Grand Canyon Weekly Wrap-up: April 8-12, 2024

Expect daytime lane restrictions on State Route 64 in Tusayan for pavement restriping work April 15-17

The Arizona Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the town of Tusayan, advises area drivers to plan for lane restrictions on State Route 64 in Tusayan from Monday, April 15, through Wednesday, April 17.

Drivers should allow extra travel time while the following daytime restrictions are in place from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

• SR 64 will be intermittently narrowed to one lane in each direction roughly between Coyote Lane and Moqui Drive (mileposts 236 – 237).
• Flaggers and/or a pilot car will guide drivers through the work zone.
• There will be a 12-foot width restriction.
• Restrictions will be lifted at the end of each work day.
• The speed limit will be reduced in the work zone. The restrictions are needed so crews can safely restripe pavement markings on the roadway to add one additional northbound travel lane along this section of SR 64.

New Episode of ‘Behind the Scenery’ podcast now available

Dr. Larry Stevens has spent over fifty years as a boatman and researcher trying to understand water and life in the Grand Canyon. During this time, he has explored and monitored much of the change in important river and spring ecosystems within the desert.

On this episode of Behind the Scenery, listen as Larry shares observations on insect life, healthy seeps and springs, and the role hope plays in science.

• Listen/download on nps.gov here.
• Listen/download on Apple Podcasts here.

Cultural Demonstrators Next Week at the Desert View Watchtower (3!)

Next week at Desert View Watchtower, from Tuesday through Thursday, April 16 through 18, the Cultural Demonstration program will be featuring three demonstrators, Marvene Dawahoya – Hopi Basket Weaver, Nuvadi Dawahoya – Hopi Kachina Carver, and Florence Riggs – Diné (Navajo) Weaver.

Marvene is from the village of Polacca on First Mesa. She will demonstrate traditional Hopi basket weaving, using raw yucca. The process entails weaving baskets from the yucca then tying the baskets to a traditional wood frame, such as sumac or willow branches, and using commercial dye to paint intricate designs. Marvene says she is privileged to be able to make yucca baskets and she draws the inspiration for her designs from the natural things in life.

Nuvadi, from Hopi’s Second Mesa, is a wood carver and will be demonstrating animal figurine carvings made from cottonwood root. These figurines are hand sanded, stained, textured, and painted with natural pigments and acrylic paints. Each figure is completely unique from one another and no two are ever alike.

Florence is known for her intricate pictorial rugs, but also for making rug dresses and vests. In contrast to traditional Diné rug designs (woven in mostly geometric patterns), pictorial rugs include images of the landscape, animals and people, woven into the overall design. Her ideas come from books, magazines and observations of everyday life. She weaves about 10 hours a day and her pieces are on the loom for one to three months, depending on their size.

Cultural Demonstrations will take place at Desert View Watchtower through November 2024. A schedule can be found on the park website.

South Rim District Reports Available (2!)

See what South Rim Patrol has been up to lately by reading the latest South Rim District Reports below!

• South Rim District Report ending 3-23-2024

• South Rim District Report ending 4-6-2024

Employee Spotlight!

Jennifer O’Neill

Partnerships Program Manager

I manage the Partnerships Program for Grand Canyon, working as the liaison between NPS and Grand Canyon Conservancy, and more recently supporting many of the community partners as well.

I’ve worked for Grand Canyon since 2012, primarily in the Flagstaff office. Starting out in the Office of Planning and Compliance (formerly known as OPAC), I began my NPS career in the Pathways program working in NEPA compliance as an Environmental Protection Assistant. NPS is actually my second career, though. I moved from Seattle to Flagstaff in 2005 with my young family and decided to go back to school while I was doing the stay-home mom thing (also knowing that I did not want to go back to my first career in marketing for Architecture and Engineering). By the time I converted to a permanent position in OPAC, I had earned a couple of bachelor’s degrees from NAU, one in Environmental Science and Policy and one in Parks and Recreation Management.

My liaison responsibilities for compliance included donor-funded projects, which is how I started working closely with Grand Canyon Conservancy and became acquainted with the Director Orders surrounding partnerships and philanthropic stewardship. After about 10 years of primarily working on the Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site project, I left NEPA compliance to focus on partnerships full time when the Office of Communications, Partnerships, and External Affairs was created. I recently moved to the park to grow the partnerships program and have more face time with our non-profit and community partners.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

As federal employees, we all work to steward public lands and we hold positions of public trust. I view partners as the organized public. All non-profit organizations coalesce around a mission and vision. When that mission aligns with the mission of NPS, we have the opportunity to expand the footprint of the stewardship work we do as the government. I really love supporting our partners in the work they do connecting visitors to the canyon in ways our federal framework can’t support, whether from lack of funding or staffing capacity.

