The Condor Recovery Program has several locations, one at the Vermillion Cliff’s in the Grand Canyon. This program was created to provide techniques for the successful restoration of the condor population from 22 individuals in the early 80s to just over 400 today counting both the captive and free birds. Initially the study began by tagging the birds and recovering the carcasses to determine the cause of death. In most all individuals, it was found that the causes of death were avoidable. Out of these, an overwhelming percentage of fatalities were due to lead poisoning. The source of the lead being bullet fragments left in gut piles by hunters or livestock put down by ranchers.

Condors can live up to 60 years. Their breeding rates are low however, producing only one young on average of every other year. This makes their population recovery process slow and fragile. At the beginning of the recovery program, all birds were removed from the wild. After a few losses, captive breeding began to show successful results. It was found that if a fertilized egg was removed from the nest the breeding birds would produce a second fertilized egg within weeks. A release site on the west edge of the Vermillion Cliffs above Lee’s Ferry was established and a constant food source provided by the Recovery Project exits there to this day. The Condors have an average of a 70 mile range from this site, and venture into the high country of Utah during the spring and summer when the ranchers bring their sheep out to pasture. In the colder breeding months of winter, the birds return to the Vermillion Cliff site for food and shelter. A sign of success besides being the population recovery is the increasing number of chicks hatched in the wild.

The battle is not won however. Blood samples from the birds still show extremely high percentages of lead, and many birds are taken in and treated for the toxin. The lead ceases up the digestive system of the condor and the birds die of starvation. An aggressive campaign of educating hunters has been enacted over the years, including DVD’s about non-lead based ammunition  included with yearly hunting permits, as well as coupons for the ammo. A second strategy is encouraging hunters to bring in gut piles in exchange for a lottery ticket in a raffle for a Cabela’s gift certificate. Ideally switching everyone to copper ammo will someday be implemented, but the combination of the two practices has yielded an almost 90% cooperation rate.

Facts gathered by our guide Tess McDaniel from the Condor presentation at the Greenroom, April 18, 2013 with speaker Chris Parish, Condor Project Supervisor, The Peregrine Fund.

Though most have heard about the North Rim at the Grand Canyon, few have actually ever seen its beauty. And that’s a shame because it is a completely different world up there on the north side. From the scenery to the climate and the plants to the animals, everything is still very wild and isolated.  The South Rim is full of desert landscaping, but the North Rim has adapted to a wetter climate and is full of large conifers and deciduous trees. It also has large areas of grass, an ideal grazing location for the many varieties of wildlife that live on the North Rim.

Although the distance from the South to North Rims are only 12 miles as the crow flies, if you are traveling via other transportation it can take much longer. By car it is 215 miles and 5 hours to get to the other side and if traveling by foot it is 21 miles and four days to traverse the Grand Canyon, but what a beautiful journey it is.

Hidden within the Grand Canyon are an estimated 1,000 caves. Of those, 335 have been recorded. Very few have been mapped or inventoried. Most have developed in the limestone of the Redwall and Muav formations, although some are known to exist in other formations. Some caves are well known and, over the years, have been frequented often by visitors, such as the Cave of the Domes on Horseshoe Mesa.

Cave resources include unique cave formations or “speleothems,” mummified remains of extinct Ice Age fauna, archeological remains (including split-twig figurines), and unique biological systems. Many caves also play a major role in regional hydrology, as evidenced by incredible waterfalls and substantial streams emerging from places like Vaseys Paradise, Cheyava Falls, and Roaring, Thunder, and Tapeats springs.

Under the current park policy, All caves (with the exception of the Cave of the Domes on Horseshoe Mesa) are currently closed to visitation, except for research purposes.  Good news – Discovery Treks can take you to visit The Cave of the Domes!

Arizona’s Historical Route 66 has been around for 80+ years and is still going strong! Route 66 has always been more than just a road; it is a place for community, family and fun. In fact, they have a “passport” program that takes you along Northern Arizona from California to New Mexico. This program has you collecting passport stamps in each location. Once you reach seven, you get a certificate.  For each additional stamp, you receive a gift. If you visit all ten, you are entered for the grand prize. Below are just a few of the locations to visit:

• Flagstaff Visitor Center
  1 East Route 66 (800-842-7293)
• Grand Canyon Caverns Gift Shop
  Mile Marker 115, Highway 66 (928-422-3223)
• Peach Springs
  Hualapai Lodge (front desk) (928-769-2230)
• Valentine Keepers of Wildlife Animal Sanctuary Gift Shop
  13441 E. Highway 66 (MM 087) (928-769-1800)

Full program details at www.azrt66.com

Ever want to just get away and see something new? Drive through the Arizona Strip on U.S. 89 and you will see there are some amazing views just off the beaten path:

• Navajo Bridge – Constructed in 1993 to replace the old bridge built in 1929, it represents one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado River for 750 miles (1207 km). You can still get across the historical bridge by parking and walking across.
• Lees Ferry – Built in 1870 by Mormon pioneer John D. Lee and his two wives, this is a beautiful location that is enjoyed by all types of hikers.
• Buffalo Ranch – Dated early 20th century, this ranch was the spot that Charles Jesse “Buffalo” Jones tried to breed both cattle and buffalo. Though that experiment didn’t quite take off, to this day there are free-range buffalo you may see at the ranch.

