If you are a new reader, you may not know that I spent five seasons as a Park Ranger at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I think about that time of my life almost every day. The North Rim is one of those truly spectacular places that I could never get tired of seeing.
One of my favorite memories is of a drive out to Point Sublime. Point Sublime is one of those places that you need a four wheel drive vehicle, like a Jeep, to get to. The road is more like a trail in places, cut through the Kaibab National Forest and the Grand Canyon National Park to provide access for fire crews. More than one visitor has gotten their vehicle stuck in mud or sand while attempting to get to the point.
The drive starts out on the road to the Widforss Trail. After you pass the parking lot at the trail head, it isn’t long until you are driving through a gorgeous, wide open meadow. The day I went out to Point Sublime with my co-workers, there were puffy white clouds in a deep blue sky, over a meadow full of wildflowers. If you are lucky, you may see a herd of buffalo in the meadow.
Once you leave the open space of the meadow, the road narrows and winds through the tall pine trees of the forest. After what seemed to be hours on a bumpy road, we came to a huge rock formation that I thought was the point, but was not. We all got out of the vehicles and walked out on the rocks. It was a wonderful view. Soon, though, we were back in the Jeeps and heading further down the road.
It took us about two and a half hours to get out to Point Sublime. That road is really rough–I felt like I had been beat up from bouncing around in my seat. It was well worth the drive, though. Point Sublime is one of those places that not many visitors to the Grand Canyon get to see, simply due to the condition of the road out there. If you find yourself at the North Rim and have access to a four wheel drive vehicle, you really need to go there. The day that Fabgrandpa and I went was one of the highlights of my time at the Grand Canyon.
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