In any given year, the shortening days of autumn herald in a seasonal repositioning of the canyon’s many sentient beings. Elk, condors, tarantulas, pinion jays, and others prepare to relocate or hunker down as temperatures drop, and the snow begins to fly. Even the tourists head for the door as the year-end holidays approach.
As a farewell from a local who will be enduring his seventeenth Grand Canyon winter, I’ve put together a slideshow of a these fair weather friends. We are already looking forward to their return next March when the thaw begins in earnest. Safe travels one and all.