Full article at explorearizona.azcentral.com

On February 26, 2013, the Grand Canyon National Park will be 94 years old! The Grand Canyon was first set aside as a national forest reserve in the 1890’s by President Benjamin Harrison. President Theodore Roosevelt also believed it to be a special place and proclaimed it a national game preserve. It wasn’t until 1919 that the Grand Canyon was designated a national park.

To celebrate the occasion, there will be a small ceremony with cake served at 11am at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center located on the South Rim. There will also be cake served at the Verkemp Visitor Center located in the Grand Canyon Village.

There are a lot of Grand Canyon sites named after people. One for example is Moran Point and it is found along the Desert View Drive. Thomas Moran was a painter who became famous for his works including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, among other locations. He joined the second expedition led by John Wesley Powell down the Colorado River and often visited the Grand Canyon. In fact, he even spent some summers at the Canyon developing images for Santa Fe Railway marketing materials. Arguably one of his most famous paintings is The Chasm of the Colorado (shown here) This 7 ft x 12 ft masterpiece was hung by Congress in the US Capitol in 1873. In many ways, his paintings helped create movements that led to the designation of some of our most adored National Parks, including the Grand Canyon. Inspired by his work, the National Park Service has a three week artist-in-residence program at the Grand Canyon for selected painters, sculptors, writers and others.

The third commemorative quarter-dollar coin released in 2008 honors Arizona, and is the 48th coin in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. Arizona was admitted into the Union on February 14, 1912, becoming our Nation’s 48th state, and the last in the continental United States.

The Arizona quarter features an image of the Grand Canyon with a Saguaro cactus in the foreground. A banner reading “Grand Canyon State” separates the two images to signify that the Saguaro cactus does not grow in the Grand Canyon. The coin also bears the inscriptions “Arizona” and “1912.”

One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon covers more than 1.2 million acres in northwestern Arizona. The Canyon, sculpted by the mighty Colorado River, is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest. It is home to numerous rare and threatened plant and animal species. The Grand Canyon joined the National Park system in 1919 and is visited by more than four million tourists a year.

The Arizona Quarter Commission, appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano, solicited design suggestions from across the State. The Commission narrowed down more than 4,200 ideas to five narratives, which were sent to the United States Mint for consideration. The final artistic renderings, developed by Sculptor-Engravers of the United States Mint and artists in the United States Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program, were then proposed to Arizona, and a statewide online vote was conducted. On May 1, 2007, Governor Napolitano announced her recommendation of the “Grand Canyon with Saguaro Cactus” design, based on the results of the online poll.

The Department of the Treasury approved the design on May 25, 2007. The other design concepts considered during the final selection process were “Grand Canyon,” featuring an overview of the Grand Canyon; “Grand Canyon with Saguaro Cacti,” featuring the Saguaro cactus as the central design with the Grand Canyon in the background; “Powell’s Grand Canyon Expedition,” depicting the John Wesley Powell expedition in a boat going through rapids; and “Navajo Code Talkers,” depicting two Navajo Code Talkers using World War II field communication equipment.

On November 18, 2012 the Department of the Interior will begin increasing the release from Glen Canyon Dam for a high-flow experimental release (HFE) of approximately 42,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for 24 hours.

The goal of the high-flow experiment is to move sand stored in the river channel and redeposit it to rebuild eroded sandbars and beaches downstream of the Paria River in Grand Canyon National Park.

This release follows the science-based Protocol for High-Flow Experimental Releases from Glen Canyon Dam established in May 2012 and is a component of the Department’s compliance with the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992.

The Grand Canyon Protection Act mandates that Glen Canyon Dam be operated in a manner that protects, mitigates adverse impacts to, and improves the values for which Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation were established.

With the holidays approaching, why not consider the gift of adventure this year? Adventure travel continues to grow in popularity as we all realize the importance of the world’s great places to our lives. The Grand Canyon too continues to grow as a popular destination as our world seems to grow smaller every year in terms of technology and travel options. So why not consider buying your family, loved ones or even work group a gift of adventure with a Discovery Treks adventure or gift certificate. Whether you want to enjoy a Havasu Falls hiking tour with camping or lodging or a Grand Canyon vacation, we are here to help.