The Grand Canyon - North Rim and Toroweap

dave6253

I was lucky enough to make two motorcycle/photographic expeditions to The Grand Canyon this summer.
Once with my 10 year old son and again with a fellow motorcyclist/photographer. The trips were 5 days each.

I'm just an amatuer photographer who started really trying to learn only 2 years ago with my first DSLR.
I have mostly lurked here on dgrin trying to learn as much as possible.
These are some of my favorite photographs from the 2 journeys.


1. Meet Matthew, My 10 Year Old Son




I shot the first trip with a Pentax K7. The second trip with the Pentax K5.
While on the bike I use a Panasonic ZS5 Point-n-Shoot.

2. The Asphalt Zips Past




3. Riding Across the Navajo Nation




$. We stop for a break and walk out onto the historic Navajo Bridge...




5. ...which offers a spectacular view of Marble Canyon and the Colorado River.




6. The Vermillion Cliffs Pass By at 70 MPH




7. Approaching the Kaibab Plateau While Riding Into The Sun




8. The Vermllion Cliffs




9. Highway 67 on the Kaibab Plateau passes through beautiful forests and green meadows.




On the afternoon of day 2 we ride out to Angel's Window for sunset.

10. We posed for this shot at Roosevelt Viewpoint.




11. Angel's Window, The layer of grey on the far side of the canyon was smoke from a fire near Bellemont, AZ.




12. The Colorado River




13. 60 miles away is the highest point in Arizona, Humphrey's Peak, barely visible through the smoke.





On day 3 we were lucky to score a backcountry permit required to camp at Point Sublime.
Camping at Point Sublime has ben a dream of mine for 4 years. I've made 3 other trips here
hoping to ride out to Point Sublime, but it was closed each time. It was supposed to be closed
again for a prescribed burn, but the fire was delayed because of high winds leaving the trail
open for a couple extra days. I had not planned to ride such a rough trail with my son on the
back, but I couldn't ignore the great opportunity. The area was closed for the rest of the season.


14. Prized Possession





15. Point Sublime Trail Near the Tiyo Point Trailhead






16. Almost There After 19 Miles





20. Point Sublime





21. I found wildflowers to shoot near our campsite.





22. Fuzzy Flower






23. Our Camp at the Edge of The Grand Canyon at Point Sublime






24. Basking in the Last Sliver of Light






25. Golden Sunlight






26. Humphrey's Peak was more than 60 miles away.






27. Pre-dawn at Point Sublime






28. The Western View From Point Sublime






29. The Colorado River from Point Sublime






30. Colorado River






31. A View From Point Sublime






32. Just like the viewpoint, Point Sublime Trail lived up to the name.





33. Sublime!





34. Father and Son on the Point Sublime Trail






35. Kaibab Gravel






36. Matthew saunters in for supplies. Fredonia, AZ






37. Matthew personalized the KTM.






38. On day 4 we ride out to Toroweap and set up camp.






39. Matthew composes a shot of Lava Falls.







40. Toroweap is my favorite view of The Grand Canyon, and in all of Arizona.






41. Campsite 7, Toroweap Campground







42. Fire & Starlight






43. Matthew and the KTM at Cliff Dwellers, AZ






44. Dust Devil





45. Matthew Shoots Marble Canyon





46. Long Road Home






47. Happy to be home.

Whew! That's a bunch of photos for one post. I'll be back with the pictures from the second trip if anyone is interested. Thanks for looking.

dgebben

What amazing shots. I love # 2 but then again I love them all. Just showed my wife your grand canyon; it's on my bucket list!

cmkultradome

I really enjoyed this series of shots, just beautiful. Looks and sounds like an awesome trip. You have a very lucky 10 year old son.

Stephanie

dave6253

Second Journey

I planned to show my buddy around to some of the remote backcountry and ride to some spots I haven't seen before.
The day before the trip my buddy's off-road capable KTM broke down. He was able to borrow a street bike from his girlfriend.
So I switched over to my sport-tourer and we decided to stay mostly on the asphalt at the North Rim.


