smoothly, and making it a personal goal to get our Division Chief, Rob Parrish, to laugh at least once a day.

My family and I have lived in a few different parks over the years: in ROMO, where we lived in a falling apart trailer that the park thoughtfully “un-condemned” just for us; in INDE, where we lived in the middle of downtown Philadelphia in a super cool historic building just a few hundred yards away from the Liberty Bell; and in OLYM, where we lived on the wild, rainy, remote coast of the Olympic Peninsula and fell asleep listening to the ocean and hoping the giant rainforest trees wouldn’t fall on our house. We moved to GRCA sight unseen, and the first time I saw the Grand Canyon was when rolled in with the moving truck.

I’m also active in our community, having started the Holiday Lights tradition on Randy Thompson, served as the KLC board treasurer a few years ago, and now currently serve as GCUSD Board President. And you’ve probably seen my two girls running wild around the Pines and Park Circle with their pack of friends.

How long have you lived and/or worked at GRCA? Where are you based out of?

Though I’ve lived here for 8 years, I just celebrated my one-year anniversary as a GRCA employee this week. I’m currently based out of the SRIM at Headquarter.

What have you enjoyed the most about working and/or living at GRCA so far?

My favorite thing about living here is the community. Amazing, awesome people live here – I’ve met forever friends who have become my family here, and I will always be grateful for getting to raise my daughters in a place like this.

What are some of your favorite local spots to visit in or around the South Rim?/What are you looking forward to this summer season?

My oldest daughter is really into astronomy, so one of our favorite (though random) places in the park is the commercial parking lot behind the visitor center, as it’s the best place for viewing the stars with her telescope.

COVID Updates

Total new COVID cases in Arizona for the week of June 8 through June 14, is 1,177—a decrease of 445 cases from the previous week. The seven-day rolling average is now 168 cases per day.

Be sure to promptly report any illness, to include possible COVID-19 symptoms, COVID exposure, or a positive COVID test to your supervisor and our Public Health Consultant, Ronan King. Ronan can be reached at: 202-891-8599 or Ronan_King@nps.gov.

Grand Canyon Community Corner

Pride events announced for remainder of June 🌈

The Grand Canyon Pride Club continues to have celebrations and activities happening for the rest of June. Every event is open to all members of the community.

Friday 6/23 – Talent Show! 6:30pm at the Community Building
Saturday 6/24 – Rocky Horror Picture Show (Audience Participation Event). 6:30pm at the Rec Center. Rated R. Costumes encouraged!
Sunday 6/25 – Social get-together at the Yavapai Tavern 2-5pm. Please drink responsibly.
Tuesday 6/27 – Parade through the residential area. Staging at the Albright Training Center Parking Lot and decorating cars 5-6pm. Parade starting at 6pm.
Wednesday 6/28– Pride Yoga at the Rec Center 6:30pm
Friday 6/30– Pride Prom at the Rec Center 6:30pm

Questions, concerns, or to get flyers for each event can be emailed to: GrandCanyonPride@gmail.com or to Pride Club President Samantha Troi at stroi@xanterra.com.

A flyer for all of June’s events can be found here.

Current Operational Hours

*Please note: new changes to operations are indicated in bold/italic

South Rim

Xanterra

Maswik Lodge Cafeteria, 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Maswik Pizza Pub, 4-8 p.m.
Canyon Coffee House at the Bright Angel Fountain, 7 a.m.-11 a.m.
Bright Angel Fountain grab and go, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Fred Harvey Burger, breakfast 8-10:30 a.m., lunch 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., dinner 4-9 p.m.
Arizona Steakhouse within Bright Angel Lodge is now offering dinner service from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily. Lunch service is from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Fred Harvey Tavern, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
El Tovar Dining Room and Lounge-Breakfast, 6:30-10 a.m., Lunch, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Dinner, 4:30-9:30 p.m., Lounge, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Patio (limited menu), 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
The Grand Canyon Kennel is open seven days a week with hours from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
Grand Canyon Rec Center, 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Delaware North

Yavapai Lodge Tavern and Patio, 12-10 p.m., Yavapai Lodge Coffee Shop, 6:30 a.m. -3 p.m., The Yavapai Dining Hall, breakfast, 7-10:45 a.m., dinner, 5-9 p.m.
Canyon Village Market, 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Deli 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Camper Services laundry and shower is now open from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. dailywith the last laundry load at 8:30 p.m. and the last shower at 9:45 p.m.

Other

Grand Canyon Clinic: open daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Bright Angel Bikes, Rental: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Café 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
Grand Canyon Visitor Center (GCVC): 8 a.m.-12 p.m., Thursday-Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday)
Grand Canyon Conservancy stores regular hours: Visitor Center Plaza, Yavapai Geology Museum, Verkamps, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily., Kolb Studio CLOSED until further notice
Grand Canyon Community Library: Monday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Grand Canyon Food Pantry: Mondays 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Wednesdays 6-8 p.m., Saturdays 2-4 p.m.

Desert View

Desert View Trading Post Coffee and Ice Cream and Market, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Desert View Watchtower, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
The Desert View Deli, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

North Rim

North Rim Visitor Center (GCC), 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily
NPS Backcountry Information Center, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1-5 p.m. daily
Camper Store by campground (Aramark), 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
Campground will be reopening for the season Friday, June 9
Grand Canyon Lodge Gift Shop (Aramark), Sunday-Thurs. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
The North Rim saloon, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Please visit the Grand Canyon National Park website for a complete list of closures and available amenities.

Photo Credits (in order of appearance)

Summer solstice on the South Rim, June 21, 2023 (NPS Photo/M. Quinn)
Crews conduct burnout operations on the Hull Fire Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the Hull Cabin located on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest. (USDA Forest Service photo by Randi Shaffer)
Contractors and NPS staff pave footpaths near the Desert View Amphitheater on September 29, 2022 (NPS Photo/J. Dyer)
Dawni Laughter, and Hopi Carver, Darance Chimerica (Photos courtesy of D. Laughter and D. Chimerica)
Basic SAR training participants, June 13, 2023 (NPS Photo)
Kate Densmore, Division Management Analyst for PEP and family (Photo courtesy of K. Densmore)
Park Rangers and Glacier National Park Conservancy staff attend the 2023 Pride Parade in Missoula, Montana. (NPS Photo)

Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homeland of 11 Associated Tribes, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors on the rim. Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage Site. The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

Grand Canyon National Park

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

← Discover Flagstaff — Heritage Festival of Arts and Culture, The Museum of Northern Arizona June 24-25

United Way of Northern Arizona — Stepping Up with the Summit Society →