Is there a specific project that you’ve worked on that stands out to you?

I mentioned Desert View, and that was by far the most fulfilling career project I’ve worked on. It was, and continues to be, an incredibly complex effort, where partnerships are key to its success. In the program development phase, it was working closely with the Inter-tribal Working Group, and through the project design and compliance phase, we worked with outside planners and park inter-disciplinary teams. And throughout the entire project, we worked with philanthropic supporters, the success of the entire project is propped up on the relationships and trust built through partnerships.

If you could swap jobs with any other NPS employee for a day, who would you choose and why?

I would swap jobs with someone in Legislative Affairs for a day, primarily because I think that’s one direction I would like my career to take. I love that my job requires a lot of time in the policy space. When there is the potential for privately donated funds to support government activities and decisions, there is a heightened scrutiny around policy and ethics regulations. It would be very interesting to me to be in a job where we’re proposing new legislation for Congress to consider, and therefore new policies are created. Of course, I may have an idealized picture in my head of what Legislative Affairs is really like because I watched the West Wing too many times… so yeah, I would do that for a day.

Seed to Supper classes begin April 15 at Tusayan Town Hall and virtually

Beginning Monday, April 15, the Town of Tusayan and the Coconino County Health and Human Services will once again be sponsoring its “Seed to Supper” series of six gardening classes. Each class will meet on Mondays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Tusayan Town Hall and virtually and will feature a different topic each week.

The class is free and open to the public. Reservations will be taken ahead of time by contacting Sharon Sifling at 928-679-7257 or azhealthzone@coconino.az.gov.

A flyer with more information is available here.

South Rim

Xanterra

• Maswik Cafeteria, 6 a.m.-9 p.m.
• Maswik Pizza Pub, 4-10 p.m.
• Bright Angel Fountain, 6 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Harvey House Cafe/Fred Harvey Burger Restaurant, Breakfast 6:30-10:30 a.m., Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Dinner 4-9 p.m.
• Fred Harvey Tavern, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
• Arizona Steakhouse, Lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Dinner 4:30-9 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.-10 p.m. (Food until 9 p.m.), Patio closed until further notice.
• Fred Harvey Food Truck (parked at shuttle bus bay at visitor center): Open as of April 1
• The Grand Canyon Kennel, 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, 12-9 p.m., Yavapai Lodge Coffee Shop, 7 a.m. -2 p.m., Cafe, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Yavapai Dining Hall: TEMPORARILY CLOSED
• Canyon Village Market, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Deli 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Camper Services laundry and shower: 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Other

• Grand Canyon Clinic: Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Bright Angel Bikes, Rental: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Café 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Grand Canyon Visitor Center (GCVC): Sunday, April 7 through Saturday, April 20: The visitor center will be open 5 days per week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Also, because of the reduction in staff, ranger programs will not be presented during this time.
• Grand Canyon Conservancy stores: Visitor Center Plaza, Kolb Studio, Verkamps and Yavapai Geology Museum 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
• The Grand Canyon Community Library: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Grand Canyon Food Pantry: Monday 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Wednesday 5:30-7:30 p.m., Saturday 2-4 p.m.
• Canyon Closet: Every Wednesday from 12-2 p.m., first and third Saturday of each month from 12-3 p.m.
• Canyon Community Yoga & Wellness (at the Rec Center)- Yoga: Mondays & Wednesdays 6:30 p.m., Fitness Classes: Strength Training Sundays 9 a.m., Core Strength Thursdays 6:30 p.m. View full schedule here: https://www.canyoncommunityyoga.com/schedule

Desert View

• Desert View Trading Post Coffee and Ice Cream and Market, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Desert View Watchtower, 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. daily
• The Desert View Deli, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• The Desert View Campground will reopen for the season on Saturday, April 13 and will close mid-October 2024. Again this year, reservations are solely booked through www.rec.gov and is nearly sold out every day until June.

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

• A stormy view from Moran Point this past week (NPS Photo/D. Pawlak)
• Dr. Larry Stevens along the Colorado River (NPS Photo)
• Works of Marvene Dawahoya – Hopi Basket Weaver, Nuvadi Dawahoya – Hopi Kachina Carver, and Florence Riggs – Diné (Navajo) Weaver.
• Jennifer O’Neill, Partnerships Program Manager (NPS Photo)