1. Avoiding thunderstorms would be the theme of this ride. We were mostly successful.




2. Mingus Mountain with Sedona Across the Valley




3. Our Campsite Near Sunset Crater National Monument




4. Sunrise Shot from the Tent




5. Wildflower Greets the Sunshine




6. Wupatki National Monument




7. Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon Again




8. The Colorado River from Cape Royal




9. Sunlight in the Canyon




10. Cape Royal




11. Cape Royal




12. Cape Royal Crowd at Sunset




13. I almost didn't notice the pink rain behind us at Cape Royal.




14. Cape Royal with a Thunderstorm on the South Rim




15. Cape Royal Lightning




16. Sunrise over Roaring Springs Canyon from Bright Angel Point




17. Sunrise at Bright Angel Point




18. My Friend on His Perch at Bright Angel Point




19. Shooting Back




20. Bright Angel Point




21. My Buddy on My Bike, Cape Royal Road




22. Kaibab Plateau Meadow




23. Thunderstorms from Cape Final




24. Double Rainbow from Cape Final




25. Kaibab National Forest




26. Aspen




27. Wildflowers




28. Weed




29. Evidence of Rain




30. Road Home




31. At Roadside Stop to Celebrate My Bike Reaching 50,000 Miles




32. Transportation

dave6253

dgebben wrote: »

What amazing shots. I love # 2 but then again I love them all. Just showed my wife your grand canyon; it's on my bucket list!

Thanks Dan. The Grand Canyon should be on everyone's Bucket List. There are still so many remote viewpoints I've yet to see that it's still not checked off my list. I've been to The Grand Canyon many times, but found it difficult to shoot. I was finally blessed with some nice light.

cmkultradome wrote: »

I really enjoyed this series of shots, just beautiful. Looks and sounds like an awesome trip. You have a very lucky 10 year old son.

Stephanie

Thanks Stephanie. I agree Matthew is a lucky kid. I never got to travel when young. To make sure he always remembers the trip I put together an 80 page photo book on Blurb.com. I ordered 2 copies. One for me and one for him. It was easy to do. Check it out here: http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/2526390


I shared many more photos and the complete story of each trip as a Ride Report on Adventure Rider. If anyone wants more here are the links: The Best of the Grand Canyon with My Son & April Turns Fifty and Gets Viola-ted: Grand Canyon North Rim

Mitchell

Great shots. I just returned from the North Rim and enjoyed your take on this area.

FlyNavy

Excellent work and a lifetime of priceless memories for you and your son.

coldclimb

Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing!

dave6253

Thanks for the looking and for the nice comments Mitchell, FlyNavy, and ColdClimb! I appreciate it.

lynnma

dave6253 wrote: »

Thanks for the looking and for the nice comments Mitchell, FlyNavy, and ColdClimb! I appreciate it.

Great series and what a wonderful memory you will always have they grow up far too quickly. I backpacked around Mnt Rainier with my son when he was a teenager and I still smile when I think of it. He's 41 now. Well done

davemj98

Nice
Nicely done sir!

captnemo

Really does look like a great trip. Good pics and I can certainly appreciate the motorcycle part as I love riding, though that's a pretty long trip, Hope you got a good seat

Sam

What a great trip to be able to take with your son!!!!

I think many of the images you took, contrary to your humble tale of only an armature, are way good!!!

Sam

dave6253

Thanks for all of the comments everyone!

Frank B

I just found this. Very nice shots. I was just at the south rim a couple of weeks ago, and really want to get up to the north side, even more so after seeing your pictures. Thanks.

Qarik

holy crap..some damn good stuff in there. #9 and #10 blew me away!

jasonstone

some awesome shots in there! love the b&w shot of the boots as the tarmac zips by too great sharpness for a p&s at speed

BeemerChef

Toroweap is my all time favorite!!! Cannot even sleep when there... raw, powerful and so much more.
LOve the fact that your ride with your Son. You should meet "Adventure Trio". Terry, Sandy and their 10 year old "Jack". They are my heroes...
Great Photography...
Be well... Ara and Spirit

dave6253

Thanks for the new comments! Much appreciated.

Ara, I've followed you and Spirit for years, mainly through advrider.com. Your photography gallery is outstanding. I've read the Adventure Trio RRs, but have not met them.

jthomas

Beautiful photos, Dave, of one of my favorite parts of the USA. You got some wonderful light to work with, and you used it well.

I spent quite a bit of time in that area in September 2010 and May 2011. I have always wanted to get to Toroweap, but haven't made it yet. One of these days!

I especially like #8. I have a nice photo of that scene, but not with that spectacular light!

babowc

Beautiful shots and I love the journey!
I will have to visit Grand Canyon one day!

mr peas

Love the series. What a fun adventure!

Aeneas

Much enjoyed viewing your trip, Dave. Time is running out for me to see the Grand Canyon and surrounds. Your son will always remember your trip together. You obviously both get on well together.
Thanks for sharing.

bham

Some great images, thanks for sharing.

DavidTO

Golden years with you and your son. Nice.

I love #2.

Nikolai

Awesome stuff Dave! Good memories, too :-)

pathfinder

Wow, what great trips, and great shots to go with the narrative. This trip report brought back a lot of memories for me, and I mountain biked the North Rim in 1994 for about 85 miles, and spent a week end at Torowaep in July of 2009 in a 4 wheeler. Both were great trips.

Ride safely.